Petaling Jaya 15th June - Grass Racing Autosports or commonly known as GRA, held their second ever night race at the famous Sepang International F1 Circuit car park. Sponsored by Red Line Oils, Gophers GPS, Vanli Genuine Parts, Perma Glass, BFGoodrich Tires, EcoCoats, Greenletrics, ContourHD and Acrogain. Moving onto Round 2, the fast straights and tighten hairpins proved to be a race of attrition for the Open Class Cars, as each of the top leading runners suffered some form of failure before starting their night runs.

Ee Yoong Cherng in a Nissan S13 Silvia Turbo claimed top spot when he managed to clinch 1st Overall in the 2nd round of GRA. Yoong, having the skills and car for autocrossing, proved unbeatable here and this would be his second successive win in SIC. Marcus Chye from Team Lotus Malaysia managed a 2nd Overall with Ivan Khong from Team BFGoodrich Tires taking 3rd Overall. Whereas Marcus had a no incident run, Ivan suffered a cracked radiator after his first run, then suffered a broken exhaust manifold subsequently. He did manage to finish the course, with the least minimum runs cumulative to ensure a spot in the standings.

Ee Yoong Cherng and Marcus Chye are now neck-and-neck.

Ivan & Andy took turns with the car, and well, this is what happened…

Yoong was uncatchable, as he clocked under the 2minute barrier with a fastest time of 1m58.732secs. With Marcus still leading the championship after his Round 1 win, Yoong and Marcus are tied for the lead of GRA’s toughest ever autocross championships. Julian Pang from Team Red Line in his Proton Wira MIVEC, was the fastest normally aspirated car in the top 5 coming in 4th Overall and first in his Class OC (1601cc – 2000cc). Ray Leong from Team EcoCoats in his Nissan 200sx, managed a 5th Overall and taking 4th in Class OD, proving that 4th Overall twice in SIC may not be a fluke after all. William Lim from Team Vanli Genuine Parts, was ever quick again in his Automatic Suzuki Swift taking 7th Overall, 1st in his Class AA ( Automatic up to 2500cc ) and 1st in Grass Class.

The course layout was fast, with a long straight spanning about 400 meters making it possible to hit 4th gear for the more powerful cars. Mike Ng, in his Mitsubishi Evo 7, went up on the ranks with a superb finish in 7th Overall, taking precious points to chalk up his standings in the Open Class. 2009 GRA Champion Andy Kow in his Subaru Impreza has issues on getting to the start, and had to get a loaner car from compatriot Chiew Ruoh Peng’s BMW Z4M. Andy managed an 11th Overall finish, and picking up valuable points to continue his defense of his title. Alven Lee in his Perodua Kelisa with a new power plant was able to chalk up a fantastic run with a 2nd in Class OA win, and taking 9th Overall in Open Class. Despite being the smallest car in the Open Class, his driving was clean and quick on the fast circuit, making use of the wide open car park to chop down the times. Kenneth Chiew from Team EcoCoats managed only a 3rd in Class OA, behind William and Alven.

Andy eventually shared car with Chiew Rouh Peng.

In Pro Grass Class OB ( 1501cc-1600cc ), Zulraimi Yunus in his Toyota Corolla, took 1st in Class, with Norhaziman Bahaman in his Proton Satria taking 2nd with Tuah Damak in a Honda Civic taking 3rd. After the day runs, all 3 competitors were within one second of each other fighting for the lead. It was the night run that Zulraimi clocked 2/100sec faster than Norhaziman to take the win. Woo Keen Pong from Team Vanli Genuine Parts had a good run till he was caught out with a flying left rear wheel coming off and overtaking him on the back straight. Pong said ‘I was going flat out till I heard a loud noise and the car was sliding all over the place before I could do anything, I saw a wheel flying over my car’. It was a scary moment as it was during the night run and to the disbelief of everyone as the tire flew over the large drain and landing onto the side of the curb on the other end.

Pong’s Satria provided the day’s drama. His left rear wheel flew off when he was going flat out.

