Shah Alam, Malaysia - March 22nd., 2007 ... SR Motorsport, with new backing from TNT Malaysia, made a strong start to the 2007 running of the Malaysian Rally Championship this past weekend.

Fielding a two-car team, young driver James Russell, and his co- driver Douglas Pickering, were able to take a class win, setting top- five stage times along the way. Meanwhile, rookie French driver Thomas Duroyon, along with Malaysian co-driver Gulvinder Singh, were working their way up the leader board when they were unfortunately sidelined by a rare engine failure. Both were competing in Subaru Impreza STi 4WD Turbo rally cars.

The race marks the first year TNT, one of the worldīs leading express delivery companies, has partnered SR Motorsport for the Malaysian Rally Championship.

Gerry Power, TNT Express Managing Director for Malaysia and Brunei said, "Motor rallying is a sport that demands intricate teamwork, flawless precision and consistency in performance - attributes we believe are a good fit with TNTīs brand values. The Championship has gained a wide following throughout Malaysia and itīs a great platform to engage our customers, our staff and the general public.

"The SR Motorsport team has built up an excellent reputation in recent years and we hope to contribute further to their success together with the development of motor sports in Malaysia," he added.

Based in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, the rally action took place in the surrounding Felda plantations, with the cars competing on the closed- to-the-public gravel-covered roads. The combination of heat and fast undulating tracks took their toll on the majority of the rally cars, with many dropping out during the two-day event. SR Motorsport's cars were no exception, as in addition to Thomas' engine problem, James required a gearbox change during day one. This caused him to miss some stages, with the penalty dropping him well down in the overall results, but he fought back on Sunday to finish fifth in Leg 2, scoring valuable team points with his class win.

Team Manager Paul Russell commented "With TNT's support, we were able to make a strong start to this year's championship. Although we ended the weekend as the second placed team, we have plenty of time to fight back. James' stage times on Sunday were very encouraging" he continued "and I'm hoping he'll be in the top three overall before year-end. The team is hoping to enter a third car later in the year, which will increase our chances of regaining the team championship award" he concluded.

19 year-old driver James Russell was equally encouraged by his performance, commenting that "although I was under strict instruction to drive to finish, I could see I was only a few seconds from second place for most of Sunday. I'm looking forward to driving faster and fighting for a top-three placing, once we have some team points to our credit. TNT's help has been a major factor in allowing us to prepare competitive cars" he said "and it was exciting to see people's reactions to our new livery."

The Malaysian Rally Championship consists of five-rounds, covering the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. The team will be back in action in May, when the excitement moves to the east coast State of Terengganu.