Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 08 February 2007
A1 Team Malaysia driver, Alex Yoong, has been announced as the 2006 winner of the British Racing Drivers' Club Bruce McLaren Trophy. This accolade is awarded each year to a driver residing in the Commonwealth who has established the most meritorious performances in international motor racing. Yoong's strong performance in the inaugural season of the A1GP series was recognised by the BRDC resulting in the Malaysian driver being honoured by the organisation. Yoong joins an impressive roster of previous award winners including Mark Webber (Australia), Jacques Villeneuve (Canada), Paul Tracy (Canada), Tomas Scheckter (South Africa) and Jonny Reid (New Zealand).The BRDC, with former Formula One World Champion, Damon Hill, as its President, is a highly respected organisation, with the membership limited to drivers with international success over a number of seasons. The trophy was originally presented to Bruce McLaren for finishing in 2nd place in the 1965 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport. After he passed away, Pat Mclaren presented it to the BRDC to give to the best commonwealth driver of each year!The significance of the trophy is increased by the recent announcement, during the last A1GP event in New Zealand, of a movie to commemorate the life of Bruce McLaren. In front of a host of motor racing legends including Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jack Brabham, Chris Amon and Bruce's widow, Pat, and daughter, Amanda, the plans were outlined for the movie about the only driver to have won Formula 1 World Championship races, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Indianapolis 500, CanAm and Tasman championships. The movie has some of the biggest names from the business involved in the project with its producer being Barrie M Osborne, who produced not only the Academy Award winning, The Lord of the Rings, but also The Matrix and The Big Chill. The valuable trophy will be presented to Yoong later this year and the Malaysian driver is looking forward to this occasion. He says, "I'm very proud to have been awarded this trophy and to join so many great names in being a recipient; it's a huge honour for me. Last year was a very exciting year for me, with the birth of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport giving me a unique opportunity to return to international racing. I'm delighted that my achievements have been recognised and I must thank everyone at A1 Team Malaysia for all their hard work, as they have certainly contributed to my success and have played a key role in my winning this trophy."Alex Yoong began his racing career in Formula Asia, over ten years ago. After two years in his 'local' championship he moved to Europe to progress up the motorsport ladder. Competing in British Formula Renault in 1996- 7, the young Malaysian then progressed to British Formula 3. He graduated to Formula 3000 and on to Formula Nippon before his breakthrough to Formula One. As Malaysia's only race driver to reach the pinnacle of motor racing, Yoong drove for Minardi in 2001 and 2002. His career continued in Champ Cars and Australian V8's before becoming part of the A1GP Series. The full list of previous winners is as follows:1970 Denny Hulme 1971 Tim Schenken 1972 - No Award 1973 Franck Gardner 1974 John Nicholson 1975-1980 Alan Jones 1981 Geoff Brabham 1982-83 Vern Schuppan 1984-85 Mike Thackwell 1986 Denny Hulme 1987 Mike Thackwell 1988 Geoff Brabham 1989 David Brabham 1990 Paul Tracy 1991 David Brabham 1992 - No Award 1993 Geoff Brabham 1994 Paul Tracy 1995-1997 Jacques Villeneuve 1998 Mark Webber 1999 Tomas Scheckter 2000-2001 Mark Webber 2002 Alex Davison 2003 Scott Dixon 2004 Jonny Reid For further information regarding the season visit www.a1teammalaysia.com.my.Ends. Thursday 08 Feb 2007
