Track Record 2009

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MeritusdrIVer

Cang innaonal


3/40Track record 2009

MeritusdrIVer

Moopo Ho



Meritus

Contents

6-9 Pak Lah inspires Meritus

10-11 Raad: New drivers willdeliver podium nishes

12-14 Thompson opens doors

for Asians

16-17 Italian stallion to showhis true colours

18-19 Parente adds a dash of

class

20-21 Picture power

22 Lifes no carvnival for Rio

23 Dustin wants to be newSchumacher

24-25 Big brother Firhat

29 Zooming in

30 Michel: Ourchampionship has neverbeen healthier or moresuccessful

16-17

31

31 Surging Ahead, BlazingForward

32-33 Qi invest big in Meritus

34 Qi and Meritus a recipefor success

36 Dubai Autodrome in safehands

6-9 10-11

18-19

22-23



Meritus

Meritus is a multi-dimensional motorsportservices company with a winning culture

of race-engineering success in Europe, AsiaPacic and the Middle East.

Our team motto is Creating InternationalMotorsport Heroes by supporting andtraining young drivers to achieve their

dreams in the high-tech business ofinternational motorsport.

In keeping with our team brand Meritus,

from the Latin meritum meaning toobtain a lot, our objective is to provide ouradvertising-partners with the excellence andresources they require in order to generatea ten-fold return on their advertisinginvestment.

The teams culture Winning is Business

comes from the Chinese translation of ourword-brand Meritus. Wan Li Da,

means Winning comes First even if theeffort takes 100,000 miles.

Meritus has proven that success doesindeed ow from consistent hard work,dedication, professionalism, technological

leadership and, above all, the culture anddevelopment of talent.

We are proud of all our drivers and theMeritus hall of fame includes our F1 heros. Ina team sport where only one person collects

the award, the brand Merit-us also gives

recognition to our sponsors, ourengineering staff and our winning

dynamics.When Meritus is included with

the sponsor brand it has the effect ofenhancing and adding merit to the team-

brand. Merit is indeed at the core of Meritus,and the teams red color scheme reectsthe warmth, the passion, the efciency, theculture and dedication that ows throughthe heart of the team. Anthropologists haveproven that wearing the color red provides

an unfair sporting advantage!

WhtM stns f



MeritusdrIVer



MeritusdrIVer

My Qi Meritus.Maharas drivers said theyare inspired to do well in the Malaysian legof this seasons GP2 Asia Series followingthe recent ag handing over ceremonyby Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the teams owner, FirhatMokhzani.

Although Marco Bonanomi and Alvaro Parente were notpresent at the function, which also saw Meritus hand over amodel of the GP2 car to the honourable Dato Seri Abdullah,they were in agreement that the government support willcertainly give the team a big lift ahead of the April 3-5Malaysian F1 Grand Prix.

The two drivers had prior engagements in Europe andexpressed regret they were not able to meet the countrysPrime Minister.

I would have loved to have been there as it is great forMeritus to get the backing of the Malaysian government,said Bonanomi.

Unfortunately, I could not attend but the team have toldme how much it meant to them to for me personally,it isgreat to know we will race in Malaysia with 100% support.

Asias most successful motorsport team, Meritus Racing,received a huge boost for the the Malaysian Formula OneGrand Prix when the honourable Dato Seri Abdullah handedover the national ag, Jalur Gemilang, to Firhat on March 6.

Parente said: It is not everyday that a motorsport teamget the honour of meeting the Prime Minister and I knowwe are all inspired by the support shown by the Malaysian

government.

A PrOuD

MOMeNtMy Qi Meritus.Mahara teaminspired by Pak Lahs support



MeritusdrIVer

The Malaysian Grand Prixwill only be my second outing forMeritus but already, I feel part ofthe team and both Marco and I aredetermined to aim for a podiumnish to give the home fans plentyto cheer.

It would be wonderful if wecan achieve our goal of nishinginside the top three. We have

shown we have the pace, now it isa matter of getting lady luck on ourside.

Meritus Racing will compete intwo support races in the MalaysianF1 Grand Prix the Formula BMWPacic and the GP2 Asia Series.Their drivers for the FormulaBMW Pacic are Indonesians, RioHaryanto and Dustin Sufyan.

I wish the team all the best forthe Malaysian Formula 1 GrandPrix and also in their future races,said the honourable Dato SeriAbdullah at his ofce.

It is good that a Malaysianteam have earned world widerecognition for their successes inmotorsports.

The team, who have won 32Asian titles in the past 12 years,including the last six FormulaBMW Pacic Championships, havea tradition of unearthing talenteddrivers who have gone on to race

in the pinnacle of motorspors,Formula 1.

Indias Narain Kartikeyan andJapans Takuma Sato starred forMeritus before nding success inF1. New Zealands Earl Bamberand Malaysias Jazeman Jaafar alsostarted their careers with Meritusand they are seen as the next bigtalents in motorsports.

Malaysias only Formula 1driver, Alex Yoong, has had a longrelationship with the team anddrove for them in the openingrounds of this seasons GP2 AsiaSeries, which is also known as theF1 Development Series.

Many of the current batch ofFormula One drivers, includingworld champion Lewis Hamilton,



MeritusdrIVer

graduated from the GP2 Series.The Meritus team are the onlyAsian outt granted a license tocompete in the GP2 Asia Series.

Meritus Racing have workedhard to raise the standard of localmotorsports with their keen eyefor talent spotting young driversand the development of raceengineers and mechanics.

This can be seen from theirall-local backroom staff in theFormula BMW Pacic as well asthe Formula V6 Asia which theteam have dominated for the lastthree years.

Firhat said: I would like tothank the honourable PrimeMinister for taking time out fromhis tight schedule to hand over the

Jalur Gemilang to us.I know Meritus Racing will

be inspired by his support for aMalaysian team and this will spurus on as we compete in our home

race in Sepang.Hopefully, we can have a

Malaysian driver back in the GP2car in the near future. Alex reallywanted to continue driving forus but had too many businesscommitments to take care off.

Team founder, Peter Thompsonsaid: We have been working hardbehind the scenes as we want to

put on a great show in front of ourhome fans.

Im relatively condent we canchallenge the more establishedteams when we race in Malaysiaand Bahrain. Can we nish on thepodium? Why not? The backroomstaff have worked hard, the drivershave been on the simulatorsand the support from the PrimeMinister and the government givesus an extra spark.

With their track record, dont besurprise if My Qi Meritus.Maharalive up to their lofty ambitions.

Meritus: a chmpinship winning Mlysin Bn

Managmn: H by Fiht Yui Bin d. dt

Mhzni

Man Bn: Pviing vtising n pmti

svis, intntinl Fmul Mtspt

ngining svis, iv tuitin n

vlpmnt. Pps xpnsin int fmul

sign n mnuftu h in Mlysi f

ginl us n xpt.

Fomla:

1. Fmul BMW Pi (six tim hmpins03,04,05,06,07,08)2. Fmul V6 asi (tw tim hmpin 07,08)GP2 asi; th nly asin tm in th F1 vlpmnsis

1. Fomla BMW: Th intntinl Fmul BMWis th mst sussful juni sis glblly fth vlpmnt f yung ivs s n thMlysin bn MerITUS is th mst sussful tin this sis.

2. Fomla V6: FV6 is th nxt stp n th asin

mtspt l ffing pfssinl ivs 370bhp pw s l with ll th ltstthnlgy. Th sis visits up t six asin untin hs 8620 minuts sn t ptntil620millin in 100 untis.

3. GP2 Aa: GP2 is FM (Fmul on Mngmwn hmpinship. M Bni elstn is thh f th mngmnt tm n ssist with thMerITUS GP2 asi tm nty. MerITUS th ntuly asin tm in th sis n hv impss wthi pium sults. GP2 asi is lm by FoM-TVn sn glblly thugh th F1 istibutinntws. GP2 is th F1 vlpmnt hmpinshn MerITUS spnss hv gin st fftivxpsu t Fmul on. GP2 suppts mst f thF1 vnts inluing th Mlysin GP n th GP2

hmpins hv bn w vt F1 ivsinluing: Ni rsbg (Willims), Lwis Hmiltn(MLn) n Tim Gl (Tyt).

