Shirendra Lawrence wins Supersportclass
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Shirendra Lawrence recently won the Supersportclass of the Prince Lubricants Caterham Motorsport 2016 Championship. The Caterham Seven is widely known as the most raced car in the world. The ‘Supersport’ raced by Shirendra, develops 260 bhp/tonne, accelerating from standstill to 100 km/h in less than 5 secs, powering it to a top speed of over 200 km/h.
“Shirendra’s commitment and focus remained razor sharp throughout the series, and I am delighted that it paid off with the championship title”, said Caterham Group Chairman Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, “Bringing the Caterham Motorsport Championship to Asia was no easy task, and having competitors with the experience and passion of Shirendra in the series has added a lot of value,” said CEO of Caterham Motorsport South East Asia, Campbell Tupling, presenting the award at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
All cars used in this competition are race-prepared by the Caterham factory in the United Kingdom (UK) and shipped to Asia. The cars are identical and even the tyres are specified, ensuring that experience and skill are the winning factors among the competitors. The 2016 competition was carried out in 10 races over 5 grueling events in Malaysia and Thailand.
Shirendra is no stranger to motorsport, competing extensively in Sri Lanka, as well as in the UK, India, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. He has also been involved in motorsport organisations as a Committee Member for many years and was a past President of the Ceylon Motor Sports Club. He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Hellibees Racing in Sri Lanka, which aims to develop and promote young Sri Lankan Motorsport talent.
Shirendra will again be competing in the Caterham Motorsport Championship this year, scheduled to be held in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. At the first 2017 event at Sepang International Circuit, he was, unfortunately, unable to restart his engine, following a collision in the 1st race, but delivered podium finishes in the 2nd and 3rd races, to recover somewhat to 4th overall, behind Malaysian Halim Mu’Azzam, Bulgarian Ivan Petovand and Frenchman Jean Charles Dahout. With this year’s series being conducted over 12 races, there is still time to do better, but Shirendra will have to give off his best, if he is to repeat his 2016 victory.