JEDDAH, 31 March 2006 — Saudi driver Alaa Al-Kaial passed his first test in international competition, finishing with a respectable time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds in the 2006 Formula BMW.
The race is the first round of the BMW Asia Championship organized as a support event to the Malaysian Grand Prix on the Sepang circuit.
Al-Kaial competed under the colors of Meritus and guided by teammate Bahraini Hamad Al Fardan, who won the race and now has his sights set on the second round to be held in May on the same circuit.
Al-Kaial is a product of the search for Saudi drivers to join Bahrain-based Meritus team for the Formula BMW races. The Abdullah Bakhashab In10So karting center organized the driver search program.
Al-Kaial earned certification from the BMW performance center in Bahrain enabling SATA to issue him with the International ‘C’ license.
That was all Al-Kaial needed to travel to Malaysia for Round 1 of the 2006 Formula BMW Asia Championship.
“The main target for Ala’a was to finish his first race which he achieved in a very respectable time of 2 minutes 24 seconds,” said Al-Kaial discoverer former rally champion Bakhashab.
“I took part in the In10So driver search competition last January and Meritus invited me to attend the BMW Performance School in late January. I was very pleased that in my first formula experience the school awarded a certificate which allowed me to receive the International C License. I am very proud to be the first Saudi driver representing my country in the high-tech world of international formula motorsport. Every minute was a new experience for me and it was great to have Hamad to guide me through all the data in my own language. I would have been lost without Hamad’s support and I credit my success to Hamad,” said Al-Kaial.
The Arabian knight of motorsport, Al-Fardan, who recently won the New Zealand Grand Prix with the Meritus Formula Toyota team, jumped at the opportunity when asked to assist his fellow Arab driver adapt to formula motorsport.
“Modern motorsport has a lot to do with advanced computer technology which can measure every moving part of the high-tech Formula BMW car. The BMW car has F1-derived technology and as I am very familiar with the language the team asked me to help and assist Alaa with the on-board computer data which is used to assimilate the information from each and every lap. How I helped Ala’a was by over-laying my lap traces and by walking the circuit to show him exactly where to change gear, brake, etc. I am very impressed with Ala’a despite his late contractual agreement with Meritus and very little time testing. Over the weekend though he managed to reduce his lap times by almost 10 seconds,” said Hamad.
“Winning the Malaysian Grand Prix support race is a great success and proves that Arabian motorsport is very quickly developing. Two months ago I won the New Zealand Grand Prix and both these wins are very special to me. I was very proud to be here today to help Ala’a at his first formula race and I hope that in the future he will also experience the joy of winning,” Hamad added.
For more information please contact Abdullah Bakhashab Est. — PR Department Mohammed Nassar. Cell phone: 0509375856 Fax: 6520310 Tel: 6520360 E-mail: m.nassar@abakhashab
