Business

Saturday November 7, 2009

Race to history The right formula to succeed

By Anita Gabriel and Cecilia Kok


IT’S sink or swim,” laughs Riad Asmat, newly appointed CEO of 1Malaysia Racing Team. There’s truth in jest. Riad is referring to his new task of heading Malaysia’s “dream” team for Formula One race, a plan that was hatched in a matter of three months which, since it was revealed, has hogged much of the Malaysian chat space.

The multi-million dollar question – Will Malaysia have the right formula to succeed?

Figuring that one out is squarely in the hands of the main architect of the whole idea as well as owner of 1Malaysia Racing Team Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, together with business and personal chum Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Naza group of companies executive chairman/CEO SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin and British-based Litespeed and, of course, its top management.

“It’s like a dream,” says Riad, who was previously attached to the managing director’s office of Proton Holdings Bhd as general manager. He is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was hand-picked to lead the company. And he’s not alone, in the dream, that is.

Riad learns fast; he echoes Fernandes’ sentiments about the winning chances of the Malaysian F1 team.— Reuters

“We can dream because we’ve made it to the grid,” says Fernandes. He peppers that with a dash of reality – “But we’ve got to be realistic; we’re not likely going to win the race over the short term. The target is to be the best but I’m not worried if we come in last next year. But i really want to be ahead of Richard Branson’s team (his Virgin group is expected to sponsor the new Manor team). I’d be suicidal if they beat us!”

Riad learns fast; he echoes Fernandes’ sentiments about the winning chances of the Malaysian F1 team: “We expect to be competitive in the first season but we’re not going to be champions. We’re targeting to be one of the most competitive among the new teams.”

Any downside risk? Fernandes replies: “Malaysians need to get rid of their ‘inferiority complex’. Why can’t we be world champions? I’d rather try than not try. The risk is if we fail, everyone will say I’m a moron and shouldn’t have done it. So I’m a moron, together with my other three partners. So what?”

As a prospective employer, Fernandes’ appeal with his often uttered “dare to dream the impossible” rhetoric accompanied by his against-the-odd triumph of having turned AirAsia into the region’s largest low-cost carrier, is hard to dismiss. That the privately-funded initiative has drawn some 6,500 applications in such a short span is testimony to that.

Not surprisingly, Riad is in full swing on recruitment mode. “Over the past couple of days, I’ve been sifting through the applications. We want to maintain the Malaysianness of the workforce in terms of engineering and so forth,” he tells StarBizWeek.

As of last week, the team had already gotten 50 people on board, 20 of whom are Malaysians.

1Malaysia Racing recently appointed Keith Saunt as chief operating officer. He has over 20 years experience in F1, having held senior roles with Team Lotus International, Benetton, Renault and the Red Bull Racing teams, and will be in charge of managing the team’s technical organisation in the United Kingdom. Saunt reports directly to the team’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne.

Most importantly, the company is in the midst of courting talent for the Lotus F1 Racing team for the starting grid in the opening round of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) F1 World Championship 2010 season come March.

“We don’t have any drivers yet, but we got a driver that we want,” Fernandes, the team’s principal, says.

“It’s like you see a man and you want that man. You will pursue him and start seducing him. We’re in that seduction stage now. We haven’t got him to bed yet,” he says. Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy is one of the six drivers shortlisted for the Lotus F1 team.

The crucial cog in the machine – the drivers – are expected to be revealed soon.

Tony says the company has forked out some £10mil (RM57mil) so far for the development of the Lotus F1 vehicle. It’s a substantial investment as the car has to be approved by the International Automobile Federation before it can run on the grid for next year’s race.

The building of the Lotus F1 car has been reported to be three days ahead of the original schedule. This is good news, as with the delivery of the car expected to be in January, the team will be able to meet their target of testing the vehicle at the Sepang Circuit in February.

A model of the Malaysian F1 team car

The partners have pledged RM308mil a year to support the team and it is purely a privately-funded initiatve.

It didn’t take long for Riad to get sold on the idea of joining the team.

For Fernandes, Riad was a natural choice – “He’s young, aggressive, smart and has a great personality. We always get great people to work for us although along the way, we made some mistakes. Azran (Osman Rani, CEO of AirAsia X) has been a superb discovery, Jason (Loh of Tune Talk) is doing a superb job, Joyce (Lai) is doing a great job at Tune Money, and so is Mark Lankester (Tune Hotels).”

Riad, 38, is the son of Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, the former secretary-general of the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

“When I sought guidance from my dad, he said I should try it or I may regret it one day. I took his advice,” says Riad.

“It’s one helluva opportunity for me,” says Riad. And for most of the 25 million Malaysians who will definitely watch the circuit next year, only this time, with their hearts closer to home.

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