In Pro Grass OC (1601cc-2000cc), 2nd spot went to Edrin Mokthar in a Proton Satria GTI, with Nicholas Teh taking 3rd in a Proton Putra. Sia Chee Bin from Team Perma Glass in his Proton Satira NEO, had a problematic run with his car suffering from an electrical problem throughout the race causing him to be both a mechanic and driver at the same time. In the Open Class Novice for OD, Andrew Yap in a Lotus Exige took 1st spot with Zahril Fikri taking 2nd spot in his FWD Charade Turbo Espri with Tan Ke-Vin in a Golf GTI taking 3rd. The race did not prove to be an easy one, with many drivers getting caught out with car failures just before the night runs.

Ivan spent the entire day fixing his car, with competitor Sky Loo helping him out and going between runs to assist drivers in a limp. Howard Goh from Red Line said, ‘GRA is a very strong community that boasts on competitive spirit amongst drivers and also bonds friendships amongst everyone’. It was not surprising to see everyone helping out, as with Pong suffering from his flying wheel, Charlie Ling and various others came to the rescue by lifting up the car to tighten back the wheel onto the disc hub. There was also presence of a group of photographers who came to take pictures of the GRA event regularly to support the grassroot motorsports. The main attraction for them was mainly the racequeens who normally grace the event during lunch time to add color to the event.

GRA’s race queens posing for the photographers.

Perma Glass’s representative Ong Chuan Yuan said, ‘We are embarking on a new partnership with GRA that really shows what and how we can work with the community which is truly great for us to allow fans to try out the stuff we have, we look forward to the coming Round 3′. EcoCoats Managing Director Kevin Leow said, ‘We are fielding in 3 cars, as we want to promote GRA as a good form of motorsports, and anyone in any car is able to join and race in a safe environment’.

The race also had the presence of Vanli Genuine Parts supporting the event with the availability of certain car parts during race day. Woo Keen Pong from Vanli said, ‘GRA is a large community of drivers who know what is good for their cars. We want to be the driver’s solution for parts, and we want to grow with the community of drivers here in GRA’. Lee Siong from Gophers GPS, participating himself in his Mazda Miata proved that one need not need a fast car to have fun. ‘I want to drive in GRA myself to learn and improve my driving ability and also to utilize our GPS unit in racing conditions!’ said a quirky Lee Siong who is also the Managing Director of Gophers GPS.

Lee Siong having fun in his Mazda Miata.

GRA moves into Round 3 with much anticipation on who will take the lead in the championship after the third round. As the race draws nearer, all the competitors are gearing up with more modifications now to be ahead. GRA still has the Novice and Grass Class categories for the grassroot level drivers, but with the Open Class drivers taking it one notch higher, this year’s race will prove to a very interesting one. There are 3 more rounds left in the season with the championship going either way. For more details of this exciting series, log onto www.grassracingautosports.com for autocrossing updates.

Text: Official release by DrivingMotion.com. View the original story here.
Pictures & Captions: KON

Honda Malaysia, using its Facebook presence, is organizing an action adventure for its motorsports fans to Hulu Langat this coming weekend. Costing RM120 per pax, which is inclusive of a buffet lunch and drinks, participation can be registered at the Honda Racing Malaysia Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingMalaysia).

A series of physical activities, which includes negotiating obstacles on ropes over 30-ft high, and an orbing challenge in what’s dubbed the ‘Orb Olympics’ are lined up for the adventure buffs, with Grand Stand tickets for the upcoming Super GT Sepang 2010 on 20 June amongst the rewards offered to motivate participants. Orbing is an exercise where participants are strapped inside a huge inflatable ball and rolled down a slope. Other activities include an archery and a ‘Fear Factor’ type challenge.

DAY 1

Reigning champion Valentino Rossi topped the timesheets on the first day of testing for the 2010 Sepang MotoGP. Rain held back track actions close to the end of the session, but in general the day was typical Malaysia sweltering weather, so the riders had plenty amount of time to acclimatize to their new rides.

As expected, Rossi set the fastest time of 2’01.411 ahead of 17 riders that took part in the test. Though his fastest lap was slower by a second compared to his pole time at Sepang last year.

