KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — The second day of the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix was nothing short of exciting but it also marked the end of Fairuz Fauzi’s race challenge.

Fairuz, who was driving a Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 race car for team OD Racing, crashed hard along the Jalan Perak stretch during qualifying for the KL City GT Cup race yesterday.

Fairuz managed to get out of the badly damaged car without assistance from race marshals.

Later when speaking to reporters, Fairuz explained he had technical issues with his car from day one.

“From the first day of racing I had problems with my car, and we did not have enough track time during practice one and two because of electronic issues and problems with the transmission.

“We managed to borrow a transmission from another team and it held up until I crashed because I couldn’t downshift,” he said.

“That is when I lost the tail end of my car and ended up hitting the barrier.”  

Fairuz was thankful he survived the crash, which saw him suffering light bruising on his chest, ankle and knees.

He was sceptical about competing in today’s GT Cup race finale because of the extensive damage to his car.

“I don’t know yet. It would be great if we could take part, but I do not think we can prepare the car in time for the race.

“At the moment it looks like we will not be racing tomorrow (today),” he said.

He expressed disappointment at not being able to show his fans and fellow Malaysians what he is truly capable of on home soil.

“I wish other Malaysian drivers taking part in this Grand Prix all the best, and I hope they can get a podium finish or even win the race,” said Fairuz.

Another driver who suffered a mishap was Australian Jake Parsons, racing in the Formula Masters China Series.

Parsons crashed when his car’s rear suspension gave way after hitting a manhole cover hard.

19-year-old Estonian Martin Rump, who drives for Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG in the same series as Parsons, said the circuit was tricky and challenging.

“It is the bumpiest circuit I have driven on, but that’s understandable as it is a street circuit.

“Though the track conditions are such, I relish the challenge,” he said.