Meritus F1 Dv: MerITUS hlp thi asinhmpins Nin kthiyn, Tum St nHpin Tung t hiv thi F1 gls.

Malayan Dv: MerITUS 1st asin titl withMlysin iv Ng Wi Lng in 2000MerITUS 2n asin titl with Mlysin Jzmn Jfin 2007

Meritus Wnn: MerITUS is th Winn f 32 asmtspt titls (inluing F.BMW n FV6) sin1996.

Meritus saff: MerITUS hv 24 full tim nginmhnis, hlf f whm Mlysins.

Meritus Dv: MerITUS will hv 12 s (2xGP27xBMW, 3xFmul V6) in th th sis with theupn n fu asin ivs untly nttf th 2009 ssn.

Bdg: Full bugt f ll tms is ls tUS$6 millin

M Mda Covag: du t th tmssusss n th t, Mitus iv tmnusmi vg, th bwn is s fllws:

1. tV (US$30-40 millin p ssn)

2. Pn (US$10 millin p ssn)

3. oth ltni mi (US$8 millin p ssn)

spband sa: Mitus ws lst y wth pstigius Supbn Sttus in Mlysi.

I wish thtm llth bstf th

MlysinFmul 1Gn Pixn ls inthi futus.

dt Siabullh



seasons GP2 Asia Series fromApril 3-5. Two weeks later, Bahrainwill host the sixth and nal round.

My Qi Meritus.Maharaare currently eighth in thechampionship standings witheight points. Last season, theynished a credible seventh, notbad for a team, making theirdebut in the F1 developmentseries. And that too, against highlyexperienced European outts.

We have two good driverson board with Marco and Alvaroproviding the team with goodfeedback, said Raad. Imdelighted they are driving for us.They have helped us on the carset-up as this is evident from ourtiming in the races.

We set the fastest lap in thelast round in Qatar but could notcapitalise on the times due to badluck and tyre problems. We justneed to overcome the setbacksand work on our qualifying to beamong the leaders in the race.

Raad explained that the teamare consistently evolving andthat they are serious in reachingtheir targets of getting morepodiums and being among thetop teams in this deliciously tight

championship.Bamber caused a sensation

when he was on the podium in theseason opener last October andRaad is condent, with more luck,that feat can be repeated soon.

We have ambitions of beingone of the major teams in GP2Asia and will work hard to achievethis goal, he said.

We had one podium alreadythis season and we are workingtowards having more in the lasttwo rounds.

Raad, the business manager

and the managing director ofone of the top ranking Saudibusiness companies, Saudi DieseEquipment Co. Ltd, a companythat manufactures generators andsells construction equipment, felin love with cars and motorsportfrom a young age thanks to hisfathers activities which includedimporting cars to Saudi Arabia.

That is why, when MeritusRacing approached him two yearago to be part of their GP2 AsiaSeries project, he jumped at thechance to get involved with the Fdevelopment championship.

Historically, there is a lot ofinterest in motor racing in SaudiArabia. Saudi airlines and TAGare Saudi-owned companies whohave invested in F1 for many yearBut again many factors join forceand the entire area is roaring witinterest, said Raad.

The competition between theDubai Autodrome, the Bahrain Gthe new Abu Dhabi Grand Prixensures that racing is featuredalmost daily in the news. Beyondrace tracks, the development ofyoung drivers and young Arabwinners is currently in progress. is a long process. But it all belong

together.In terms of racing events

that bring people and race fansenthusiastically together, thesituation still has to developin Saudi Arabia. There is apermanent drag strip in Djeddahwhich is a start. There are lots ofevents very close to motocross,but no Formula 1 or other juniorFormula races yet.

He is hoping his ties withMeritus founder, Peter Thompsowill help full this dream.

We renewed our relationship

Meritus

r: N v v pom fnh

My Qi Meritus.Mahara teamchairman RaadAbduljawad iscondent the

teams two new drivers, MarcoBonanomi of Italy and PortugalsAlvaro Parente, have it in them toend the season on a high.

Bonanomi, who has taken partin two GP2 Asia Series races forthe Meritus team, was brought inas a replacement for MalaysiasAlex Yoong, who had to opt out ofthe championship due to business

commitments.Parente, meanwhile, replacedNew Zealands Earl Bamber, whois representing his country inanother championship.

Despite these changes to theline-up, Raad is optimistic thedrivers can get on the podiumin the last two rounds of thechampionship.

Based in Subang, Malaysia,Meritus headquarters is a stonesthrow away from the SepangInternational Circuit (SIC) whichwill host the fth round of this

Team chairman: raad abduljawad



My q-M.Mh

around the time of the rstBahrain Grand Prix on April 4,2004 when we both decided tohelp grow young local drivers.I convinced Peter Thompson tohelp the young champion whowould become the 2005 FormulaBMW Asia winner, Hamad AlFarden, recalled Raad.

Hamad had just turned 18and on his birthday he took hisrst ever Formula win in round5 of the Formula BMW Asia

Championship. Hamad drovea fault-free race, pressuring histeam mate and getting the win.

We have always kept in touchand when Peter asked me if I wasinterested in being of the GP2Asia dream, I said yes. It can onlybe good for motorsports in themiddle east to be involved withsuch a high level of racing.

My Qi Meritus.Mahara are ahousehold name in the MiddleEast and part of his reason ispartly due to the hardwork anddetermination of Raad.

He has been working tirelesslyto promote the team and being aperfectionist, will only be happyif they improve on their overallshowing this season.

He also harbours hope of oneday seeing an Arabic driver in thecar, although he warned it wonthappen overnight.

It is important to train theright driver rst, prepare him andbring him up to the right levelto compete at the front. You can

spoil a career if you progress ittoo early, he said.

There is a very slightpossibility to bring someonefrom the country in the teamscar. But too early would be acareer mistake. What the teamwould also like to do is to inviterepresentatives of the Federationand the sporting authoritiesor the President of Youth andWelfare to get more familiarwith the team. Only then, canwe dream of having an Arabicdriver.

NEW HOPES: Raad is condentParente (left) and Bonanomi

can bring more success to MyQi Meritus.Mahara

SENSATIONAL: EarlBamber celebrates hispodium nish duringthe China race lastOctober.



Meritusboss peTer thoMpson

tm d f Aa

T

here may be 13 GP2Asia teams but onlyone will be able toclaim to be trulyAsian My Qi-

Meritus.Mahara.The Malaysia-Saudi racing

team, who have won 32 of their34 championships in Asia in thepast 12 years, and have employedalmost every Asian driver whohas reached Formula One since1998, were recently awarded thesuper-brand status.

Team founder Peter Thompsotold Emirates Business how theywent from humble beginnings tosuper-brand status.

The Meritus story beginson a farm in Ireland, recalledThompson. Our family werefarmers with no background in

motor racing, but I had a passionfor cars so I studied automativedesign and worked in the industr

In 1980, when I was 23, witha 1,000 loan from my mother Iformed what was Irelands rstautomative industry on the farm.I sold the horses and the stablesbecame the ofces, the cows wersold and their pen became theassembly, fabrication place andthe hen houses became the painthouse. We utilised all the facilitieon the farm for Thompson MotoCompany (TMC).

W nwin ai f12 y nhv wn 32hminhiin tht tim.I thin th

lttm hvwn tw.


13/40Track record 2009 1

Meritusboss

Its this dream that tookThompson to England in 1988where he started Meritus, theracing team. After competingsuccessfully in Europe for severalyears, the Irishman decided toexpand into Asia in 1995.

Thats when I fell in lovewith Malaysia, said Thompson,who has lived there ever since.I was also successful in ndingsponsorship money in Asia which is essential to survive inmotor racing.

Motor racing is aboutengineering and good drivers,but if you cant nd sponsorshipmoney it will never be a businessas it all revolves around thesponsors.

When we moved to Asia, Iphoned Marlboro and explained

my business and as they didnthave a team in Asia, we did athree-year deal in 1995.

