High Attrition Rate at Malaysian Rally Championships Round 3 – Port Dickson
High Attrition Rate at Malaysian Rally Championships Round 3 – Port Dickson
Port Dickson, Malaysia, 8 May 2005 – It was a day of attrition for seven out of 18 competitors who took part in the 3rd Round of the Malaysian Rally Championships held in the oil palm plantations around Port Dickson over the weekend.
The roads were beautiful and smooth, narrow at some places, but wide wnought to take two cars abreast at many stretches. The roads were gravel based, with its share of tight turns, ditches and culverts, but generally flowed well, with flat crests and high speed corners that made it a real thrill to drive on. One particular ‘yump’ had cars taking off and landing a good 80 metres away, giving the spectators a great spectacle to watch. Fan Fan, the lone participant from China, jumped the longest distance, but broke his sumpguard and front left suspension. Luckily, he was able to limp through the next short stage and get to service park for corrective surgery.
Although the roads were great, intermittent rain during the early stages dampened the roads a little on Day One (Saturday. The upside was that there was no dust, just mud, lots of it.
First to exit the competition was the veteran pair of Kan Chee Hong, and Bernard Chin; their Perodua Kelisa Turbo lost all drive in SS4 (the sspecial stage, not the Petaling Jaya district), relegating them to the rank of spectator for the rest of the event.
SR Motorsport’s New Zealand-based crews suffered another unlucky weekend, with neither being classified as finishers. Brian
Green and Fleur Pedersen retired in SS6, when the rear differential broke in dramatic fashion, making the car undriveable. SS14 was the worst of it all, taking out four cars at one time. Saladin Mazlan had all but taken the rally trophy home, when with one stage to go, he landed in a ditch, getting well and truly stuck. Dermott Malley in a Subaru Imprezza suffered a blown turbo, and that put paid to their chances to win. Ian Khong suffered some mechanical problems after hitting an unseen obstacle, twice, and limped out too late to clock into the finish control, and was excluded. Kok Pak Chiang, in a Proton wira 1.6, who hit something and broke his front left knuckle in SS14, had to call it a day too. Kammal Jummu, driving a Proton Satria 1.3 also had to call it quits in the same SS after suffering an engine problem.
Top honours went to Indonesian driver Rifat Sungkar, in a Proton Pert, who kept his nose clean, and drove flawlessly to win the rally, followed by Fan Fan a minute and 51 seconds behind.Third was Lim Leong Onn, popularly known as ‘Doc’, in a Perodua Kelisa Turbo
Seventeen year-old James Russell, ably assisted by highly-experienced co-driver Jagdev Singh, managed to notch-up a second in class and eighth overall. It was a measured drive for James, in difficult conditions, with mechanical problems also playing a part.
James and Jagdev would no doubt have finished higher up the leader
board had they not suffered a rear suspension top mount failure in
Leg 1, which saw them lose more than ten minutes over three stages.
Not fighting for the championship, they also were able to take the
time to assist Brian and Fleur on a couple of stages, when their car
slid off the road in the soggy and slippery conditions.
Team Principal Paul Russell commented “It was exactly the type of
result we wanted from James after two unlucky non-finishes. It is a
great confidence booster, and our mission was accomplished. Being
able to tap into Jagdev’s experience was a real bonus.” Regarding
the team’s two other entries, he said “It was very unfortunate to
have two DNFs. Both cars were running solidly, and we should have
seen both finish in the top five. I believe the differential failure
was just one of those things that happens from time to time, but the
failure of a second relatively-new turbo needs investigating” he
concluded.
The Malaysian Rally Championship continues in June with an event in
the northern state of Perlis, close to the Thai border.