Casey Stoner, Rossi’s fierce rival in previous seasons, slotted into second place nearly half a second slower than Rossi. It’s reported that Stoner tested a redesigned engine while his teammate Hayden was trying out new forks and new fairings on the machine.

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi launch Yamaha new livery on YZR-M1 prototype. The bike was lightning quick at Sepang with Rossi at the wheel.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was nowhere near Rossi as he didn’t quite adapt to the new machine. He later concluded that the new machine is strikingly different from the previous one. Knowing his talent last year, I think it’s only a matter of time before he catches up with Rossi. Disappointingly, he ended fifth fastest, seconds off Rossi’s pace.

Stoner, meanwhile, is pleased with his bike balance and engine performance despite, though he felt that Malaysia’s intense hot weather made it difficult to evaluate any improvements of the GP10.

Marco Simoncelli was quite satisfied with his bike but felt that he needed more track time to understand it. He commented that in the 250cc bikes that he was accustomed to, any changes in setup were very easy to feel, as opposed to the larger 800cc MotoGP bike which he has just graduated to. He was notably struggling with front traction during the test. He still finds the limit difficult to understand in this MotoGP machine.

Rossi highlighted the importance of a six-day test to properly setup the bike. He was content with the first day, as the different chassis and engine is very competitive. The M1 is right on it at the first day with no issues at all. Media and team were impressed. Rossi, humble as he is, credited this success to his team.

Nicky Hayden is seen testing Ducati new fairings. It’s evident in the pictures showing that his Ducati having no livery. The new fairing design is more edgy as can be seen compared to Stoner’s Ducati. Hayden, at the end of the session is disappointed that his bike struggles a lot for edge chatter. He hopes to move fast as there is not much testing to be done before the season kickoff.

MotoGP Sepang Test Day 1 Results:

1. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) 2′01.411
2. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) 2′01.902
3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) 2′01.932
4. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) 2′02.102
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) 2′02.165
6. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 2′02.630
7. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) 2′02.792
8. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 2′02.866
9. Mika Kallio (Pramac) 2′02.987
10. Hector Barbera (Aspar Team) 2′03.030
11. Aleix Espargaro (Pramac) 2′03.133
12. Ben Spies (Yamaha Tech 3) 2′03.142
13. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) 2′03.456
14. Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) 2′03.558
15. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda) 2′03.563
16. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda) 2′03.609
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten-Honda) 2′03.651

DAY 2

Valentino Rossi predictably remained on top of the time sheets in the new factory Yamaha YZR-M1 prototype yet again.

The wet track saw most riders prefer sitting out of the morning session. Though the rain had already subsided before the session started, but the track only dried completely at 1.00 pm. There was little activity on the track. Even Rossi and Stoner stayed in the garage for most of the day, only choosing to go out when the track completely dried.

Rossi bettered his time to 2’00.925 to take the fastest overall from Day1 and Day2. He later mentioned that he was happy to be the fastest overall. It was important for him to kick start with a strong bike. The new M1 was right on it the first day and continued to improve on Day 2. It’s a good sign as new parts coming in at the next test will definitely improve the YZR-M1 further. Nevertheless, Rossi was cautious as Yamaha had always fared well at Sepang, he observed that Qatar which is the opening race of MotoGP 2010 will be the true yardstick against the competition.

Casey Stoner was generally pleased with set-up of the bike after trying some new things with the swingarm, but his half-second lap time deficit against Rossi is not going to please him. The new engine is not fast out of the box, Ducati has been using previous engine for three years already so the new engine may need further refinements and improvements. It’s too early to fully judge the capability of the new engine. Like all other new parts, it may require time to understand. Anyhow, this will certainly be a concern to the engine guys at the Ducati. On a more positive side, two weeks later they will be here again at Sepang for the final test before the season kick off. I will be here reporting back to see whether the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 has the answer to the YZR-M1.

