After a few years’ absence, Zyrus is finally back at Gatebil! This time with road-approved cars!
Zyrus Engineering from Nannestad is a familiar name to most car people. However, after the overall victory in Gatebil Extreme with Trond Garberg in 2018, they have not participated in Gatebil – until now.
GATEBIL are an important part of our history and our DNA, so it is very proud for us to come back with two street-approved cars, says Radni Molhampour.
Racing success!
After the success in Gatebil Extreme, Zyrus continued to make a name for himself in Norwegian track racing. With test driver Fredrik Sørlie (46) behind the wheel, they participated for three seasons in NM in racing where they collected a total of 29 first places, two NM gold and a silver medal. First with a standard Super Trofeo and then with the prototype of the LP1200.
–We first took a season with the standard car so that both Fredrik and the team would have a good basis for comparison when we were to develop our LP1200. Then there were two seasons with the LP1200 prototype V1. In total, we had driven over 16,000 km on track with the protoryp before the application was sent to TÜV in Germany. Every single lap we had driven was thoroughly logged and documented by Situne. Our success in racing, and all the data we collected along the way, were decisive for TÜV approving and certifying the cars, says Radni.
Gatebil 2024
During the first Gatebil weekend at Vålerbanen 24.-26. In May, Zyrus joined with two LP1020 Stimolante. Both cars are approved for driving on Norwegian roads with a whopping 1090 horsepower!
Fredrik will mainly be seen behind the wheel of Zyrus’s street-registered LP1020 Stimolante demo car at Gatebil in 2024. The focus will be to show off the cars on the track, while there will be opportunities for the public and sponsors to sit on these fantastic cars.
Future Plans in Gatebil Extreme
Zyrus have big plans for future in Gatebil Extreme – with an updated version of the LP1200, but with a new driver behind the wheel.
We have a tight program in 2024. Fredrik will continue development and testing of the street cars around Europe, while Haytham Qarajouli (20) from Kuwait will soon sit behind the wheel of our LP1200 in Gatebil Extreme, says Radni.
Haytham Qarajouli is from Kuwait but lives in England, and this year drives a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for the Grasser Racing Team in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Qarajouli started his racing career as a 14-year-old and has previously won several national championships in the Middle East, as well as winning the European Ligier JS2R Championship in 2022.
– Haytham is an exciting young driver. We drove a few laps together with the LP1020 Stimolante at Silverstone last autumn and he showed a good technical understanding and a high pace. For me, it is only positive to have another driver on the team. Haytham literally comes in with young, fresh eyes and fresh GT racing experience. It will be exciting to see what he thinks about the LP1200 and the work we have done so far, says Fredrik Sørlie
When the project will be ready to take off it is hard to say, but Zyrus is full with optimism!
Does not replace Sørlie
Radni is also looking forward to seeing what a young driver like Haytham can achieve with the car he has developed, but emphasizes that he has no plans to replace Fredrik Sørlie.
– No, that is out of the question. Fredrik has shown what he can deliver in both the LP1200 and LP1020, so when we go out to set times on well-known tracks in Europe or up the hill in Målselv, he will be behind the wheel. WE have tested other professional drivers in the past, and based on that experience, the choice is quite simple. Fredrik is by a good margin the one who has set the best times every time and has a unique ability to keep the car on the track, Radni confirms to Gatebil.