In 1996, we won the FormulaBMW Asia championship withIndian driver Narain Karthikeyan,who went on to race in FormulaOne [in 2005 for Jordan]. In 1997,Takuma Sato was the winner [andhe progressed to Formula One in2002].

We are now in Asia for12 years and have won 32championships in that time.I think the closest team have

won two.Malaysian team Director Firhat

Mokhzani invested in Meritusin the late 1990s making it apart-Asian owned team, whileSaudi Arabian businessman RaadAbduljawad bought a stake in theteam last year, when they tookpart in the inaugural GP2 Asiaseries, to give My Qi-Meritus.Mahara a Middle East co-owneras well.

The team have a reputation foridentifying and nurturing youngtalented drivers from the regionand when the concept of a GP2Asia series was formulated, F1boss Bernie Ecclestone offeredMeritus the only Asian license forGP2. So, what has helped Meritusachieve so much success?

I think its the personalityof the team, said Thompson.We have created a familyenvironment.

Sometimes drivers are not

taken care of by a team, but Imlike a father to these boys. Whenthey have an argument withtheir parents they come live inmy house when they come toMalaysia they live in my house.

I have ve children of myown, but sometimes I have sixmore race drivers living at myhouse which creates a familyenvironment for the team.

Success on the track meanssuccess in the bank as well anddespite recent news that FormulaOne are looking at new waysto cut costs in the near future,motorsport is still a lucrativebusiness for Meritus.

The GP2 season is costingus 1.7m and we target to makeabout 2.5m a 20 per cent returnon our investment. Sometimes

things dont go according to planand accidents happen, but theinsurance covers most of thelosses.

The cost per driver is100,000 for Formula BMW,275,000 for V6 and 650,000 forGP2 and for that they get a third ofthe ad rights on the car. We try tosell the ad rights at around 1.5meuros per car and so the companydoes turn over quite a bit, but weinvest a lot back into the company.

The success of Meritus alsoattracts sponsors they like

Motorracingis aboutengineeringand gooddrivers, but ifyou cant findsponsorship

money it willnever be abusiness as itall revolvesaround thesponsors.


14/40



www.michelin.com

Oursuccesse

satthetrack

deliverbetterp

erformanceo

ntheroad



MeritusdrIVer Marco BonanoMi

Marco Bonanomi isready to live upto expectations

in the nal tworounds of the GP2

Asia Series which will be held inMalaysia and Bahrain.

The Italian, who joined theteam after Malaysias only Formula1 driver, Alex Yoong, withdrew dueto business commitments, camewith high credentials after winningthe nal race of the inaugural GP2Asia Series last year.

However, he has yet to getany points since joining the teamearlier this season. He, however,is condent of breaking his ducksoon.

I knew Peter Thompson (Teamfounder) from the last GP2 Asiaseason when I was driving foranother team, said Bonanomi.

This year, he approached me todrive for the whole championshipsbut I had other commitments inAmerica and Europe and was onlyavailable to drive in January. Whenhe approached me again, I jumpedat the chance as Meritus are asuccessful team on and off thetrack. They have a good reputationand I knew they will help me togrow as a driver.

My target in the nal tworounds is to get as many pointsas possible and try to get as manypodium positions as possible. Weare a young team but Im condentwe can challenge for the points inevery race.

Sepang is really crazy. Lastyear, all the drivers were stunnedat the humidity as most of us werewet from perspiration even beforethe race started. For sure we needdrink lots of water before, duringand after the race.

I have prepared myself welland Im looking forward to racingand doing well in front of ourhome fans. I want to give them

something to celebrate when theycome to cheer us on at Sepang.

Like most drivers, Bonanomiharbours hopes of making thegrade to Formula 1. He knowsracing in GP2 Asia, is the perfectstepping stone as many ofthe current crop of F1 drivers,graduated from GP2.

I would love to make thegrade to Formula 1 but for now,Im totally focussed on drivingfor Meritus and earning as manypoints as I can for this season.It is not easy to make the step

up but I hope to one day get theopportunity to race in the biggeststage of all. I believe Meritus canhelp me get there, said Bonanom

Bonanomi raced in karts until2001 when he moved up to bothFormula Renault 2.0 Eurocupand Italy Italian Winter Series.

He continued in the ItalianChampionship with two races inEurocup. He continued in bothseries in 2002 before graduatingto Formula 3 Italy in 2003 winninga race and taking four podiums.He also competed in the F3 KoreaSuper Prix and the F3 Macau GP.

In 2004 he moved up to Formu3 Euroseries and competed in acouple of races of Formula 3 Italy.He continued in F3 Euroseriesthe following season and in 2006when he also competed in Formu3000 Italy. He nished the seasonclassied as runner up in Formula3000 Italy (2006) and equallyrunner up in Euroseries 3000(2006).

In 2007 Bonanomi joined theWorld Series by Renault nishingon the podium twice and settinga fastest lap. He also competed inthe International Formula Masterseries scoring a pole position.Bonanomi continued in the WorldSeries by Renault in 2008 and alsojoined the inaugural GP2 AsiaSeries, winning his rst GP2 Asiarace in Dubai with Piquet Sports.He was called by Audi for anOfcial test on DTM car.

Bonanomi became a My Qi-

Meritus.Mahara driver in GP2 Asias of the Bahrain round in 2009.

i

hw h



MeritusdrIVer

dt f bith: March 12, 1985P f bith: Lecco, Italyrsit: Colle Brianza (Provincia diLecco - Regione Lombardia).cut: ItalyGP2 G Pix stts: 12Wbsit: www.marcobonanomi.com

Hight: 1.76mWight: 68kgHi: Brownes: Green and GreyB tp: O+Mit sttus: SingleHbbis: go-kart, cars, music andsnowboardFvuit musi: R&B, RockFvuit musi tist: Linkin ParkFvuit f: Pasta and sushiFvuit i: Avocado juice

Marco BonanoMi



MeritusdrIVer alVaro Parente

His Latin good looksand racing pedigreemake Alvaro Parentea rm favourite withfemale racing fans.

In fact, during the fourth roundof the GP2 Asia Series in Doha,

a female race ofcial remarkedthat Parente and his My QiMeritus.Mahara team mate MarcoBonanomi, have made Meritus thebest looking team on the grid!

While Parente may enjoythe attention, he only has a onetrack mind when he is behindthe wheel, and that is to get thechequered ag.

He made a stunning start tohis GP2 career in the openinground of last season at the Circuitde Catalunya, Parente won thefeature race making him the rstPortuguese driver to win in GP2Series.

There, Parente led from startto nish, to claim victory ahead ofBrazilian Bruno Senna and UAEsAndreas Zuber. He eventuallynished eighth in the driverschampionship.

While chalking up points forhis previous team, he noticed theall-red My Qi Meritus.Maharacars in the GP2 Asia Series.

I heard about the teamlast season and followed thechampionship and watched them.I can remember the Indonesia

podium with Luca di Filippi. Theteam have a very good image. Itwas not hard for Peter Thompsonand Gianfranco Bielli to convinceme to join such a strong team,said Parente.

The teams results have

shaken established teams withtheir performance. Ill do my bestto show the team, Questnet, thesponsor, and the fans what I cando. I hope that my experience inGP2 and A1 Grand Prix will help.

A close friend of ManchesterUnited winger CristianoRonaldo, Parente is obviously abig football fan and even did anadvertisement with the worldplayer of the year. He also enjoystennis and said both those sportshelped him keep in shape duringthe off season.

I stayed t by doing lots ofsports tennis, football withouthurting myself going to the gym.Sports takes a lot of time in aday, he said.

Mentally I just stay relaxedand focused on the approachto a race. I try to imagine andconcentrate on the next track.

I have raced in Sepang beforeso I know what to expect. Imdetermined to make it a grandtime for our fans. I have tastedvictory in GP2 before and whoknows, with a little bit of luck, wecould be celebrating a podium

P

dd dhf

nish in Malaysia.Parente started competitive

racing in karts in 1994 when hewas just 10, winning nationalchampionships along the way. Hisrst major success came in 1998when he won the European JuniorKarting Championship.

