Autoworld Blog

10-times champ dominated the 2008 season

Team GSR Pennzoil celebrated a spectacular year in the Malaysian Rally Championship 2008 with lead driver Karamjit Singh taking home the trophy for first overall this sixth and final Round and scoring his tenth Championship win.

He was trailed by Team Manager, Gunaseelan Rajoo who finished second today and fellow team mate P. Nandakumar who finished third.

Karamjit also won the P12 category while Gunaseelan took home the A8 category trophy.

“This year went as planned, we wanted to be the top two cars and we are and, of course, we clinched class wins and the Team trophy,” said Gunaseelan.

“We are happy both cars got through the very rough stages intact and without serious problems,” he added.

Karamjit’s said he’ll rally for another 10 years. “Everyone is asking me when I will retire. When I get another 10 MRC Championship trophies I will,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Perodua M5 Racing Team had to be happy with Jamaluddin Tukimin coming second in P9, three seconds behind Amir Ahmad.

Jamal fought hard for two days and he ended yesterday with a five second deficit but could not close the gap on Sunday.

Perodua M5 Team Manager, Garry Chua was happy that Jamal was consistent and kept the car together through both days.

“On Sunday he had a brush with a tree while avoiding Sutan’s car which was stranded by the roadside and that affected the Kelisa’s handling but otherwise it was still drivable,” Chua said.

The Perodua Viva 4WD Turbo of Lim Leong Onn hit a rock in SS15 and could not complete the SS.  Despite the crash, Lim scored enough points throughout the season to end up third overall in the Driver’s Championship.

Kan Chee Hong rolled his Perodua Myvi in the very first SS of this Round and the extensive damage kept him out of the race.

Muhammad Siraj Abdullah took out the P10 Category and fellow MRU team mate and Manager Muhammad Rafiq Udhaya the Showroom Category. ‘Mike’ Ariokiasamy Ratnam finished first in the P11 category with P. Nandakumar close behind him.

Azizul Jamin took home the Clubman category and Amir Ahmad finished first in the P9 Category.

Indian competitors Arjun Rao and Musa Sheriff will have fond memories of their 2008 Season in Malaysia taking out the N4 category and Musa finishing as runner-up co-driver overall.  Jagdev Singh finished first.  Musa and Arjun will return to compete in the 2009 Season if they can find extra sponsorship.

Final Results (For full results visit www.malaysianrally.com)

Top 5 Times:

Karamjit Singh/Jagdev Singh    1:26:34

Gunaseelan Rajoo/Manohar Menon    1:30:29

P. Nandakumar/Suresh Parkash Sharma  1:38:02

Muhammad Siraj Abdullah/Abi Ridzuan  1:39:45

Arjun Rao/Musa Sheriff (India)    1:43:23

Those of you among the estimated crowd of 30,000 people who attend the A1 GP race at Sepang on Sunday would probably have noticed the Jobstreet.com tent put up in front of gates 4 & 5. From 10am till the minutes before the race commenced, volunteers - which included a few of us from AW - stationed in the tent were busy giving away freebies to holders of Jobstreet.com ticket vouchers. 

Besides Jobstreet.com, other entities such as Proton and Mofaz also gave away a sizeable amount of free grandstand tickets to the public leading to an unprecedented turn-out. Past the turnstiles, the crowd had a row of Lotus cars to pose with besides the usual food and beverage stalls, which undoubtedly made a tidy profit.

The race itself was a disappointment, as far as Team Malaysia is concerned, having been undone not by poor strategy or driving, but by a technical mishap that sent driver Fairuz Fauzy into a confused pitlane who did not anticipate his arrival. This sent Fairuz hurtling down from 3rd place to 13th. Nevertheless, the man salvaged some pride with some very daring driving and overtaking maneuvers that sent the crowd to raptures.

Down but not out, Fairuz, consistently clocked lap times between 1:50 and 1:51, and slowly inched his way up the opponents within striking distance. Once up close, he attacked relentlessly, diving down their left and then right. His tenacity saw Team Lebanon and Team Italy battered to submission, and considering the circumstances, he can actually be proud of a 10th place finish - which he richly deserved.

Those of us at the Jobstreet.com tent were truly humbled by the overwhelming support from the crowd coming to us. Autoworld.com.my and Jobstreet.com wish to thank you all for your support. We hope you enjoyed the race as much as we did, and see you next year.

Early in the day

All hands, man your stations!

Everybody pose in front of the Jobstreet.com banner!

The crowd braving the scathing heat…

Jobstreet.com’s tent getting overwhelmed! Help! (p.s. Thanks for the support everyone!)

The most wanted cap in Sepang.

We were really struggling to keep up with the demand….

Look at the crowd!!

