Malaysian F1 Team On Schedule For February Test At Sepang

The preparation for Malaysia's F1 car debut is on schedule and the car will be ready for planned pre-season testing at the Sepang circuit here in February.

Team boss Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the first model being constructed in Norfolk, England, was three days ahead of progress and headed for wind tunnel testing.

"We have assembled the engine, gearbox and done the crash test. The machines will be at the Sepang Circuit in February for pre-season testing and will be on the grid at the Bahrain race," he said.

The team recently signed an agreement with Bridgestone, the official F1 tyre supplier, which will provide slick Potenza tyres to all teams for the 2010 championship.

Fernandes said the official name of the team was Lotus F1 Racing as endorsed by the Federation of International Automobile (FIA) in September.

1MF1T will have its own office at the welcome centre at the main entrance of the Sepang circuit which hosts the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The team will move from its current base in Norfolk, the base for the now Malaysian-owned Lotus Cars, once the headquarters here is completed.

source: bernama

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Riad Asmat, former Proton's GM Appointed as CEO of Lotus F1 Team

THE first key piece to the Lotus F1 team's Malaysian operations was put in place yesterday with the announcement of 38-year-old Riad Asmat as chief executive officer.

Riad, former general manager at Proton Holdings Bhd managing director's office, admitted his passion for motorsports as his main reason for taking on the highly challenging task of organising and managing the operations of the team.

The team that have a startup capital of RM168 million, and a total budget of RM308 million, will have Riad at the helm of marketing and operational areas as they push on for their much anticipated debut in F1 next year.

Riad has vast working experience in motorsports -- as a former employee of Sepang International Circuit and was a public relations executive with Nike.

“I see the responsibility as not just one single person but working with the whole team,” said Riad yesterday.

“It’s a big challenge and F1 is very competitive as it operates in an extremely challenging environment . In this respect, the focus will be on teamwork and its importance can never be overstressed.

“All of us in the 1Malaysia Racing Team understand that this is a very important first step for the nation.”

He is also confident that the team would be able to place the cars on the starting grid in the opening round in Bahrain next March.

“The building of the car is ahead of schedule by three days and we should be testing them next February at the Sepang Circuit,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference after the appointment, team principal Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the team have come a long way in just six months.

"There are a lot of sceptics out there. There were a lot of sceptics when AirAsia first started and Sepang International Circuit was built anyway and look what we've achieved," said Fernandes.

He said despite the pessimistic views, many were also positive that Lotus will win the world championship one day.

"We can dare dream that Malaysians will one day wake up to see our local drivers in a Ferrari or a Renault," said Fernandes.

He added that the team have their eyes on six drivers but will keep the list on hold till the end of November before they finalise it.

source: bernama ; nst ; thestar

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Naza Citra 2 Rondo Reviewed: New and Improved Breed of Kia

Introducing the Rondo, the third generation Kia Carens (called Rondo in some markets) which in its previous form sold very well he in Malaysia as the Naza Citra. Comes with 2 variants, EX and EXS. The Naza Citra Rondo will come with the 2.0L engine with DOHC CVVT valve train to produce maximum power of 145 PS or 6,000 RPM and minimum torque of 189 N.m or 4,250 RPM. Comes with 4 speed automatic transmission, the car is equipped with Gate Type and Shiftronic.

According to Naza Kia, the new Rondo is built on the D-segment new Kia Optima platform and also shares the Optima’s sweet new GEMA-based 2.0 liter DOHC CVVT engine producing 145 horsepower and 189Nm of torque, mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission with sequential manual shifting. The GEMA engine is a joint project between DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. Fuel economy average of 33.6 mpg means it can go up to 12km/litre of fuel consumption.

The Rondo uses the familiar 143 bhp twin-cam engine with CVVT, with a four-speed auto as a sidekick, but the performance served up is lackluster compared to the Optima “thanks”, to its hefty 1.7 tonne kerb weight that is nearly 220 kilogram more than the Optima. You will have to push the throttle hardly for some meaningful acceleration. But then, insanely intrusive vibration happens above 4000rpm.