He continued to impress andby 2001, at the age of 16 joined theSpanish F3 Championship and theyear after nished fourth overall.

In 2003 he joined the F3Euroseries as his career reallybegan to ourish. He alsocompeted in Italian Formula 3and British Formula 3, where hecontinued in 2004 and endedup winning the competitivechampionship in 2005 taking

11 wins along the way. Theperformance earned him a chancto represent his country in thenewly launched A1 Grand PrixSeries.

In 2006 Parente joined theWorld Series by Renault and toohis rst win in only his fth raceHe became the series champion year later with two race wins, anve podium nishes.

As a prize for winning theWorld Series, Parente tested forthe Renault F1 team in 2008 andjoined the GP2 series winning thopening round of the season.

Parente became a My Qi-Meritus.Mahara driver in GP2Asia as of the Doha roundin 2009.



MeritusdrIVer

dt f Bith: 4 Oct 1984P f bith: Porto, Portugal

rs t: 172Wis: 20Piums: 40P psitis: 15Fstst ps: 10Wbsit: www.alvaro-parente.comHight: 173 cmWight: 69 kges: BrownB tp: A+Hbbis: Surng, Tennis, SoccerFvuit musi: Buzzin, Shwayze,CiscoFvuit f: ItalianFvuit i: Orange juice,Soccerade

alvaro Parente



Meritus



MeritusdrIVer

Rio HaRyanto is facing thebiggest challenge of his youngcareer. Just 16, the Indonesia ladwill spearhead Meritus challengein this years Formula BMWPacic.

Meritus have dominated theFormula BMW for the last sixyears, easily taking the team titlewith a combination of hard work,talent and most important of all,great team effort.

Meritus drivers like NarainKartikeyan, Takuma Sato, EarlBamber, Jazeman Jaafar and Ross

Jamison have all won the Formula

BMW drivers title and this couldbe the year for Rio to join the elitelist of winners.

Rio, who began his racingcareer with karts when he was onlysix-years-old, said he is delightedto make the step up to single-seater racing.

Everyone knows about Meritusand their winning tradition. Myelder brother, Roy, drove for themseveral years ago and Im glad tofollow in his footsteps, said Rio,who has received the backingof Indonesian Sports Minister

lf f r

Adhyaksa Dault.It is going to be a long hard

season and getting used to theextra speed in Formula BMW willbe the toughest challenge. Thiswill be my rst major test on theroad to fullling my dream ofeventually becoming a Formula 1driver.

I know that may seem like animpossible task as not many Asians

have succeeded in F1, but I will domy best to get to the highest levelpossible in motorsports, addedRio, who idolises the late AyrtonSenna.

Rio certainly has the rightcredentials as he was the quickestdriver in the nal two rounds of ofpre-season testing in March.

Team owner-cum-managerFirhat Mokhzani said: We have a

great car and a good driver but aswe all know, we cant take anythinfor granted in racing.

We must continue workinghard as anything can happenduring qualifying and we must beon the look out to ensure we geteverything right on race weekend

Team founder and president,Peter Thompson said: Rios oldebrother, Roy, raced for us 12 yearsago and he was the one who put uin touch with Rio.

Rio has taken to the FormulaBMW like a duck to water. He hasbeen brilliant in all our testing an

has consistently topped the timesThere is a lot of pressure on h

young shoulders but Im sure Riohas what it takes to continue ourwinning tradition.

I have been very impressedwith his times as he has been abohalf a second quicker than all hisrivals during testing. This augurswill for the coming season whichbegins in Malaysia next month.

If Rio lives up to his potential,then there will be a carnival inhis hometown big enough to rivalanything found Brazil.

Rio Haryanto,Indonesian SportsMinister Adhyaksa

Dault and PeterThompson.

rioHaryanTo

dt f bith: 22/1/1993Hight: 1.68mWigh: 60kgHbbis: Fishing, snorkelingFvuit i: Milo, mineralwaterFvuit f: Pasta, pizza,nasi lemak

rig i: Aryton Senna



MeritusdrIVer

Dustin sofyan has bigdreams. And that is to follow inthe footsteps of the great MichaelSchumacher.

The 14-year-old Indonesian hascertainly come to the right placeto learn his race craft as he will bedriving for Meritus Racing in thisseasons Formula BMW Pacic.

Meritus are Asias mostsuccessful motorsports team,having won 32 international titlesin the past 12 years.

Six of those titles have comefrom consecutive Formula BMWteam crowns while the likes of

Narain Kartikeyan, Takuma Sato,Earl Bamber, Jazeman Jaafar andRoss Jamison have taken theFormula BMW drivers title.

Such exalted company doesnot fazed Dustin, who said hecant wait for the ag off for thisseasons championship.

Im delighted Meritus have putme in their car for this seasonsFormula BMW. It will be a bigchallenge but Im looking forwardto it, said Dustin, who is also intowater sports.

I would love to emulate my

D w bw shmh

hero, Michael Schumacher, andrace in Formula 1 one day but Iknow it wont be easy. Im stilltrying to get a good education asa back-up. It is not easy jugglingboth but I feel it is important forme to have a back-up plan.

Im looking at driving for TeamIndonesian in A1 in ve years timeand then moving on to F1. I dontknow if I can do it, but it has been

my dream for a long time and Ihope to achieve it.

Team owner-cum-managerFirhat Mokhzani said he has beenpleasantly surprised by Dustin.

He may be 14, but he has amatured head on his shoulders,said Firhat.

We have been quite pleasedwith his attitude during our recenttests. He just needs to stay focus a

little more but that will come witmore races under his belt.

It is never easy making thestep up to single-seaters butDustin has the right attitude tosucceed.

Team founder, PeterThompson, said: We waited 12years to get another Indonesiandriver and suddenly, two gemscome along.

It just goes to show how muctalent there really is in South EasAsia.

Round 1 Malaysia(April 3-5, 2 races)

Round 2 Malaysia(May 22-24, 4 races)

Round 3 Indonesia(July 17-19, 4 races)

Round 4 Singapore(Sept 25-27, 2 races)

Round 5 Japan(Oct 30-Nov 1, 2 races)

Round 6 Macau(Nov 20-22, 1 race)

ForMula BMW PaciFic

calenDar

DustinSoFyan

dt f bith: 29/7/1994Hight: 1.65mWight: 60kgHbbis: Fishing, water sports,hanging out with friendsFvuit i: SpriteFvuit f: American, ItalianIndonesian and Malaysian food

rig i: Michael Schumache



MeritusTeam manager firhaT Mokhzani

Firhat Mokhzani joinedMeritus as ManagingDirector of AsianOperations in 1999, and led

the team to championship successfor the rst time with a Malaysiandriver (Ng Wai Leong) in 2000.

With the restructuring of theteam in 2005 Firhat took on theextra role as Team Managerin charge of all the team raceoperations. He is also responsiblefor specic data analysissupporting the teams engineersand drivers.

As a former successful racerhimself, Firhat knows what ittakes to to create champions. Heis sometimes referred to as myolder brother by some of Meritusdrivers as he is constantly by theirside advising them and helpingcorrect their faults.

Recognised as Asias mostsuccessful team manager, Firhathas helped the Meritus RacingTeam cement their positionas Asias most successfulmotorsports team with 32 titles inthe past 12 years.

TR: You had a successful year lastseason with Jazeman Jaafar. You

seem to have the knack of polishrough diamonds. That can be seenwith James Grunwell who has wonthe Formula V6 Asia title. Whatsyour secret?Firhat: There is no secret really.It is not easy and maybe Ive beenlucky but Ive had some talenteddrivers to work with.

We are in the business ofteaching them to take care ofthemselves, how to train properlyrace craft and how to handle themedia and sponsors.

Once we have taught themthese values, we go into testingand it is easier for the driver toimprove.

