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F1: Fairuz Fauzy joins Lotus Renault GP for 2011

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Khatir Soltani
The Lotus Renault GP announced on Tuesday that Malaysian driver Fairuz Fauzy will be the team reserve driver for the 2011 Formula 1 season.

Contrary to some rumours that circulated on the web, Romain Grosjean has not been selected to play this role.

The 28-year-old Malaysian joins the team with some F1 experience, including some mileage gained during practice sessions in 2010 with the Lotus Racing team.

He has also raced regularly in the GP2 Series, A1GP, and the World Series by Renault, where he finished as championship runner-up in 2009.

In addition to his F1 duties, Fairuz will return to racing this year in the GP2 series with Super Nova Racing.

As a reserve driver for the team, Fairuz Fauzy also becomes the first driver to join the Lotus Renault GP Academy, a programme designed to bring on promising talents and prepare them for Grand Prix racing.

As a member of the programme, he will take part in development work for the team and will have the opportunity to gain further Formula 1 experience in a 2009-spec Formula 1 car, the R29.

The team says that several drivers will be inducted into the programme during 2011 to complete Lotus Renault GP’s reserve driver line-up.

Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
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