Larger than its predecessor, the Rondo dwarfs the similarly priced Nissan Grand Livina and its 2700mm wheelbase is 100mm longer than the Grand Livina. The middle row seat backrests are tilt able and the bench itself slides fore and aft to strike a compromise with those seated behind. Talking on that, the rear section has enough space for two average sized adults despite the lack of room for the elbow and the head. Also need to remember, those who seated at the rear, their knees will point high, but that’s entirely expected for this sort of MPV. There’s only 74 litres of luggage space with all seats up. With the third row of seat down, you will get 414 litres but the seat folding and stowing is not the easiest you will find compared to other MPVs.

The EX version features foglamps, ABS, SRS airbags, six-jet windscreen washer, a manual climate control system, a trip computer , 6 speaker sound system with a CD player, body coloured door handles, black front grille crossbars and 15 inch alloy wheels. The EXS version carries over the features from EX but adds an automatic climate control system, steering wheel audio, a roof rack and 16 inch alloy wheels.

In a nutshell, the Rondo may not be quite the perfect MPV, but with the price of RM 84, 000 for the EX while RM 88, 000 for the EXS version, it's a lot of a car for the money.

Click here to view more photos of Naza Citra 2 Rondo

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The New Naza Picanto: Reincarnation Of The Suria

Naza Kia Sdn Bhd (NKSB), the official franchise holder for the KIA marquee, today unveiled a face lifted model of the popular Picanto. As the best selling Kia model, with over 867,553 units sold worldwide, the restyled Picanto offers customers a more contemporary and stylish body kit. It is the CKD Picanto that was previously called the Naza Suria, but now The Suria name has been dropped and replaced by the Kia name, though the Naza badge remains. The Suria name was probably inspired by the Picanto’s Korean market name, which is the Kia Morning.

The New Picanto starts at RM44, 500 on-the-road for the LS - standard specification model or RM 46,800 on-the-road for higher specification EX. It features a new body kit, sporty new bumpers, fenders and front grille. With new head and tail lights and spoiler, the interior also receives an upgrade with a newly installed universal serial bus (USB) function.

The most obvious change is of course the aesthetic update to the latest look that has been available from Kia internationally. With the latest facelift in Korea, there were actually two different front ends available but Naza has picked the version with the rounded foglamps to sell here. There is another one with leaf-shaped look foglamps and funkier alloy wheels, probably some kind of special edition.

On the inside, the interior has been updated with orange backlighting for the controls and meter cluster. The meter cluster is complete with an RPM meter but there is no water temp meter. The head unit provided is a 1-DIN design with USB support so you can read your MP3 files off a USB thumbdrive and do away with carrying CDs in your Picanto. The 1.1 liter engine revs up to 6k RPM and puts out a peak of 64 PS at 5,500rpm and 96Nm of torque at 2,800rpm. I like the fact that peak torque is made under 3,000rpm, which is usually the point an automatic car would shift gears if driven gently. But in any case acceleration from 0 to 100km/h will take a long 15.1 seconds.

“The Picanto is an attractive alternative in the A-segment. We have identified the needs of households for a practical yet stylish vehicle, perfect for city use. The moderately priced Picanto is aimed at interested customers looking for a second car,” said Encik SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, CEO of Naza Kia Sdn. Bhd.

Targeting initial monthly sales of 500 units, the 1.1 litre, 4 cylinder engine Picanto is assembled at Naza Automotive Manufacturing’s factory in Gurun, Kedah. It is now available for sale at all authorized Naza Kia Showrooms nationwide.

Encik SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin also said, “NKSB aims to drive Kia’s presence in Malaysia and we are confident about our partnership and support given to us. We look forward to the launch of more models this year and next. 2010 will see a new emergence of Kia vehicles as we will be introducing a four by four model, a C-segment sports car and several other new models. We hope this will cater to a wide range of consumers.”

Click here for more photos of the new Naza Picanto

source: paultan ; bernama ; naza

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Two More Photos Featuring 1Malaysia Lotus F1 Racing Car

Here it comes.. two more photos featuring the exact model car that is tested for the wind tunnel and a photo showing the upper monocoque of next year 1Malaysia Lotus F1 Team race car.

source: LotusF1Racing

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Fairuz Fauzy Ready to Perform With Lotus f1

Fairuz Fauzy claims he has now proved his ability to move up to formula one in 2010.