The Yamaha team recently announced that Rossi and Jorge will not share information between them this season anymore. While Rossi is a man capable of looking after himself, will the young Jorge Lorenzo be able to mount a challenge on his own? The practice times thus far suggest that Stoner might chip between them a lot next season. My speculation might be unfounded, but this might be one thing to look for this season if you are a MotoGP fan.

Colin Edwards ended 7th fastest, approximately 1.5 seconds slower than Rossi, though he was happy with the performance of the new engine being very enthusiastic about it. We understand that racing is not about fastest lap, it’s about consistencies of your pace over long runs. So Colin knows the game too well and he has every reason to be happy about this. We have no access at his lap times in average but Colin says it’s a great test and if the momentum carries on, the new machine might be in serious business.

Nicky Hayden finding wet setups in the morning session. He was not happy with the weather as it disrupts his program on Day 2.

Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s new RC212V best time was 11th with Melandri at the end of the day. Second fastest in the wet is a positive sign for the team. He noted that the team however struggled a bit with the suspension.

Alvaro Bautisto fresh from GP250 series, it’s going to be rough rookie season from him as he ended the day 16th from 17th.

From the initial tests Rossi is showing signs of dominance again, though it’s still too early to speculate at this stage. We will be at Sepang again and will bring more coverage and insights for the second test.

MotoGP Sepang Test Day 2 Results:

1. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) 2’00.925
2. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) 2’01.320
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) 2’01.680
4. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 2’01.822
5. Ben Spies (Yamaha Tech 3) 2’02.266
6. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 2’02.266
7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) 2’02.479
8. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) 2’02.493
9. Aleix Espargaro (Pramac) 2’02.647
10. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) 2’02.763
11. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda) 2’02.810
12. Hector Barbera (Aspar Team) 2’03.032
13. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) 2’03.043
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten-Honda) 2’03.195
15. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda) 2’03.245
16. Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) 2’03.275
17. Mika Kallio (Pramac) 2’03.359

More Pictures:

Muaz Zakaria

Day One of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2009 Round 4 at Sepang came to a conclusion yesterday, with Saladin Mazlan of Felda Rally Team leading defending champion Karamjit Singh by 24.4 seconds.

Saladin powering ahead of Karamjit.

Driving a Proton Gen.2, Saladin took full advantage of a failing turbocharger in Karamjit’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, as Karamjit’s partner, Jagdev Singh reflected, “We were fast enough in the short, twisty stages but we were no match for Saladin on the long stretches.”

Saladin is naturally pleased with the outcome, noting, “We are very happy with today’s result.  The car is running very well and if we have a good day tomorrow we can finish first Overall and in the P12 and 4WD categories.”

Directly behind Saladin and Karamjit is the Subaru Impreza of Muhammad Rafiq Udhaya in third place. When asked about his performance, Rafiq commented, “Today was only our second time racing this car, so we are still getting used its power. But we are very happy with our performance so far.”

Coming in fourth was Gunaseelan Rajoo of GSR Pennzoil Racing Team. Amidst heavy rain and slippery terrain, Guna made no mistakes and eased his way to the finish line, as many of his competitors were undone by the treacherous conditions.

The Felda Rally Team lost two of their four cars with Azmeer Yusri Yusoff hitting a tree, and Mohammad Zekri Ibrahim skidding off the track. Out of 25 cars starting the race, only 16 crossed the finish line for the day.

Leading the 2WD and P11 categories is the Hong Kong pair Clayton Check and Tracy Li, with Mike Ariokiasamy Ratnam partnering his 22-year-old daughter Maruthi. “Maruthi is vey new to Rally.  She got her first taste in the Rally Sprint a few weeks ago and now the MRC, but she is a fast learner and enjoying the challenge,” Mike said.

Meanwhile, in the Junior and P10 categories, Faidzal Alang maintains his lead over his competitors.

Held at Ladang KLIA, Sepang, the rally took its competitors through 12 stages yesterday stretching 286.65 km long. The race continues today for another 194.43 km.