TR: Drivers such as Indias NarainKarthikeyan and Takuma Satohave graduated from Meritus intoFormula 1. Can we expect moreMeritus drivers to make the gradeFirhat: We have a good historyof unearthing good driversand it is my hope that we shallcontinue to do so. Earl Bamberearned rave reviews for his recenperformances and surprised manwhen he nished on the podiumin his rst two A1 races as well asnishing second in the GP2 Asia

Bg b F



MeritusTeam manager

Series. We also have great driverslike Rio Haryanto and DustinSufyan, to name but two. So thepotential is there.

TR: Meritus Racing have beenknown as a stepping stone towardsbigger things for drivers, mostprominently your part in the earlyyears of Takuma Satos carreerand a host of other drivers whovenow moved on. An interesting newaddition to the teams repertoireis set to be backed by sponsors Qi.Can you tell us a bit more about it?Firhat: It is a scholarshipprogramme for promisingMalaysian drivers. As youknow, Qi is a very passionatelyMalaysian company and theywanted to do something morefor the sport, rather than just besponsors of the team. On top ofthat, weve realised that the natureof the sport means the driversmainly come from those who havethe support from big sponsorsor from well-to-do families. Thisprogramme will give youngdrivers who are not so fortunate,the chance to achieve theirgoals. In a way, it is about givingsomething back to the sport.

W t busss t t t t tslvs, w t tpply, t w t l t spss. o wv tut t tsvlus, w t tst t s s tv t pv.

Track record 2008 2



Meritus driversForMula v6 asia series

EARL BAMBERCompetition N. 88

Date of Birth: July 9 1990Place of Birth: New Zealand

Nationality: New Zealand

JAMES GRUNWELLCompetition N. 38

Date of Birth: February 4 1989Place of Birth: Holland

Nationality: British

ForMula BMW asia

PePPer tasMiN

Competition N. 33

Date of Birth: June 19 1990Place of Birth: South AfricaNationality: South African

ross JaMisoNCompetition N. 88

Date of Birth: March 19 1990Place of Birth: Hong KongNationality: Irish

CHristoPHer WoottoN

Competition N. 68

Date of Birth: December 11 1988Place of Birth: AustraliaNationality: Australian

roslaN arviN

Competition N. 78

Date of Birth: December 11 1988Place of Birth: Malaysia

Nationality: Malaysian

siMoN Moss

Competition N. 38

Date of Birth: July 20 1991Place of Birt: South AfricaNationality: South African

HuZair HuraN rasiP

Competition N. 58

Date of Birth: Sept 20 1988Place of Birth: MalaysianNationality: Malaysian

KaZeeM MaNZur

Competition N. 28

Date of Birth: July 8 1991Place of Birth: BritainNationality: Britain

MeritusdrIVer a look back aT 2008



MeritusdrIVer

SUCCESS and Meritus gohand-in-hand. In a year when therewere many new champions inmost motor racing categories, beit on two wheels or four, aroundthe world, the Meritus brand hascontinued to prosper in Asia

Five Asian titles this season andaccolades like being the only 81stcompany to be awarded Superbrand status in Asia, make Meritusthe team all drivers dream ofjoining.

James Grunwell delivered thelatest titles to the Malaysian-basedteam when he was crownedchampion in the Formula V6 Asiain Shanghai, China.

The British driver, who wasborn in Holland but races out ofThailand, won three of the lastfour races of the Formula V6 Asianseason to pip The Pizza CompanyTeam Qi-Meritus team mate

Bamber to the title.Grunwell nished with 133

points, while Bamber ended with105 despite not competing in thelast four races. The Pizza CompanyTeam Qi-Meritus also took theteam championship with 235points, 79 more than their rivals.These two championships werethe 31st and 32nd that the Meritusteam have won in 12 years.

It feels good to win theChampionship but I amdisappointed at the way the lastrace went. We went one way with

the setup, but for the conditions itwas a bit difcult to choose whatto do. Then it started pouring rightbefore the start. That was not whatwe needed because it was dryingup two to three hours before therace so we thought it would keepdrying up, so when it rained itmade the car difcult to drive. Itwas a gamble that didnt pay off.

Im happy with the way theweekend went. Three out of four isnot too bad and being the FormulaV6 Asia Champion is good to haveon your resume because a lot ofgood drivers have come out of thisSeries said Grunwell.

Meritus, who have dominatedthe Formula BMW Pacic for thelast six years, made it anotherclean sweep this season whenRoss Jamison clinched the driverstitle with 222 points. Simon Mosstook the rookie driver of the year

award with 132 points to nishthird overall. In the team category,Meritus collected 378 points, amassive 99 points ahead of theirclosest rivals.

The focus is now on the GP2Asia series with sensationalyoung driver, Earl Bamber ofNew Zealand and Malaysias onlyFormula 1 pilot Alex Yoong leadingthe way for My Qi-Meritus.Mahara.

In the teams rst outing of thenew season in China in October,Bamber earned points in both thesprint and main races, including a

podium nish in the sprint event.In doing so, Bamber, 18, becamethe youngest ever driver to nishinside the top three of a GP2 race.

Bamber has continued toimpress in other series as well.He was on the podium in hisrst three A1 GP races for hishome country while he hasalso competed in InternationalFormula Master, Formula MasterItaly, the Australian Formula 3Championship, Formula V6 Asiaand Toyota Racing Series NewZealand.

Yoong had a mixed start to hisseason but it was understandableas he had been out of racing formost of the year. With more timeracing and several test drives inother series like Speedcar, theMalaysian is expected to be amongthose challenging for the race leadfrom now on.

We have the right combinationof youth and experience for theGP2 team, said team founder,Peter Thompson.

Alex and Earl know eachother so well and in fact, Alexwas Earls rst ever driver coach.They work well together and aredetermined to help us to the teamchampionship.

Im actually quite excited to beback in Dubai. We have a specialrelationship with the people hereand the support we get from thefans is phenomenal.

anhccf

n fM

Fm v6 asi

Driver standings(Top five)

1. JaMes GruNWell (The Pizza

Company Qi-Meritus,

Thailand) 1332. earl BaMBer

(The PizzaCompany Qi-Meritus,New Zealand) 105

3. isaiaH-ro CHarleZ(Black Tara,Australia) 85

4. MarK WilliaMsoN(Team TARADTM,Australia) 79

5. HaFiZ KoH(Team TARADTN,Singapore) 77

Team standings (Top five)1. Th Pizz cmpny

Tm Qi-Mitus 2352. Tm TaradTM 156

3. b T 142

4. chmp Mtspt 91

5. e-rin ring 67

FmBMW Pif

Driver standings(Top five)

1. ross JaMisoN

(Meritus,Hong Kong) 222

2. seaN MCdoNaGH(E-Rain,South Korea) 173

3. siMoN Moss

(Meritus,Hong Kong) 132

4. GaBriel CHaves

(Atlantic Racing Team,Colombia) 130

5. ryuiCHi Nara(E-Rain, Japan) 112

Team standings (Top five)1. Mitus 378

2. e-rin 279

3. Tm Hz PFX 218

4. eusi Mtspt 143

5. Mh 137

rk-f-h-y

siMoN Moss

(Meritus, Hong Kong)

a look back aT 2008



Meritus

SINCE the successful conclusionof the 10th Petronas FormulaOne (F1) Malaysian GrandPrix at Sepang InternationalCircuit (SIC), it has been saidthat Malaysia will see a boom

in the development of the localmotorsport industry. Malaysian-owned Meritus Team Founderand President Peter Thompsonexplains why he is upbeat aboutthe industry in this part of theworld.

Motorsport is big business inEurope and the United States, butin Asia, the multi-billion-dollarindustry only started to takeshape 10 years ago. With the rapiddevelopment of the automotiveindustry, experts say it could bethe next big thing in Asia, witha money-churning potentialcurrently only in the region ofUS$ 20-US$ 30 million for theprovision of race engineering andchampionship management.

In Malaysia, analysts putthe gure of national benetsgenerated at RM727.6 millionover the past 10 years since theinaugural Grand Prix was held inSepang in 1998, while the tourismspin-off from this major sportingevent was estimated at RM1 billionannually.