The Malaysian is linked with the country's new Lotus F1 team, and the 27-year-old driver last weekend secured the runner-up spot in the World Series by Renault.

"With Lotus F1, there is a real possibility of me achieving my lifetime dream of driving in F1, but I knew I needed to really prove that I was ready.

"I hope with this, I have proved enough," he is quoted as saying by the New Straits Timesnewspaper.

It is believed Fauzy will at least be named the 2010 test driver, but Lotus has not ruled out a full race seat, while the other cockpit is linked with the veteran Jarno Trulli.

Meanwhile, the World Series champion, 23-year-old Belgian Bertrand Baguette, is promised a Renault test.

source: GMM via f1-live.com

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Stoner Wins at Sepang While Rossi Clinches Championship Title

Valentino Rossi finished third behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa at a rain-soaked Sepang to take the 2009 MotoGP World Championship title. Despite finishing today's premier class of the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in third position, Valentino Rossi of the Fiat Yamaha Team managed to seal the world championship.

In the rain halted race at the Sepang Circuit here, Rossi clocked 47 minutes 44.219 seconds, 19.385s behind Casey Stoner of Ducati Marlboro Team, who clinched the Malaysian Grand Prix title.

Rossi noted that he was delighted to seal the championship title with one race left this season. The final round of the 2009 season will be held in Valencia, Spain on Nov 8.

"With one round to go, I have clinched the world title. I thank all the people who helped me achieve this. We did some great fighting here.

"Unfortunately it was bad weather. I was not good at the first lap especially the first turn. Everybody had the same rhythm and the situation was very tricky.

"I had to make sure that I did not make any mistake. I had to understand the track conditions very quickly. Usually, during the test in wet conditions, we need about an hour to tackle the situation," said the 30-year-old Italian in the post-race press conference.

With 286 points after Sunday's race, Rossi sealed his seventh MotoGP World Championship title.

Casey Stoner was the race victor at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday, but it was Valentino Rossi whose achievement of third place laid the foundation for the story of the weekend.

Stoner’s second successive win was impressive enough, as was his astounding 14.666s margin of victory, but it was the Italian’s result that secured his ninth world title – a seventh in the premier class – as he defended his 2008 crown, with Dani Pedrosa finishing second with his 78th career podium across all classes.

"It is another strange race. We had a lot of testing in the wet here and it was very helpful. After the first lap, I start feeling comfortable with the track condition. The wet track dried up very quickly and I just kept going.

"I did not expect to pull off such a gap. I am happy with the pace. I am looking forward to the race in Valencia," said Stoner.

The race started on a wet track after a 35-minute delay due to rain, and there was drama from the off. A problem during the sighting lap with his machine for Jorge Lorenzo meant that failure to join the starting grid in time resulted in relegation from second to the back.

It made little difference to the Spaniard however as he flew up to overtake Rossi, who dropped to tenth after a sluggish start from pole position. Lorenzo eventually finished in fourth position.

Randy de Puniet had a very early nasty high-side which fortunately resulted in no injury for the Frenchman, as Stoner established a four-second lead at the front over Pedrosa after just two laps.

Nicky Hayden was dogged in his attempt to hold off Lorenzo in fifth place, but the Fiat Yamaha rider managed to pass the Ducati Marlboro man before Rossi passed both to move into fourth spot after eight laps.

Shortly after, Stoner’s lead at the front had grown to a huge 15 seconds, but there was no such deficit between Pedrosa in third and his Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, who diced for second spot. Disaster struck for the Italian however, as on lap 14 he succumbed to the wet conditions and slid off, allowing Rossi to move up to third and target Pedrosa.

The Spaniard was out of Rossi’s grasp for the remainder however, but third was one place higher than he required to take the title (had Lorenzo won the race), and a characteristically flamboyant celebration followed involving a chicken dressed in the Italian’s blue and yellow colours.

Elsewhere, Aleix Espargaró impressed with an eleventh-placed finish in his third MotoGP race of the campaign for Pramac, while Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Colin Edwards and James Toseland both struggled, finishing in 13th and 15th respectively.

After Lorenzo took fourth spot he duly handed hearty congratulations to Rossi, with Hayden equalling his second-best result of the season in fifth. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) completed the top ten.

source: bernama ; motogp

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New Perodua Myvi Exclusive Launched With a Limited Production of 5,000

Perodua has just launched the Myvi 1.3 Exclusive Edition which is now available for booking. The special edition hatchback that is limited to only 5,000 units is powered familiar 1.3 liter DVVT engine as the rest of the Myvi range, save for the 1.0 liter model of course. The 1.3 liter engine is the K3-VE inline-4 DOHC with variable valve timing producing 86 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 116Nm of torque at 3,200rpm. No 1.5 liter Myvi in sight yet, and it looks like if you want that you’ll have to just opt for the D46T and get a larger boot or a third row of seats in the process. What the Myvi Exclusive Edition does have is some uprated equipment.

It has 14 inch alloy wheels, side skirts, and chrome door handles on the outside. On the inside, the chrome treatment continues on the inner door handles. The seats, door trims and steering wheel are wrapped with leather. The audio system is a 2-DIN system (not the Myvi’s standard integrated audio) supports CD, MP3 and WMA, USB support and a Bluetooth handsfree feature. Basically it’s the same 2-DIN system that the Myvi SE gets.

Only three colours are available – Ebony Black, Ivory White and Medallion Grey. It’s priced at RM51,000 for solid colours and RM51,500 for metallic colours. It’s basically a regular non-SE Myvi but with side skirts, Myvi SE alloys and the upgraded specs mentioned above. This is for those who want abit more than a standard Myvi but don’t like the styling of the Myvi SE or the SE’s higher price. In accordance with its specs, its price is also somewhere in between a normal Myvi and a Myvi SE.

click here for more photos of Myvi Exclusive Edition

source: paultan.org ; paultan.org

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Proton Confident Of Achieving Annual Sales Of 155,000 Units By March 2010

Proton is confident of achieving annual sales of 155,000 units by March 2010 based on current market sentiment.

Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim, the chief executive officer of Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, said for the six months ended September 2009, car sales had already exceeded an initial target of 73,000 units.

Proton Edar Sdn Bhd is the main distribution arm of Proton Holdings Bhd.

"The market is encouraging with signs of consumer confidence in the automotive market," Shukor said during the prize presentation ceremony to winners of the "Proton Drive for Cash" contest.

"Confidence and acceptance in the market towards our brand has increased, and this is evident in the increase in sales numbers," he added.

Even after the festive season, Shukor said, bookings are still strong.

He also emphasised that car buyers have now started to notice how Proton had improved in its products and service quality, as evident from the "hot" selling models, the Persona, Saga and Exora.

On the contest, Shukor said it had successfully met its objective as car sales for June and July, increased impressively to 14,065 units and 15,809 units respectively.

This, he explained, had placed Proton in the top spot for Malaysian car sales,for the said months.

"Apart from cash prizes, the attractive offers under the campaign were also a hit with our customers," he said.

According to Shukor, the contest from June to August this year, received an overwhelming response from customers with cash prizes worth RM50,000 to be won weekly and monthly.

In general, winners were selected based on the creativeness of their slogans.

The monthly winners, who each won RM20,000 for their winning slogans, were Tan Kay Pau from Batu Pahat (June), Loh Kam Fook of Kuantan (July) and Lim Tzaw Feng from Johor Bahru (August).

The Grand Prize winner, Anisah binti Alias from Kota Bahru who bought a Persona 1.6L, won herself, RM50,000 for her winning slogan.

As to developments on a possible tie-up with foreign partners, Shukor said, opportunities are always there for collaboration.

"We are looking at product collaboration. We are also looking at where a partner could add value for us," he explained.

source: bernama

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1Malaysia Lotus F1 Scale Model Windtunnel Test and Gascoyne, Technical Director Interviewed

Malaysia’s Lotus F1 has officially announced that its scale version of its race car is going into the windtunnel testing stage. There is no name for the new car yet, but more details about the team were revealed in an interview with technical director Mike Gascoyne provided along with the press release. The as yet undesignated model is the product of the recent collaboration between Lotus F1 Racing Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne and the team’s technical partners, and represents an important step in the team’s preparations for next season.

