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The 2011 Asian Festival Of Speed will feature three FIA Sanctioned Series, the JK Racing Asia Series, GT Asia and the Asian Touring Car Series. 

It will also be the fourth year that the Asian Festival Of Speed has opened its doors, and the grandstand, to members of Car Clubs from around the Region for their AFOS Car Club Gathering. This year the gathering is once again organised by the guys from trafficmagonline.com. 

Racing fans will also be given a unique chance to get up close to the AFOS Angels when for the first time, the opening ceremony will be held simultaneously as the pit-walkabout right at the paddock.

 

 

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Outstanding Season Opener expected with the best Supercars in the GT Asia Series 

Ford GT3, Porsche GT3R 2011, Ferrari F458, Lamborghini LP560, Lotus Exige, Aston Martin N24, these are some of the luxurious supercars featured in the Season Opener of the GT Asia Series this 28-29 May 2011 weekend.   25 cars will line up the grid during the Asian Festival Of Speed weekend with drivers from around the region eager to get back behind the wheel after a long break between the seasons. For the first time, the GT Asia Series will also incorporate the Lotus Super Cup Asia and showcasing the Lotus Exige S AM-01.  

Reigning Champions, GT3 Asia’s Dilantha Malagamuwa and GT4 Asia Cup’s Daniel Bilski are both returning to the scene ready to lay claim to the new title.  

The Sri Lankan will be coming straight off last week’s win in a local race held at the Malaysian circuit and is expected to do well in a country that he has ‘adopted’ as his own. The Dilango Racing driver is expected to have a tough fight with Tunku Hammam Sulong during the opening rounds.

Hammam, who lost the 2010 title to Malagamuwa at the last race of the season last year, is competing in the German ADAC GT Masters and was just recently at the Sachsenring circuit with Reiter Engineering. The Malaysian returns to compete in his home race against his friend and biggest rival in an Arrows Racing’s Porsche 997 Cup S. 

Also pushing for the title will be Hong Kong drivers, Samson Chan, who along with his Craft Eurasia Racing teammate, Frank Yu, will both be using their newly acquired Ford GT3’s for the first time. The team had a shakedown in early April and although very tight lipped about their times, it looks like they are more than able to fight for wins this season.   

Team Clearwater Racing is also a team to look out for. What started out as members from Porsche Club Singapore competing in a fun manner, has turned into a professional racing team with two very strong title contenders. Mok Weng Sun and David Lai Tak Seng, who have both changed cars over the years and will for this season compete in a Ferrari F458 GT3 and a Lamborghini LP560 GT3 respectively. This round, they will be joined by fellow Singaporean Tan Ian Mao in his Porsche 997 Cup S.  

Another interesting pairing, are the duo from Asia Racing Team with their Porsche 911 GT3 R’s driven by two talented GT drivers from Hong Kong . Eddie Yau and Shasha Chu both have vast experience competing in GT races and previously competed for different teams in Lamborghini Gallardos. 

Meanwhile, reigning GT4 Champion, Daniel Bilski has made some changes and will for the first time have a partner for the 2011 season. Bilski has joined forces with Hong Kong driver, Frank Yee, in the S&D Motorsports team. The duo will be putting up a good fight in the GT4 category in their Aston Martin Vantage N24.  

Simon Waters and Mark Williamson make a return to the GT Asia Series with the Concord Absolute Racing team. The duo will be joined by Singaporean Nasrat Muzayyin, who will be driving alongside Mark Williamson, in their identical Aston Martin Vantage.  

Five series regulars are also making a return to the first two rounds, four using the Lamborghini with Siu Yuk Lung and Billy Fung in the LP560, Noel Becker and Keith Chan in the Gallardo while Byron Tong returns with Team SMD in the Ferrari F430 GT alongside teammate Eric Lo.  

Joining the GT Asia Series for the first two events are eight Lotus Exige S AM-01’s from the Lotus Super Cup Asia. Noted drivers are Ahmad Othman Yahya, Tan Wi Ron, Ravindra Panchalingam, Shaun Cheng and Chiew Ruoh Peng from Malaysia and Bruce Lee from the United States.