Ian Khong Keeps the Ford Flag Flying
Ford Romps Home with Class Win.
March 06, 2005, Putrajaya – It was smiles all round for the Ford Racing Team as their Ford Focus Rally car romped home with an overall win in the P12 class for non-homologated cars in the first round of the AAM Malaysian Rally Championships, held over two days at Putrajaya. Although he suffered problems with his car, determination and an excellent service crew kept Ian Khong, and his rookie co-driver Desmond Ong in front of the competition, scoring valuable points for the 2005 championship. It was a race of attrition, with eight cars dropping out of a field of 19 starters.
Jubilant over his win, Ian said, “The terrain was very rough and uneven. Most of the cars were bobbing up and down through the washboard-like roads carved out from the empty land in and around Putrajaya. The suspension was heavily stressed, and dust was everywhere.” “We had our share of problems, but thanks to our crew, and a little coaxing on my part, we managed to bring the car home safely,” he added. Ian always remembers the advice from his father, who told him a long time ago that to finish first, you first must finish. Ian’s suffered a broken suspension and had turbo problems, and for some of the stages, he had to limp through to get to the designated rally service points for attention.
The Perodua Rally team had both their cars retire from the rally with differential problems, attesting to the toughness of the rally course. Newcomer, James Russel had a brake line cut in one of the stages, and lost his brakes on the subsequent transport stage, and crashed out of the rally. Fan Fan, from China, in a Mitsubishi Evo8, suffered mechanical problems on Leg 1, and retired, but continued in Leg 2.
It was like an oven in Putrajaya, with no tree cover, and temperatures as high as 36 degrees Celcius in the shade. P Nandakumar, co-driver to Suresh Parkash Sharma in a Proton Satria 1.6, suffered from dehydration and could not continue, forcing Suresh to retire after Leg 1.
The overall winner of the event was Saladin Mazlan, in a Subaru Imprezza 4WD, finishing 3 minutes and 24 seconds ahead of Rifat Sungkar and Rizal Sungkar in a Proton Pert 4WD.
