asimo - Honda Malaysia

motor sportsBeginning with a boosted memberstrength, from 30 to 40, the newlyexpanded HMRT is comprised of 33 newcomersand seven members from the2007 squad. Returning members not onlyhad the opportunity to build on pastachievements, but the wealth of knowledgeand experience that they shared withthe rest of the team also proved invaluable.This year’s MME campaign also sawHonda Malaysia expand its line-up of racedrivers to six participants. Two new drivers– 24-year-old Victor Cheong and associateturned first-time MME driver,35-year-old Faisal Asri – joined familiarfaces Eddie Lew Kar Wai, Rueben Wong,Fahrizal Hasan and Aaron Lim.Citing the benefits of having Honda’sassociates participate in the MME, Fujimotoexplained, “We encourage ourassociates to compete at the highest levelin local endurance races as the challengeenables them to improve their skills. ThisDRIVERS’ PROFILECar 26Rueben WongDate of Birth: 24 December 1979Birthplace:Kuala LumpurFahrizal HasanDate of Birth: 12 January 1981Birthplace:Kuala LumpurFaisal AsriDate of Birth: 8 March 1973Birthplace:Petaling Jayatranslates into an improvement in thequality of our products as HMRT membersapply skills and lessons in their dailywork at the plant.” One example is IrwanAb. Hamid, who prepares a daily workschedule at the start of the day andabides by it – a habit he had picked upworking with HMRT.Another significant change for theHMRT this year was the fielding of twoidentical Honda Civic 2.0 i-VTEC race carsfor the competition. Both Car 26 and Car27 shared the same engine, gearbox, suspension,brake system and tyres – evenright down to the car’s race livery.“Car 27 only needed to be maintainedthroughout while Car 26 needed somework, requiring a paint job, new tyres, suspensionand even a new brake system,”said Thayalakumaran, HMRT Engine Engineerand an avid motorsports fan.A 30-minute pre-Shakedown was firstorganised on 15 June 2008 at the testCar 27Eddie Lew Kar WaiDate teofBithBirth: 8 May 1973Birthplace:Johor BahruAaron LimDate of Birth: 22 June 1985Birthplace:Petaling JayaVictor CheongDate of Birth: 9 October 1984Birthplace:Kuala Lumpurtrack of the Honda Malaysia plant. Thisled to three Shakedown sessions thatwere held at the Sepang InternationalCircuit’s North Track.The first and second, which took placeon 25 June 2008 and 29 July 2008respectively, saw a gradual strengtheningof overall teamwork (the human element)and a better understanding of individualresponsibilities. By the last Shakedown on18 August 2008, the entire team was afinely tuned machine – working togetherlike it was second nature.While it is unfortunate that the HMRTwas unsuccessful in retaining its Class Atitle for the sixth consecutive time, the spiritof teamwork, perseverance and the nurturingof local talent will always remainparamount – not just for this year, but foryears to come. Because like SoichiroHonda once said, “Success is 99 per centfailure.” The challenge for Honda continues…CAR MECHANICSEngine EngineerThayalakumaran described theMME as a great experience,despite having to work extra hardto get the race cars ready.Chief Mechanic(Car 26)Shamsul Bin Hassan said thisexperience can also be used tocontinually improve on dailytasks in the production line.Chief Mechanic(Car 27)Irwan Ab. Hamid said all the hardwork that went into preparingthe race cars gave him anadrenaline rush.with dreams I 17