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Yazid,
Correct me if iam wrong, Mohd Fahmy its the fat boy that used to train together with us last time ???
in elite track ???Ajid,
Thanks for the update and excellent work by our young guns, in particular your junior. Payback time has started and now for consistency! :up:Desk,
No. This is a different Fahmy. Fahmy Elyas is a karter with RL Karting.
Fazz & Naza,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. One thing about Ikhwan as was said by his karting mechanics, he is a driver who likes to “search”. Never fear to try any set-up that can give him the edge. The advantage with him is that to a certain extend he understand chassis and knows what to do with it.
For him the PFX cars, though it is faster than a kart, but it is considered slow for the wide Sepang track. When I asked, this was what he said, “I am still learning on how to drive the car and the best would be to improve my driving. Having to much set-up changes will not help but would further confuse me. Since the car have grip, the best would be for to find the racing line that would give me the advantage with the kind of set-up I have chosen”. And he had chosen to reduce the down force to the minimum. He was the only driver that asked for the low down force set-up which amazed the PFX team. Only at the last practice before the race another driver did the same after realising Ikhwan was much faster.
Quoting one of the PFX team member, “I admire one of the boys courage who has chosen a set-up with very little down force…”. The PFX team before the race, really wanted to see the outcome. They were anticipating that Ikhwan may have problem handling the car at later stage and would very much like to see how he handles it. At the end of it they were happy to see the result. They also really wanted to see Calvin and Ikhwan racing as both the boys had almost an identical set-up. That doesn’t happen when Calvin had a jump start and given a drive through penalty in race 2
Bro Naza, I am happy indeed to see him progressing very well and I believe you too. I may be seeing blinks of light at the end of the dark tunnel and I hope it is a real light. I think Ikhwan has a long way to go still. However judging from him progressing from My-Kart days, end of 2006 till now, he can reach the end of tunnel if only given the vehicle & tools. I cannot afford this expensive vehicle. It is just beyond my reach. It is costing 150,000 euros a year. PFX will be choosing 3 drivers this year because they are so happy with this batch abilities. I can only pray and hope that he will be one of the 3. Being twice at the podium may not guarantee him a place. PFX is looking for drivers that has the package. To our eyes Ikhwan may have it but I am not sure in the eyes of PFX. They may have different ideas. So lets wish him the best and pray for his success.
Jules,
See you at MME08.
[quote=yazidm]To our eyes Ikhwan may have it but I am not sure in the eyes of PFX. They may have different ideas. So lets wish him the best and pray for his success.[/quote]
we all wish him the best! :up:
[quote=yazidm]… I cannot afford this expensive vehicle. It is just beyond my reach. It is costing 150,000 euros a year…
[/quote]
Bro,
There are a few dads in my-kart like you with the racing passion. Say no more, we perfectly understand the situation. However, there were many cases where the [i]rezeki [/i]factor took control of our destinies…..just stay with him. :up:[quote=yazidm] To our eyes Ikhwan may have it but I am not sure in the eyes of PFX. They may have different ideas. So lets wish him the best and pray for his success.
Jules,
See you at MME08.[/quote]
Yazid,
Thanks for an insight on your thoughts – its appreciated.
Well, just to give you some assurance – our eyes will not be too far from the eyes of PFX. At the end, some of us are also racers, sponsors and represent also the commercial market ie. consumers of Petronas.
What they seek is to recognise, and develop a driver which can perform on the driving front, as well as market himself and his sponsors well.
On the driving front, your boy is natural on a kart but of course, there’s always room for improvement. On a formula car, he is already proving it that he can adapt and is willing to learn.
And that “willing to learn”, ie. put in the hard work is all that will differentiate those who will go far to those who want to. In my eyes ( during the RMC rounds ) and from your account – I think he does not lack this desire to learn and improve. This attitude ( amongst others ie. discipline in his gym training ) is what I will look for in a driver, and I am sure PFX will be no different. This desire is not teachable, so it’s often the hardest to instill.
Now the last bit on marketing himself/sponsors – this is where some fail esp our local boys. Well, the least I can say is unless his driving is as good as Kimi Raikonnen’s, then some can forgive his mumbling at the press conferences. Ideally, of course he should work on his communication skills and only you know how best he can present himself in respectable English and Malay. Of course, this is something that can be learnt so I think this is the lesser issue, if indeed it is one.
The learning process, on both front will, and has helped in his maturity – which I must is also helped by his family’s constant presence on the kart racing days. So, hat’s off to you and your family.
Given his present track record and attitude, I am sure your boy will go somewhere. Remember, there is a timing for anything and if he is not selected this year by PFX, listen to their reasonings and work on that.
Anyhow, I will be slightly down if they did not pick him!
Btw, Maranello next year? 🙂
See u MME2008.
Jules,
I would have to agree with you. I think you’re in the same wave length with the PFX team. Those boys are thought on how to handle media. This is one area where most need to buck-up. In fact most of them were worried about the media conference rather than the race itself.
Thanks for the words, he is trying hard to improve in all areas. It’s not only me felt happy about the whole thing but the PFX team are also happy about it. This batch is considered the best by them.
As for Ikhwan, he is definitely trying to improve and he is learning everyday. To a certain extend from my conversation with him after the race, he knew what the car can do and how to get the best out of it.
I hope he will be given the chance to further polish what he has and be better.
Been a while never log in here….
Welldone ikhwan & also with the full best ever support from you (yazidm)….
Just remember to report the coming race on Nov at Italy….
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