According to Thompson,the founder of Meritus - theleading multi- dimensional sportsmarketing and race engineering

services company based in KualaLumpur - when he rst set uphis company 12 years ago, Asianmotorsport was not on the radarscreens of Europe. Ten years later,after Malaysias very own F1 SICwas completed, Singapores formerPrime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew,regretted that he had overlookedthe potential of the industry.

SIC, covering a 5.542-km racingtrack, is said to be one of the bestin the world. The rst country inAsia to host Southeast Asias rstF1 event, Malaysia won F1s Best

Grand Prix Circuit in 1999.Since then, we now have the

Chinese Grand Prix, the BahrainGrand Prix and within two years,will have two more regional GrandPrix in Abu Dhabi and India.

Asian motorsport is well on itsway to equalling the values of itsEuropean counterparts.

Thompson says within thepast decade, China has builtsix circuits, with each of thesefacilities hosting national andinternational events annually.Since the inaugural Bahrain GrandPrix, we have seen the growth ofmotorsport in the Middle East,which now has ve motorsportfacilities.

The momentum of themotorsport industry has alreadystarted with many young Asianmotorsport careers already ontrack to F1, he enthuses, pointingout that Singapore is also forgingahead with its own Grand Prix in2008 and is set to beat the world-famous Monaco GP as the locationfor corporate entertainment andproduct promotions.

In England, Thompson says, theindustry is estimated to be worthsomething like US$2 billion a year.

These gures include themanufacturing of the majority ofthe worlds racing cars supplyingthousands of motorsportchampionships taking placeweekly on many hundreds of

circuits across Europe, whereasin Asia at the moment, there areonly a handful of championshipsannually, he adds.

With the industry linked totourism and advertising budgets,Thompson says he has everyreason to be upbeat about theindustrys potential growth inAsia, and Malaysian corporationsshould take advantage ofmotorsport sponsorship as anefcient promotional medium fortheir products to reach a globalaudience.

With vast media coverage ofmotorsport events, brand visibilitis foremost on Thompsons mindwhen he talks passionately aboutthe benets that Meritus offers tocorporate Malaysia, in terms of

advertising dollars.In Malaysia, within a spanof ve months from July toNovember last year, Meritushad accumulated a total of 146articles, with a regional total of485 generating over US$9 millionof print media advertising value.With each article, there is brandvisibility coming across from thepages of the print and electronicmedia, he says.

The next big icon is Malaysiavery own 15-year-old Jazeman

Jaafar - possibly the youngest- who came rst in the 2007Formula BMW Asia with Meritushe says. By comparison, the costof training someone like Jazemanin Asia would cost a familyUS$200,000 in Asia, whereasin Europe, it could be twice thegure. Yet, with the emergenceof world- class racers like theteenaged Jazeman, it clearlyproves that the quality of trainingin Asia or Europe is no different,and Jazeman has proved this istrue with his fth place nish fro29 starters in his rst Europeanevent last week.

It is a lot cheaper to trainthe racers in Asia, because of

the lower cost structure, andJazemans success in Europe willpromote the benets of Asianmotorsport to young Europeanslooking for a more cost-effectiveroute to hone their racecraft forF1.

The estimated cost to bringthe racer through from Kartingto F1 is around US$7 million toUS$8 million. These costs are forthe provision of race engineeringservices from teams like Meritus.

Malaysian Busine

ZooMing in

In Mlysi,within spnf v mnthsfm July tNvmblst y,Mitus humult ttl f 146tils, with ginlttl f 485

gnting vUS$9 millinf pint mivtisingvlu. Withh til,th is bnvisibility mingss fmth pgs fth pint nltnimi.



Meritus

GP2 SerieS Organiser BrunoMichel talks objectives and stakesfor 2009 and beyond...

Bruno, the first 2009 GP2 testsession took place last week at PaulRicard. What first conclusions canyou draw?Those rst three days have beenvery positive: our 2009 update kithas been reliable and competitivefrom the get go. Every day, trackrecords were broken in all circuitcongurations. We wanted togain performance from our newengine and so far, the resultshave been more than satisfactory.And regarding our grid, thecompetition will see more

experienced GP2 race winnersface off extremely talented rookie.Our twenty-six drivers representsixteen different nationalitieson all ve continents and oureld contains 24 race winners insingle-seater categories, includingGP2. Our championship has neverbeen healthier or more successfulwith the twenty-six racers ghtingto get a drive in the series. I amcondent that we are looking at avery exciting new season.

This year marks an important

anniversary in the history of GP2 asthe championship enters in its fifthyear. How would you evaluate thefirst four seasons?When we launched this newchampionship back in 2005, wehad one aim: to build a categorywhich would display and developthe talent and the capacities ofyoung drivers aspiring to makeit into Formula One. Five yearslater, I am delighted to say that ourmission has been accomplishedwith seven current Formula Onedrivers who are GP2 graduatesincluding two F1 teams relyingentirely on the talent andexperience of former GP2 drivers.This only makes our series the

most successful feeder categoryfor F1.

What would you say is the secret ofGP2s success?Basically one of the keys toour success is to be able torun alongside Formula One.That means that our driversand teams are in the sameenvironment of Formula One andtheir performance is constantlymonitored by the F1 teamsprincipals and experts. Not onlydo we produce dramatic races at

DriVers stANDiNGs(tOP 10)

1. kmui kbyshiDams 392. dvi Vlshi

Durango 293. Ni Hulnbg

ART Grand Prix 274. Sgi Pz Campos 255. rln riguz

Piquet GP 226. Jm `ambsi

Dams 217. Vitly Ptv Campos 198. Jvi Vill Super Nova 129. e Mt

Team Arden 1110. el Bmb

My Qi Meritus.Mahara 8

teAM stANDiNGs

1. daMS 602. cmps 443. arT Gn Pix 344. dung 295. Piqut GP 226. Tm an 137. Sup Nv 128. My Qi Mitus.Mh 89. GFH iSpt 710. Tint 511. on ring 012. FMS 013. dPr 0

Mchl: O champonhp ha nvbn halh o mo ccfl

a high-level, but we have becomean exciting shop-window for

teams and drivers. Another ofour recipe to success is that weare running with cars extremelysimilar to the ones running in F1and we are racing on the sametrack. Therefore, GP2 is the perfecttraining ground and steppingstone to the highest level of single-seater. The best example todayis of course Lewis Hamilton whograbbed the title in 2008 only inhis second F1 season, highlightingour role as the most successfulFormula One feeder category. -gp2series.com



Meritus

Priding itself with anew logo; armed withrenewed spirit andrecharged enthusiasm,Sepang International

Circuit (SIC) is embarking on anew beginning as it moves intoits second decade of operations.Declaring themselves as theall-new SIC team and a rechangedteam under the leadership of ayoung Chief Executive Ofcer

(CEO) Ahmad Razlan AhmadRazali, SIC aims to take the circuit

and Malaysias motorsport as awhole to a new level.

Driven by a motto alive withambition; and the belief thattogether, as a team, SIC can bringthese ambitions to life, Razlan,who ofcially took ofce onOctober 5, last year, immediatelybrought in a few new hands andyoung minds, which he hopedwould supplement the experienceof the existing team.

To move forward, SIC needsto evolve. SIC needs to undergo

Spng Intntinlciuit (SIc) will intu nw tphy f th 2009Mlysin Gn Pix fmapil 3-5. ( pix tth)

rnults ubl wlhmpin Fnn alnshs 21 Gn Pix wins, mthn ny th unt iv.Fis 2007 hmpinkimi rinn hs 17 nBzilin tm mt FlipMss 11. Lwis Hmiltn hsnin.

Th winn f thaustlin Gn Pix hsgn n t b hmpin inight f th lst 11 ys nth lst th ssns in w.

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Bwn GP, pling Hn ming thi but s tm.

