The latest stage in Fariqe Hairuman’s intensive UK circuit familiarisation programme took the 20-year old to North Yorkshire, and the Croft circuit, where he and the Team PETRONAS Syntium Proton crew spent Wednesday 15 October.

The plan was for another full day’s testing on the fast circuit, with the emphasis being placed firmly on Fariqe learning the track and improving his technique through the critical corners, where so much time can be lost, or made up. There was a slight hiccup however, when Fariqe made an excursion through the gravel in the third of four sessions, causing some damage to the front splitter on the Impian. With efforts being concentrated on developing the 2004 car, the current testing programme is being conducted with a skeleton crew and with very few spares available. The result was a decision to shut up shop and head for home with one session remaining.

“It all went well up until that point”, commented Fariqe’s New Zealander driver coach Richard Lester. “It damaged the front bumper a bit and we didn’t have the parts to replace it, so rather than run without the front aero-kit, we decided to call it a day.”

“Running with minimal spares is a bit like playing Russian roulette with the car really. Fariqe wants to push the car harder, but there is always a risk attached to that. It will be different when we’ve got the new car next year.”

Despite these difficulties, Fariqe is continuing to make impressive progress: “I think that was probably his best session so far”, said Lester. “He picked up a lot of speed, and we got some useful data for the set-up. We’re definitely moving forward and achieving what we set out to do.”

The one remaining test for Fariqe and Team PSP – originally planned for Knockhill - sees them back at Snetterton, which will provide the first opportunity to judge the progress that has been made over the past weeks.

Fariqe commented: “I think I’ve made good progress. I can react much more quickly to the car now, and I think we have achieved a lot. I hope that my times will improve when we go back to Snetterton, and I should be much more confident with the speed and handling of the car around the corners.”

Richard Lester shares Fariqe’s optimism: “I hope that we’ll be between a second and a second and a half quicker than before. If we are in that zone, we will have achieved what we set out to do with this programme, given the spec of the car we are running and the conditions under which we’re doing it.”