KUALA LUMPUR – Two students from the Peneraju Skil LINK Technology Transfer Apprenticeship Programme (LINK TTAP) will join the World Endurance Championship (WEC) racing team JOTA at their final race in Bahrain from tomorrow till Saturday (November 10 to 12).
Muhammad Hafiz Shamsul Bahrim and Siti Kamilia Alisa Kamarudzaman will link up with the racing outfit in Bahrain and in JOTA’s base in London as they learn the ins and outs of managing a professional racing team on race weekend.
LINK TTAP director and national racer Jazeman Jaafar said the main purpose of the programme is to ensure Malaysian engineers are ready to further their careers both locally and internationally.
“With the high development of technology in motorsports, this will allow us to take advantage of technology transfer to enhance the local automotive sector as well as the motorsports industry,” he said in a statement.
JOTA has a successful racing background with several wins in the WEC, Spa 24 Hours, Nurburgring 24 Hours, American Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series.
Meanwhile, four other TTAP apprentices – Mohammad Haritz Aiman Mohd Rosli, Ahmad Lufti Latif, Muhammad Azfar Ahmad Zaini, and Muhammad Asyraf Mohd Khairul Muhar – have been given the opportunity to be involved in two-wheeled motorsports with the Petronas Sprinta 31 Racing team in the Malaysian Cub Prix.
The LINK TTAP programme has been supported by the Youth and Sports Ministry and received recognition from the Motorsports Association of Malaysia and Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.
Jazeman, who is also an executive director on the board of Sepang International Circuit, added that the programme has come a long way since it started in 2019 with only four international students.
The 29-year-old currently races with Team Virage in the European Le Mans Series and was JOTA’s reserve driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race recently, as well as racing in the GT World Challenge Asia series with Johor Racing. – The Vibes, November 9, 2022