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Tyts Itlin Jn Tullistt his 200th inaustli

F1 CALeNDAr01 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

(Mlbun) Mh 27-29

02 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX(kul Lumpu) apil 3-5

03 CHINESE GRAND PRIX(Shnghi) apil 17-19

04BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX(Shi) apil 24-26

05 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA(ctluny) My 8-10

06 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009(Mnt cl) My 21-24

07 TURKISH GRAND PRIX(Istnbul) Jun 5-7

08BRITISH GRAND PRIX(Silvstn) Jun 19-21

09 GROSSER PREIS VONDEUTSCHLAND2009(Nbuging) July 10-12

10 MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009(Bupst) July 24-26

11 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE(Vlni) aug 21-23

12 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX(Sp-Fnhmps) aug 28-30

13 GRAN PREMIO DITALIA 2009(Mnz) Spt 11-13

14 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX(Singp) Spt 25-27

15 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX(Suzu) ot 2-4

16 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL(S Pul) ot 16-18

17 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX(Ys Min ciuit) ot 30-Nv 1

sgng Ahad,

Blazng Fowadchanges and that is what I hadmade and would be making inSIC changes for the better ofthe organisation, said Razlan,who revamped the existing workorganisation and introduceda leading team of six chiefs marketing, technical, nance,corporate and support services,corporate communications andevents.

With injection of fresh

ideas from the new recruitsand supported by the massiveexperience from the existing team,SIC will be even greater. Thecircuit has gone through 10 yearsof success and the time has cometo build on bigger success with anew identity.

Lets not turn back and lookat the past. Instead, we need tolook forward to take SIC to a newlevel, he said, adding that changeswere necessary to move forwardand that each and every individualat the company would need toaccept changes to be better.

We need to get out of the box.We need to implement new andvibrant ideas. We simply need tochange to be better, said Razlan,who is known for his deep lovefor motorsports; having spentmany years building the highlysuccessful Pineapple MotorsportsRacing Team.

The 2009 Formula OnePetronas Malaysian Grand Prixwill not just be a race. Its ashow a showcase of the worldsbest racing drivers in the worldsfastest cars; and a world classperformance of a world-renownedinternational icon Jamiroquai.

And; above all that, theres plentymore packages of excitementduring that race weekend.

Indeed, its going to be anevent that no Malaysian shouldmiss. We are offering the cheapestF1 ticket as compared to all theother F1 venues; and we are evengiving special discount packagesfor school children and collegestudents. Friday is open for freefor all; and children under-12 arealso allowed in for free at the openhillstands for all three days to seethis world class race.

F1 stAts



Meritus

HONG Kong-basedgroup Qi Ltd, whichboasts a market baseof over three million

independent representatives andretail customers in both Asiaand the Middle East, has injecteda total of RM10 million intosponsorship of Meritus racers overthe past two years.

The synergy which beganbetween Qi and Meritus since thelast leg of Formula V6 in Zhuhai,

China in 2006 has brought somany mutual benets for bothsponsor and racer team that,within the next ve years, Qiexpects to pump in an averageof between RM5 million to RM7million a year, depending on theeconomic condition, in its quest topromote motorsports in Malaysia.

Call this patriotism, but if itsinvolvement in motorsports iscapable of generating goodwill,boosting sales and reinforcingQis brand image, the sponsorshipdenitely makes good business

Q nvbg n M

sense when adopted as amainstream marketing activity.

Speaking to MalaysianBusiness, Qi Ltds Director ofInvestment Management KunaSenathirajah says most part of theRM10 million spent in the past twoyears has gone into sponsorshipsand other forms of hospitality andpublic relations programmes inAsia and the Middle East.

Has Qi discovered a creativeway of marketing that has long

been discovered by avid sponsorsof Formula One and other GrandPrix in Europe and the UnitedStates?

A convinced Kuna believesthat Qi has achieved its ultimateobjective as Meritus Golden TitleSponsor.

As a matter of fact, we noticea correlation between ourannual sales turnover and Qisinvolvement in the motorsportssince two years ago, he enthuses.

Just seeing 5,000 of itscustomers in Doha wearing the

Qi- Meritus shirts up on the standduring the GP2 Asia race recentlywas already a great feeling.

It was like a family dayenvironment, where ourcustomers were able to interactwith the Meritus team we hadsponsored, he elaborates.

Qi has its own brand imageand its core values. As part ofour brand development, we havechosen to sponsor the motorsporon a long-term approach to

project Qis image as a dynamicmultinational conglomerate thatis always spearheading into newterritories. Five years ago, wewould never have thought ofmotorsports, but since it is capabof reaching our market segment,we decided to give it a shot.

It is well noted that 10 yearsafter Malaysias very ownFormula One Sepang Circuit wascompleted and the rst PetronasFormula One was held in 1999,a year construction began,even Singapore has asked to be

Qi, whihls bgn in1998, with itshqutsin Hngkng n nptinsf inMlysi,

ty njysn nnultunvf US$500millin(rM1.55billin) in-mmbusinss.



abut Qi LtQi Lt, multintinl nglmt withginl fs in Mlysi, Hng kng,n Singp, ws stblish in 1998 tsph th vlpmnt f ynmigup f mpnis. Th pily xpning QIGup f cmpnis businss ptfli vstiling, tvl n lisu t inttivmting, thnlgy, nnil svis,pt invstmnts, tining n utin,businss nsulting n lgistis.

Th Qi Gup, thugh its subsiiisn ssit mpnis, hs psn innly 30 untis, inluing n ptinlhquts in Mlysi, mting nput vlpmnt tm in Thiln n tlmmunitins m in th Unitkingm. Th Qi Gup hs v 1,000mplys, n glbl ustm bs f

m thn th millin sp ss 160untis. F m infmtin, pls visitwww.qi-lt.m.

abut QustNtQustNt is th gship businss f Qi Ltn is ling ntw mting mpnysving lmst fu millin ntpnusss th glb. Thugh its inusty-lingmting svis, QustNt is istibut

f wllnss puts, limit itin ins nmllins, wths n jwlly, hliymmbships, n thnlgy puts.

QustNt is suppt by n xtnsivntw f psnttiv fs nssit mpnis in Mlysi, Singp,Hng kng, Innsi, th Philippins, Suthk, Thiln, Tiwn, Unit ab emits,Ini n Bzil. Fin ut m t www.qust.nt.

abut Th VV Glbl Mngmnt Sn Bh (Th V) isn intntinl mting, tining vnts,ntw mngmnt n vlpmntmpny fus n pviing qulity tiningt gwing numb f glbl ntpnus.Th V is hqut in kul Lumpu,Mlysi with fs n V Tining cnts(VTcs) in Philippins, Ini n cn. Itssubsiiis inlu V-Stuis (Putincmpny), GITa (Tining amy) n PrWlWi Liv (evnts cmpny). Th V is mmb f th QI Gup f cmpnis. Fm infmtin, pls visit www.th-v.nt.

Meritus

included in the Formula One racecircuit recently. Its former PrimeMinister, Lee Kuan Yew regrettedthat he had overlooked thepotential of the industry.

Qi, which also began in 1998,with its headquarters in HongKong and an operations ofce inMalaysia, today enjoys an annualturnover of US$500 million(RM1.55 billion) in e-commercebusiness. Its offerings are mainlyhigh-end products targeted at the

middle- class market segment insome 160 countries around theworld.

The nature of our businessand our long-term strategy is tofocus on the creation of world-class champions, quips Kuna.We share the Meritus vision todevelop young talents who willhopefully someday emerge asworld champions.

For that, Qi has achieved itsultimate business objective as amajor title sponsor.

- Malaysian Business

W sh thMitus visin tvlp yungtlnts wh willhpfully smymg s wlhmpins.



Meritus

TR: What are your thoughts on theteams debut season in the GP2 Asialast year?Steffen: I think it was a boldstep given the fact that it was ourrst foray in the GP2 Asia series.I am extremely proud that wewere and still are the only truly

Asian team who had a relativelygood performance in their rookieseason.

I am proud of My Qi-Meritus.Mahara who put together anexperienced and accomplishedteam that will surely producequality results a second timearound. They have a winninghistory with Formula BMW andFormula V6, especially in therookie championships, so now itstime to take what theyve learnedand apply it to winning the GP2Asia series championship.

