Lady Driver Kazumi Fears No Man at the Sepang Circuit
LADY DRIVER KAZUMI MIKAMI FEARS NO MAN AT MERDEKA ENDURANCE RACE
Kazumi Mikami, who will be the first international lady driver in Sepang’s 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) race, arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport today; and immediately declared that she fears no man on the racing track.
“I am ready to compete with anybody – man or woman; it actually makes no difference on a race track,” said Kazumi, who will be driving for the X-1R RedBull Racing Team in an all-women’s team with seasoned campaigners Deanna Yusoff and Phillipa Yoong.
Accompanied by her manager-cum-translator, Yuichi Murayama, Kazumi said women drivers were fast making their mark in motor racing all over the world and she would not be surprised that MME would have lady drivers winning the race in the near future.
First introduced in 2000, the MME has yet to crown a lady driver as any of its overall or class winners. However, in 2002, Yasmin Hani and Tuty Edrianti Jusat took second in the open class; the best ever achievement by a lady driver for the event.
Entering its sixth edition this year, the 2005 race, which will be held at Sepang Circuit on August 27, will be competed by no less than 77 cars and 221 drivers; and divided in four categories according to the engine capacity of the race machines.
“The race will be very special to me because August 27 is also my birthday. I hope to get a great birthday present by finishing at the podium,” said Kazumi, who was born in Sapporo City. However, she wants to keep the birth year secret.
Despite not having any experience driving on Sepang Formula One track, Kazumi said that was just a temporary setback, adding that she was looking forward to the practice sessions that has been arranged by the team for her and her teammates.
“My first experience driving at Sepang Circuit will be this Wednesday (August 17); and I am really excited to get my first drive on a great race track that I have heard so much of,” she said, adding that she was attracted to participate in the MME due to the growing popularity of the event especially amongst Japanese drivers.
Top Japanese drivers competing in the 2005 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race include Super GT drivers Hiroki Katoh and Ryo Michigami, former Japan GT drivers Kunimitsu Takahashi and Genji Hashimoto and Yasuhiro Morita, who is Bridgestone’s Chief Representative Officer for the region.
Currently competing in Japan’s 2005 Formula Toyota Championship, Kazumi, who stands at 165cm and weighs 44kg, said that she had always loved the thrills of racing and the excitement of competition.
“I am made to understand that both Deanna and Phillipa have regularly touched lap times of 2 minutes 46 seconds in their 1800cc GTI in practice at Sepang. To me, that is very impressive. With their help, I am sure that I could make similar lap times as well. Hopefully, even better,” said Kazumi, who has been competing in Japan in circuit and endurance races since 1999.
With Deanna and Phillipa using the race car for this Wednesday’s practice, Kazumi will start her debut practice of Sepang Formula One track in a Satria GTI R3, which has been provided to the team by R3 Motorsports.
“We at Proton Motorsports are proud to assist racing enthusiasts and furthermore this will be a great opportunity for us to introduce our second stage of the performance kit for Proton Satria,” said Khaidi Kamaruddin, Marketing Manager Proton Motorsports.
An ardent fan of Takuma Sato, the BAR Honda F1 Racing Team driver, Kazumi also said that her early arrival to Malaysia was aimed at helping herself to get used to Malaysia’s hot and humid weather.
“The weather in Japan is very, very different from Malaysia. It’s cold and chilly in Japan. I am sure that I am going to enjoy the Malaysian sunshine,” said Kazumi, who is thankful to X-1R Redbull Racing for their confidence and trust in engaging her services.
Competing in its third year, the team has set itself the target of a podium finish in Class C for cars between 1601cc to 1900cc.