A few Lotuses on display

As if as more noise were needed…

Blistering heat ensured good business for the ice-blended coffees.

What’s this clown doing here?

Spectators getting into position.

Spectators getting into position.

The safety car - Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (don’t you just love the sound of that name?)

Team Malaysia getting ready to start…

Maserati Quattroporte - Medical Car.

This image was captured with some effort…

This too..

Pit crews in action… much easier to capture.

Team Ireland takes the chequered flag.

Crowd applauds Fairuz, despite coming in 10th. Drove with guts.

Team Jobstreet.com leaving the scene.

A chance to catch the A1GP in Sepang, during the lull you can watch rallly cars tear around the palm oil estates nearby

It has been a while since the oil palms of Sepang is shaken by the rumble of speeding rally cars and it has been some time since Klang Valley rally fans have had a round they can call home.

All is forgiven, this year Wheel Sport Management Sdn Bhd, organiser of the Malaysian Rally Championship decided it is time to come back to Sepang and they chose the same weekend as the A1GP. I think that is a smart move as both events can support each other in terms of drawing spectator interest.

I will be getting down and dirty on the Rally SS and I think you guys should too because WSM has chosen routes that run a long many of the main roads in the area so spectators will get to see a large part of the competitive driving.

It will be a a great round because the SS are short, averaging only 5km. This. together with the long straights and tricky corners will ensure a fast pace of rally with the potential for a lot of spills.

The championship maybe in Karamjit’s hand but there is still a lot of excitement in the class fights and  team Pennzoil’s nemesis, Perodua M5 is still chasing after class honours so expect to see their little cars zipping around in full force this weekend.

It is quite startling to see the abuse drivers put these small cars through and Perodua is a popular car for entry level rallying in Malaysia.

Veteran navigaotr, Bernard Chin says that the Sepang SS are all new so no one has driven on them before, this makes for an interesting weekend as everyone tries to quickly learn the intircacies of the route adn spot all the hazards during the recce today.

Chin’s driver is Kan Chee Hong and together they will pilot a Perodua Myvi 4WD Turbo.

Chin reckons the Perodua team has a good chance of raking in class points and wins this weekend as long as they don’t push too hard.

“From our intel, we know that the SS are rough adn quite fast so if we push too hard, it wil probably cause a breakdown so we ahve to keep our head and focus on the class honours then it will be OK. If we start going gung ho for overall win, then things may go wrong,” he added.

Well, I’m of to the recce, hope to see you guys over the weekend

WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R

The Super GT International Series In Malaysia, Round 4 of the 2008 Autobacs Super GT, was held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on June 22 and the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R driven by the pair of Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira and Seiji Ara came through to win its first race of the season in the GT500 class. This was the second consecutive victory for this team at the Sepang round. 

The race started a 16:00 in the late afternoon to avoid the mid-day tropical heat. Starting from 4th position on the grid, Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira did the first stint at the wheel of the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R and passed one machine on the first lap to move into 3rd position. He brought the machine into the pit on the 25th lap and turned over the wheel to teammate Seiji Ara. Ahead of Ara, the 1st and 2nd place qualifiers, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R and the ARTA NSX, were battling for the lead, but the two machines collided when the NSX was trying to pass the GT-R. The NSX was given a drive-trough penalty  for this, which enabled Ara to move into 2nd position. Then on the 50th lap, when the leading MOTUL AUTECH GT-R lost acceleration momentarily exiting the second corner, Ara passed it and raced onto the checkered an victory at the at the end of the 54th lap.

MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

This is the first victory for MOTUL AUTECH GT-R since last year’s round four at Sepang in June. Thus it is also the second consecutive victory for this team at the Sepang round. It is also the second Super GT win for the team managed by former Japanese celebrity Masahiko Kondo, popularly known as Match. For Nissan GT-R teams, this is the third victory of the season, following wins at the season opener and round two. It is also the third 1-2 victory for the GT-R.

The GT300 class victory went to the No. 77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA driven by Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki. This was the first Super GT win for the IMPREZA since September of 1998 (Round 5, Motegi).

CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA

==Winner Comments==
 
No. 24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R [GT500]
Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira: “Fantastic! Nothing can beat this feeling. The team, the crew, the tires, everything was in great condition, so I was confident we could win. Last year, ours was a come-from-behind win. But this year the lead machines were also very fast and it was a difficult race where we had to push, push and push the whole race.”
 
Seiji Ara: “As a team, we were aiming for a win here at Sepang. Our Yokohama tires were better in every aspect compared to last year, and that helped us go into the race more aggressively than ever. De Oliviera got us a good position in yesterday’s qualifying and he turned the machine over to me today in a good position, which made things easier for us. Both the machine and the tires performed with good consistency and we expected to have a close competition with the other GT-R machines, but it looks like we had more to spare than machine No. 22. The performance was especially good in the low-speed turns, and when No. 22 made a mistake, I was able to pass it with no sweat.”

Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira, Masahiko Kondo & Seiji Ara
 

No. 77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA [GT300]
Tetsuya Yamano: “Kota [Sasaki] got the pole position for us, so I had a very easy start. The team had told me to go out and get us a 15-second margin and I was able to do that, so it was a perfect race for me. Two years ago, our team manager, Mr. Omizo, brought me to this team saying that he wanted me to help them win with the Impreza. Last year we tried but couldn’t turn the effort into results. This year the machine has been very good, so we really wanted that first win, and everyone on the team was determined that this race at Sepang would be it. Everyone did there job to give us this win. I am really happy.”
 
Kota Sasaki: “This is the first time in my life that I have gotten three wins at one event. It has been a fantastic weekend. I am really grateful to all the staff on the team. Yamano-san got us a good margin over 2nd place, but our pit work takes time, so things were very close. I knew the machine was fast, and that made things easier for me mentally, but there were some worries about the durability of the course of a full race, so I was paying full attention to everything. For me this was just another win, but when I think about how long and hard the team has worked for this win, I really feel the weight of it.” 

Kouta Sasaki & Tetsuya Yamano

RACE RESULTS TOP 3
[GT500 CLASS]
1. 24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R ~ J.P.L.De Oliveira/S.Ara
2. 22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R ~ M.Krumm/M.Yanagida
3. 18 TAKATA DOME NSX ~ R.Michigami/T.Kogure

[GT300 CLASS]
1. 77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA ~ T.Yamano/K.Sasaki
2. 46 MOLA LEOPALACE Z ~ K.Hoshino/H.Yasuda
3. 7 ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7 ~ H.Iiri/R.Orime

ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7

TAKATA DOME NSX

MOLA LEOPALACE Z

(more…)

Recognizing that the rebuilding and restoration of communities ravaged by the recent floods in Malaysia requires significant effort, time and money, the clubs of supercar owners have organized a “thrills at Sepang” event to raise awareness and raised funds in aid of the recent Malaysian flood victims. 

This event is organized by the Porsche Club Malaysia (PCM) in collaboration with the Ferrari Owner’s Club (FOC), Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and Force of Nature Aid Foundation (FON) to assist local foundations and non governmental organizations (NGOs) in lending a hand to communities hit by the recent devastating floods. 

This idea was conceptualized by a group of caring Supercar owners  who contribute their time and cars to be ‘chauffeurs’ for charitable passengers who will get ‘first hand’ experience of  lapping the Sepang International racing Circuit with the speed and excitement only supercars can offer.  

The belief that “the strongest force of nature is the strength of the human spirit; reminds us that every individual can make a difference in the restoration of hope in the lives of those afflicted by the flood.  Supercars for Charity offers the experience of being driven in a supercar by experienced drivers.  In addition, attendees can experience driving a race tuned Porsche Cayman S under the guidance of a professional trainer. There are four packages available for the ride;

• Single tickets:
  Class 3 -RM300/pax,
  Class 2 -RM500/pax and
  Class 1-RM1,000/pax
• GROUP - RM10,000
  5 ride tickets on Class 3 supercars, advertising space (small) on 10 supercars and photo session.
• CORPORATE RM20,000
  5 ride tickets on Class 2 supercars, advertising space (medium) on 10 supercars, advertising (logo) on show cars back-drop and photo sessions.
• PLATINUM RM50,000
  5 ride tickets on Class 1 Supercars, advertising banner on supercars (large), Corporate logo included in the photo back-drop.

The supercars for the event consist of:- Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus Esprit V8, Aston Martins, Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG, BMW M6

Show Cars:- Pagani Zonda, Maserati MC12, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F50, McLaren SLR

The event hopes to raise funds to implement projects for communities to recover from the flooding that hit Malaysia recently, raise awareness of the needs of flood victims, raise awareness that rebuilding communities require a long-term commitment and most communities are neglected once the media coverage ends or goes away.

There will also be other events scheduled as below:
2.00 – 4.00pm              Charity Rides (pt 1)
4.00 – 4.45pm              PREMIUM RIDES
4.45 – 5.00pm              Break
5.00 – 6.00pm              Charity Rides (pt 2)
6.00 – 7.00pm              Open Track – Owners/Racecars Sprint
7.00pm                        END 

100% of the proceeds from this event will benefit flood victims which will be monitored and disbursed by Force of Nature Aid Foundation to the Rotary & Lion Club and/or other local NGOs and foundations in aid of the flood victims.  The event will be held at Sepang International Circuit on Sunday 24 February 2008.