TR: What are the improvementsthat you expect to see in the team inthe new season?Steffen: Seeing as this is thesecond time the My Qi-Meritus.Mahara team will work together,I think you will see the chemistryand synergy that developed duringthe rst season. I believe this willbe the dening moment whereMy Qi-Meritus.Mahara makes aname for itself, ultimately bringingMalaysia, their home country, tothe world.

Earl Bamber made us proudwhen he became the youngestever driver to have a podium nish

in GP2 history when he clinchedrunners-up in the sprint race inChina in October.

Bearing in mind, it was his onlyhis second ever GP2 race,it wascertainly a great achievement.

TR: Why did the company decide toget involved in motorsportsand howhas it gained?Steffen: QuestNet, Qis agshipcompany, serves over 4 millionnetwork marketing IndependentRepresentatives (IR) worldwideand we believe a parallel exists

between motorsports andnetwork marketing. Both careerpaths require discipline, passion,goal-setting, and an overallcommitment to success. Itsthat winning attitude that hasbrought QuestNet as well as MyQi-Meritus.Mahara to where we

are today.We have also found that ourIRs really feed off the excitementconnected to motorsports,especially in Malaysia and theMiddle East. This ultimatelytranslates into another way tomotivate our IRs to perform attheir highest level.

TR: What has been the singlebiggest impact of being involved inmotorsports?Steffen: Performance. Youreally see the passion andenthusiasm on the faces of ourIRs while attending the raceevents. We have seen positiveresults following race weekendswhere our IRs have switchedinto a higher gear, ultimatelyenhancing their performance inthe business. Motorsports is by fathe ideal platform to inspire ourrepresentatives.

TR: Whats the next step for thecompany and how is it handling thglobal credit crunch?Steffen: During these difculttimes, there is no other betterbusiness that can survive andweather the storm than network

marketing. QuestNet providespeople with an alternative to atraditional business. Think aboutit, millions could potentiallylose their jobs and most will ndnetwork marketing to be theirsilver lining.

Its also good to note thatQuestNet started in 1998 whenthe economy in Asia was alsovery bleak, and look where we artoday. We operate on the basicprinciple of enabling people torealise their dreams and thatswhat keep us going.

Q and

M,a cpfo cc

Joachim Steffen, Qi GP2 Project Director, has been followingthe progress of Malaysian-Saudi racing outt, My Qi-Meritus.Mahara since the inaugural seasons. He knows theups and downs of motorsports means no team and no drive

can ever be sure certain of winning until the chequered ag i

waved.But My Qi-Meritus.Maharas success story, 32 Asian titles injust 12 years, has convinced Steffen Qi has made a wise moveinvesting in the only truly Asian team on grid for the GP2 Asianseries.

He shares his thoughts with Track Record.



Meritus

The economic crunch maybe hitting peoples wallets aroundthe world, but the chairman ofthe Dubai Autodrome is condenthis circuit will continue to growand host many more major racingevents.

Saeed Khalfan, who has beenworking tirelessly to promotemotor racing in the MiddlesEast, said everything is in placenancially, for Dubai Autodrometo continue to shine as a beaconfor motorsports enthusiasts in theMiddle East.

I know many people areworried about the economiccrunch but I would like to assuremotor racing fans that all ourproposed events, such as theSpeedcar and GP2 Asia Series will

go on as planned, he said.Our academy is also doing a

good job. Our aim is to help makemotorsports the most popularsporting event in the MiddleEast. We have also been helpedby the decision to hold FormulaOne races in Bahrain. We havebeneted from the publicity and

Dba Aodomn af hand

we hope to continue doing our bitfor motor racing.

For the record, the DubaiAutodrome was the regions rstfully integrated motorsportsfacility. The complex, a partof the Union PropertiesMotorcity development, notonly includes an FIA sanctioned5.39km circuit, which offers sixdifferent congurations, but also

incorporates a Race & Drivingschool and a CIK approvedKarting track.

Ofcially inaugurated inOctober 2004 when it hostedthe nal round of the FIA GTChampionship, the DubaiAutodrome is designed toaccommodate all types of

motosports events from worldclass to local. This multi-purposecomplex also serves as an idealsetting for concerts and corporateevents, whether conferences,seminars, or motoring exhibitions.

Built to world-class standards,the Dubai Autodrome offersmanufacturers and racing teamsa perfect location for testing,prototype development, vehicledemonstrations, product launches,driver training, and hot weathercar research for internationalmanufacturers.

On his future plans for thecircuit, Saeed said: Obviously,we would love to host a FormulaOne race but with Bahrain alreadyhosting one and another at AbuDhabi from 2009, the odds are

quite slim.That has not deterred us from

continuing to put on a grandshow for the GP2 and Speedcarseries. We are proud and happyour region has got two Formula 1races and we will continue to helpour neighbours to promote theirevents.

Tat as t dtrrd us fr tug t put a gradsw fr t GP2 ad Spdar srs. W ar prud adappy ur rg as gt tw Frula 1 ras ad w wll

tu t lp ur gburs t prt tr vts.

I nwmnyppl wibut thnmiunh bu

I wul lit ssumting fntht ll uppsvnts,suhs thSpn GP2asi Siwill gn splnn.

Meritus



Meritus

The firsT ever night race inGP2 history took place at theLosail Circuit, in Doha, Qatar, inMarch and watt a sight it was.Using 1/3 the capacity of sunlight,some drivers commented it wasas clear asday.

The 5.380km track with 10right turns and six left, made it achallenging event for the drivers,none of whom raced there before.

My Qi Meritus.Mahara, hadmixed success in their rst everGP2 Asia night races. Thoughthey failed to nish in the points,despite setting the fastest lap inthe main race, the sight of 5,000

QuestNet fans illuminating thegrand stand put a smile on thefaces of every Meritus teammember.

As a team, My Qi-Meritus.Mahara representa unique link between twoworlds: an all-Asian world witha team based in Malaysia thatis virtually the Ambassador ofAsian Motorsport abroad; and theMiddle Eastern world throughtheir Saudi partner, chairman ofthe Team, Raad S. Abduljawad.

Team founder, Peter

Wa- gh

Thompson said: QuestNet usedthe inaugural Doha GP2 event topromote their expanding networkin Doha by inviting 5,000 fanswho cheered enthusiastically forthe team for two nights in a rowfrom the grandstands.

The QuestNet fans wereso supportive of the team andI want to thank each of them they have been amazing. MyQi-Meritus.Mahara have gainednot only fans but real life-longfriends in Qatar through the

QuestNet fans.The Qatar Motor and

Motorcycling Federation(QMMF), were very supportivewhen the team brought the carto QMMF headquarters andexplained the weekend in apress conference attended by thekey Qatar media. These eventshelp to educate the media andmotorsport fans about Qi.MerituMahara and its GP2 Asia team.

QMMF president NasserKhalifa Al Attiya said he wasproud to Qatar have hosted therst ever GP2 Asia night race andhopes they can grow even biggerin the future.

Obviously, we aim to hostFormula 1 races but it may bedifcult as Bahrain already have race, he said.

Our track was built mainly fomotorcycles and the MotoGP anwe hosted the rst ever MotoGPnight race last year.

Since then, we have continueto make improvements and wehave been hosting several majorcar championships such as theGP2 and Speed Car series. We arlearning as an organisation andwe hope to eventually reach thepinnacle of motorsports.



MeritusdrIVer


40/40

Chrono Compressor

Racing Ahead

Precision chronograph capabilities have been captured within the

race-leading masterpiece of timekeeping. The watch lends itself to the

active sportsman while remaining stylish enough to be sported on the

wrist of any self-respecting social high-flyer.

The dominating black dial is peppered with white, making it reminiscent

of the iconic chequered race flag and allowing for the large, luminous

hands to be complemented by the prevailing date digits.

Dark, dynamic and dangerouslyhandsome, the Chrono Compressor

is a hero amongst the racing watches

of Bernhard H. Mayer

hronograph | Big date window |

>> Dashboard motif dial design>> Raised hour markers and chequered pattern

>> Minute counter

>> Speed counter

>> Center stop second

>> Big date window

>> Large watch case

Documents

Track Record 2009