The team will be based in the RTN facility in UK initially but as previously mentioned the ultimate goal is to have a full technical facility at the Sepang circuit. However, when that happens a small UK base will still be kept to give the team a logistical advantage when the team is racing in Europe.

Lotus F1 aims to get the car up and running for a roll-out by mid-February 2010 in prepration for the Bahrain race in mid-March. The car is currently being developed with a few technical partners including Fondtech for aerodynamics, Xtrac for transmissions, and Cosworth for engines. Malaysian companies are involved in certain areas including some aspects of engineering as well as composites (very likely to be Composites Technology Research Malaysia).

There are rumours currently afloat about Toyota’s Jarno Trulli joining the new team. Trulli will likely take the senior role and be complemented by a more junior driver, possibly a Malaysian. Everyone seems to be looking at Fairuz Fauzy right now.

Interview with Mike Gascoyne ‐ Lotus F1 Racing Chief Technical Officer:

How important is the completion of Lotus F1 Racing’s first windtunnel model?
“The start of any windtunnel testing is an important step in the development of a new Formula 1 car, but it is particularly exciting for us as we continue preparations for our first season. It has been a very busy time since our entry was confirmed by the FIA. We had been working on the entry for several months so we already had aspects of the team infrastructure in place; the finances, the factory and the top management. Once our entry was confirmed in mid‐September, we were able to accelerate our recruitment and car development process and this is really where we are at now.”

What precisely is the involvement from Malaysia?
“Our entry has only been made possible thanks to financing from the Malaysian private sector, so Lotus F1 Racing will be a Malaysian team through and through. Additionally we have valuable support from the Malaysian government through its 1Malaysia initiative, so we will essentially be flying the Malaysian flag in Formula 1. I am liaising with our Team Principal Tony Fernandes about our plans on a daily basis and am currently spending some time in Malaysia interviewing potential candidates for technical roles. The team is also in the process of recruiting Malaysian employees for other positions, including administration, marketing and PR.”

The team is currently based in the UK, but is there a long‐term plan to move to Malaysia?
“The longer‐term vision is to create a centre of technical excellence at the Sepang circuit which we have already started planning together with Tony Fernandes and his associates. Naturally this takes time, so we have opted initially for a UK base at the RTN facility in Hingham from where we will run the F1 operations while we establish our Malaysian facilities. Ultimately, the team will be headquartered in Malaysia, but we will keep a small UK base which will give us a logistical advantage when we are racing within Europe.”

What technical partnerships do you already have in place?
“We have been working with Fondtech to develop the aerodynamics, as well as with gearbox specialists Xtrac. We have an engine supply deal in place with Cosworth and we also have the support of engineering and composites teams in Malaysia who will play an integral role in developing the car.”

Is there really enough time to get a car and a team up and running before the first race in Bahrain?
“There is no escaping the challenges that we face simply to get the car ready for the first race of next season, but I am confident that we are up to the task in hand. Our target is to get the car ready for a roll out by the middle of February so that we can carry out pre‐season testing in preparation for Bahrain in mid‐March.”

What are your expectations for the first year?
“We need to remain realistic in our aims for the first year. We are a new team and we are starting our development late, so it will be an achievement just to get two cars on the Bahrain grid. I hope by the middle of the season we will have established ourselves as the best of the rookie teams and then continue to make forward progress for the rest of the year.”

How integrated will the F1 team be with other Lotus groups?
“It is a big honour to be associated with such an historic and prestigious Formula 1 brand as Lotus for whom I have a lot of respect. We will have a close relationship with other Lotus groups and we will do all we can to ensure that the Lotus name is treated respectfully with our new team.”

Finally, has there been any decision made on drivers for next year?
“We have been looking closely at the driver market to determine our best options for next year including Malaysian drivers, but no decisions have been made yet. We need versatile drivers. We need reliable and technically‐minded drivers who can help us develop the car during the season, but at the same time we need drivers who are hungry for results and who can extract every little bit of performance from the car at all times.

source: lotusf1team ; paultan.org ; icars.sg

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