KON

After pulverizing the opposition in Round 2, Andy Kow found the going a little tougher in the third round of the Grass Racing Autocross Championship 2009 held at the parking lot of the Sepang International Circuit. Having strolled to victory the first two rounds, Andy, in his Subaru Impreza WRX, found himself in an unaccustomed position of playing second fiddle to Ee Yoong Cherng’s Nissan Silvia, who actually won by a comfortable margin. The other Silvia, piloted by Ariff Johanis, also prospered, holding off a stiff challenge for third place from Ivan Khong, back in action in his Impreza WRX.

Ivan & Andy found themselves upstaged by Ee Yoong Cherng and Ariff Johanis

Unlike in earlier rounds, the course for Round 3 was designed to be a high speed circuit, with a long straight and two high speed follow throughs. Unlike in Round 2, where the emphasis is on the driver’s ability to negotiate tight spaces, Round 3 hands the advantage back to the high powered cars, as William Lim found out in his Suzuki Swift 1.5(A). Competing in both Grass and Pro-Grass, William found himself much lower down the pecking order in the Pro-Grass classes as the bigger cars flexed their considerable muscles.

William Lim found the going a little tougher this time. Not that he didn’t manage.

Nevertheless, William still returned home happy as he finished comfortably ahead of Adams Marcos’ Honda Civic EG8 in the earlier Grass rounds. Drivers in the Grass class were given four timed runs, with the fastest run being used to rank them against each other. William’s fastest time was 2:02.741, almost seven seconds ahead of Adams’ 2:09.003. Both William and Adams are from Class AA (Up to 2,500 cc automatic transmission), as are Lok Kuan Wen and Chu Poh Kin, who steered their Suzuki Swift and Toyota Altezza to third and fourth place respectively, in both Class AA and also overall Grass. Indeed the Class AA vehicles have been dominating the Grass category all season, with the top positions all monopolized by drivers from this category.

Grass Class A, the playing field of cars below 1,300cc, saw the Saga BLM and the Proton Savvy make their debuts in this season’s GRA. Syafiq Amsyar, piloting the BLM, finished second in the class behind Zaki Ahmad in his Perodua Viva 1.0. Charlene Khoo was third in her Perodua Kelisa. Their podium finishes enabled both Zaki and Charlene to propel themselves to second and third place respectively in the class championship point standings behind Danial Khairi. Danial took things easy in his Satria 1.3, finishing fifth in the category, but still managing to stay comfortably ahead of Zaki in the point standings.

Zaki Ahmad wins Grass Class OA

Only five drivers participated in Grass Class B (1,301 – 1,600cc), with three of them being debutants. David Lau’s absence from this round opened the room for competitors to slash his class championship point lead, and it was an opportunity that Hafis Shukor in his Proton Satria Neo exploited to maximum effect. Hafis’ win moves him to within a point of David (or A4dave in our forums), setting the stage for a grand finale between the two at Round 4. The win did not come easy for Hafis, as his standard Neo had to fend off the challenge of debutant Jarryd Tan’s Neo CPS, who finished just half a second behind. Hafiz Rahamat, also a debutant, finished a further five seconds behind Jarryd in his Toyota Corolla LE.

Hafis moves quickly to slash Dave’s lead.

Jarryd in hot pursuit

Action for the Pro-Grass classes commenced in the afternoon after the conclusion of the Grass classes. The 36 Pro-Grass drivers were given five timed runs and were ranked against each other based on the cumulative time of their two best runs. Ee Yoong Cherng’s Silvia clocked a cumulative time of 3:44.394 to take first place, a full eight seconds ahead of Andy Kow’s Impreza WRX at 3:52.592. Besides trying in vain to chase Ee, Andy also had to fend off Ariff Johanis, Ivan Khong and Jason Foo, all of whom finished within a second of his time. Despite this minor setback, Andy remains comfortably ahead in the Pro-Grass Championship point standings. Tied much closer and are Jason Foo and Julian Pang, occupying second and third places respectively, separated by just three points.

