Lankan motor racing hero of international fame, Dilantha Malagamuwa has once again made his country proud by winning the AM class category third place in the second race of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals and thereby securing fifth place in the overall World Standings.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) sanctioned top notched World Finals was worked off from November 16 to 19 with the participation of 160 competitors representing racing teams from USA, Europe and Asia at the Imola Racing Circuit in Italy.
Dilantha's achievement will go down in Sri Lanka's annals of motor racing as a first of its kind triumph in a World Championship. Dilantha faced an unfortunate incident during the first race of the World finals on November 18 where his car crashed while trying to overtake the car running at third position which resulted in him being knocked out of the race. But he was fortunate to earn qualification for the second race as he completed 75% of the first race and placed 11th due to his good timing. Dilantha was performing extremely well in the second race on November 19 coming close to overtaking the car running at second place with just five minutes to complete the race when suddenly the marshals waved the Red Flag signing the stop of the race due to a crash.
Dilantha was delighted that Sri Lankan fans came to cheer him at Imola Racing Circuit. It was an emotional moment to the Lankan racing ace when Motorsports TV correspondent Dakota interviewed him. Dilantha went on to say: "I am the happiest sportsman in the world with these people (Sri Lankan fans) behind me".
A felicitation ceremony and launch of ‘Dilango Racing Social Society' programme was held at the Movenpick Hotel, Colombo under the patronage of Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara recently. The Sports Minister praised Dilantha as the pioneer of Sri Lanka's international motor racing who fought a solitary battle with minimum facilities to earn fame in the international scene.
"Dilantha's road to stardom is not a bed of roses. He came in the hard way and it is sad that he did not get the proper recognition and sponsorship deals from the local companies. He is racing with the Lion flag and has been a great ambassador for Sri Lanka across the globe. The Sports Ministry alone cannot sponsor his international events as we have a very limited budget for all sports. I have already spoken to Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga and he has pledged his support to assist Dilantha. I will also make arrangements after discussing with the President to join hands with the Tourist Board, SriLankan Airlines, Tea Board and Tourism Development Authority to support Dilantha in his future international events," Dayasiri said.
"Dilantha has proved his talent and he is determined to win a World Championship event. We all know that he has the ability and courage to do so, so we must help him in this endeavour. Dilantha is serving as a special consultant to develop Sri Lankan motor racing and we have to support him to reach international stardom," the Sports Minister further added.
When asked about his preparation for future international events Dilantha explained that top level international competitions needs huge sponsorship backups and the 'Dilango Racing Social Society' will lay a strong fan base and activities to raise funds for such international events. "We are planning to open a 'Dilango Racing Souvenir Shop' in Kirulapone where the proceedings will not only go for my racing career, but 10% of the profits will be donated to the 'Little Hearts Project' to save children with congenital heart problems. I would also like to thank Green Tel and Laughs Gas for helping me throughout my racing career and hope they will continue to help me," Dilantha said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment