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SPOTLIGHT
Finishing in third place in the Fast MD
Racing Audi RS 3 LMS in the IMSA
Michelin Pilot Challenge’s TCR class at
Daytona was an outstanding
achievement. Not only because the
programme was only finalised two
weeks before the race, but particularly
for its support to the ‘Racing to End
Alzheimer’s’ charitable foundation.
In fact, the team’s co-founders are two
Florida-based doctors; spine surgeon Dr.
Farhan Siddiqi and orthopaedic surgeon
Dr. Jared Salinsky, with the latter also
sharing driving duties with Nick
Galante and James Vance.
Siddiqi and Salinsky have a long-held
passion for sports cars, yet this was
their first involvement in professional
racing.
“Farhan was actually interested
in GT4 and I said if you’re going to get
your feet wet, let’s do TCR. It’s less
expensive but you get similar
satisfaction. It’s going to be a great
field, the cars are less expensive to
acquire and less expensive to maintain
and, you know, let’s just see how it
goes
,” Salinsky explained.
The #23 Audi survived a race that
saw only three of 14 TCR cars on the
lead lap at the chequered flag, a
welcome surprise to all involved.
With Siddiqi and Salinsky sharing a
similar profession, and Galante
continuing his partnership with the
charity
r2endalz.org, the team is
establishing a cohesive identity based
on science and medicine. Siddiqi’s
medical practice is, in fact, the
namesake of the car – Florida Advance
Spine and Sports Trauma MD.
The ‘Racing to End Alzheimer’s’ charity,
of which Galante is an ambassador,
turns to those who have lost a relative
and offers the possibility to see their
loved one’s name on the racing car for
a donation of $250 that goes to the
Foundation. The initiative is promoted
by a video featuring the popular sports
commentator Jim Nantz who has
worked for CBS and the NFL.
Fast MD Racing has no plans to slow
down anytime soon, with the team’s
commitment to the IMSA Michelin Pilot
Challenge set for the long term.
“There’s no sense in going into a
business venture if you’re going to nickel
and dime it
,” said Salinsky.
“Farhan openly said from the
beginning, ‘Fifty percent of this project
is legitimate advertising and marketing
for my business and 50 percent of it is
my love of motorsport.’ I understand
there might be a loss and
I understand we’re going to learn from
2019 to do 2020, and we’re going to
learn from 2020 to do 2021. This is at
least a three-to-five-year effort, which
also puts us at ease as far as ‘Oh my
gosh, if we don’t show results we’re
going to be out, but if we do show
results, we’re going to be in.’ No, we
already know that, results or not, that
we’re in for three years.
”
Justwhat the doctor ordered