Jason Foo and Julian Pang go head-to-head in a battle royale

Even though finishing tenth overall, William Lim and his mighty Suzuki Swift still dominated Pro-Grass Class OA (below 1,500cc) by a huge margin, with a twelve-second gap separating him and Kenneth Chiew’s Proton Wira 1.3. Asman Yahaya, driving a Proton Satria 1.3, finished third in this class. Coincidentally, this same order is repeated in the class championship point standings.

Kenneth and Asman could hardly keep up with William.

Pro-Grass Class OB (1,501 – 1,600cc) comprised of two Toyota Corollas and a Proton Satria Neo. The Neo, driven by Sia Chee Bin, won the class ahead of Zulraimi Yunus in second place. Leon Tan and Woo Wei Kuang, both sharing a Corolla KE70, finished third and fourth respectively. Sia’s second successive win has propelled him to the top of his class at 17 points, with Leon Tan close behind at 14. Zulraimi also moved himself up the ladder, with his second placing putting him level on points with Tuah Damak and Nigel Chye.

C.B. Sia’s Neo beats the Toyotas again.

The hottest battleground is found in Pro-Grass Class OC (1,601 – 2,200cc), where Jason Foo and Julian Pang lock horns in the play ground of 1.8-litre Protons. Julian trails the class championship standings by a single point, but he was nowhere near Jason’s blistering times, finishing a cumulative six seconds behind. Behind these two titans, even more closely locked, are Jordan Saw and Nicholas Teh, both driving Proton Putras, separated by a second on the day, and a point in the class championship. Jordan triumphed on the day, clocking a cumulative time of 4:11.875, ahead of Nicholas’ 4:12.426. However, Nicholas still holds a slight upper hand in the class championship standings, leading Jordan by a single point. The stage is set for a pair of fierce showdowns in this class come Round 4.

It’s also tight between Nicholas and Jordan.

Like how the Class AA dominates Grass, the Class OD exerts a similar influence in Pro-Grass, as these cars, boosted by their four-wheel drives and turbochargers maintain a stranglehold in the top positions. The biggest surprise came from Ee Yoong Cherng, who stunned championship leader Andy Kow to take victory in this group and the overall Pro-Grass category. Returning to the fray after a brief hiatus, is Ivan Khong in his red Subaru Impreza WRX. Khong only managed a fourth place finish behind Ariff Johanis driving the other Nissan Silvia.

Barring an absolute howler, Andy should see himself bagging the Pro-Grass title at the conclusion of Round 4 later in the year. The championship leader needs only four points from the next round to seal it. Below him, Jason Foo and Julian Pang will be going all out in the fight for second place. Jason has a three point advantage, but Julian is too dangerous a competitor to be written off. Just below in the fight for fourth, four points separate the two Nissan Silvias of Ee and Ariff, with William’s Swift sandwiched in between. The man’s punching well above his weight, but he’s really holding his own.

Not so fast this time, but Andy should still seal the Pro-Grass title come Round 4

William’s chances of taking of the Grass title is as much a foregone conclusion as Andy taking the Pro-Grass title. Adams Marcos sits seven points behind him in second place, but a full eight points ahead of Fred Foong in his Proton Wira 1.5(A). Behind Fred, however, things can still change fairly rapidly, as fourth placed Victor Lim, at nine points, is only five points ahead of Wong Siew Weng and Chu Kean Wei. A massive shake-up among the Grass standings is still very much in the cards.

William should be taking the Grass title too.

KON

See also:
- Andy Kow & William Lim steal show in GRA Round 2,
- GRA Results

I have just reported in at the Sepang International Circuit’s media centre to see free practice sessions for the Asian Festival of Speed 2009 today.

Setting up shop at the SIC’s media centre.

As I type this, the Formula BMW cars are just concluding their free practice runs. The Asian Touring Cars are up next.

A Formula BMW car concludes its practice. Mental note – beware of half naked men appearing in picture frame next time.

Live updates will be posted on the forum on our dedicated Asian Festival of Speed 2009, Sepang International Circuit thread.

OK, gotta run, the Asian Touring Cars are out. Before I go, let me leave you with a couple of other shots I took thus far.

If practice already like that….

Photographers milking what little action they’re getting today.

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

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