Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

What an absolutely revving weekend it was at the AirAsia British MotoGP. Another proud moment for AirAsia to be title sponsor for another globally popular event but what really made me happy was to see Malaysian talent on the circuit.

Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin, if you don’t already know him, is a rider for team AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit in the 125cc class. He pretty much came from nowhere as a wildcard draw in the Malaysian GP last year. We were so impressed that he finished among the top 20 throughout the whole 2009 season that we wanted give him the opportunity to ride permanently with a team willing to go full throttle with him. We’re happy to see it through and to watch this young Banting boy mature as a rider and as an individual. Fahmi is now based in Bologna, Italy for his physical training in between races.

He’ll have quite some way to go before he becomes world champ one day but I have a good feeling about Fahmi. He is barely 19 but the kid has got his head well screwed onto his shoulders – humble, and a little shy but willing to work hard to make his dreams real. The story of a small-town Klang boy making it good in the international arena is going to be such an inspiration to the kids at home.
It’s in a way a reflection of the AirAsia story too. We began from virtually nothing, we were given an opportunity and now we’re world’s best low cost airline. I never for once believed that Malaysia lacked talent, brains nor ingenuity, merely opportunities.

And that’s what we’re trying to do at AirAsia – give opportunities to those who deserve it. Sure sponsoring something like the MotoGP is fantastic visibility for our brand but really there is the other dimension of helping unleashed hidden Malaysian and also Asean talent. We’re doing that with our driver development programme and soon we will launch a similar one for motorbike riders.

Silverstone was Fahmi’s fifth race of the season and although he didn’t finish it the team is still pleased with his performance considering that he suffered quite a crash on Friday. We look forward to more exciting races ahead. Go Fahmi!