A1 Team Malaysia is proving to be one of the top contenders in the new A1 Grand Prix series, lying ninth at the halfway stage of the season with its two drivers, Alex Yoong and Fairuz Fauzy.
So what are the ingredients of success for a team like A1 Team Malaysia?
Undoubtedly the two men in the cockpit of the A1 Team Malaysia race car are experienced and skilled racing drivers, but it’s also the support network around them that is giving the team an edge on its rivals in the series.
In particular, two individuals within the team are making valuable contributions to the technical operations and providing the specialist engineering guidance that makes a real difference.
These men are technical director Julian Randles (pictured left) and chief engineer Greg Wheeler (pictured right), who bring a wealth of experience that ensures the team is able to perform competitively at each race weekend.
Randles has an illustrious career with many top racing teams and drivers. He started his career with Sid Taylor Racing, fielding a Lola T70 sports car driven by Jack Brabham. After working in sports car racing in the UK for a number of years Randles moved to America, running cars for Jody Schekter and Alan Jones among others. Returning to the UK, he worked with Patrick Tambay, Derek Warwick and Desire Wilson in
Formula One before another transatlantic move to USA sportscar racing in the 90s.
There Randles enjoyed developing a natural gas-powered Chrysler Patriot sports racing car for the giant General Motors Corporation, but with the technology some years ahead of itself, the car was never able to run competitively and Randles moved back to the UK to continue his sportscar racing career with British racing teams before joining A1 Team Malaysia in August 2005.
