High Attrition Rate at Final MRC Round In Perlis
Kangar, Perlis, 9th December, 2007 – Clear skies in Kangar brought a pleasant surprise to the start of the final round of the Felda-AAM Malaysian Rally Championship 2007 (FAMRC) in Chuping, Perlis yesterday. 27 cars were officially flagged off by Y.B. Zahari Bakar, State EXCO of Culture, Arts and Human Resource. Also present was FELDA Director General, Datuk Ahmad Tarmizi at Kayangan Square in downtown Kangar on Saturday afternoon.
Newly crowned champions Karamjit Singh and Jagdev Singh led the overall standings after Leg One, having pushed their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 to clock the lowest penalties for the day – 54 minutes and 52 seconds, after six Special Stages (SS).
Their closest rivals, the Indonesian team of Benny Lautan and Edwin Nasution on board a Proton PERT suffered mechanical problems, and failed to complete the Leg.
Brothers Gunaseelan and Jayaseelan Rajoo of the GSR Pennzoil Racing Team ended as overnight leaders of Class P11, and more importantly, cut the gap to Class Championship leaders Kan Chee Hong and Bernard Chin to a single point before entering the second leg on Sunday.
The Perodua M5 Racing Team duo of Kan and Chin did not finish SS2 due to mechanical problems but managed to get their Perodua Myvi ready for Leg Two, the next day.
Friends Ahmad Shafie Jalil and Sutan Mustaffa Salihin had some fierce rivalry as they battled it out for the Class P10 (over 1400cc up to and including 1600cc) trophy. Both were on sitting on 30 points at the start of this round and it was a fight to the end to see who emerges victorious.
Eight of the twenty-seven cars that started did not finish Leg One, and this included husband and wife team, Charles David and Melinda Gomez in a Proton Satria, Yusof Tumin and Nazre Yusof in a Ford Laser 4WD and the Japanese team of Takeshi Azuma and Masako Sakane in the Proton Putra 4WD.
This Round also saw the all-female team, newcomers Kanchana Nanda Kumar and Fairuz Hazwani Mohd Ali, DNF (Did Not Finish) their first rally leg in SS2 due to clutch problems, but they continued on Day 2 to gain some more experience.
At the end of Leg One, the unofficial leaders were Karamjit Singh and Jagdev Singh in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, James Russell and Douglas Pickering (SR Motorsport) were second in their Subaru Impreza and Lim Leong Onn and Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali were third in the Perodua Viva (Perodua M5 Racing Team).
Midway through the rally, Clerk-of-the-Course for the Championship, Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar Tengku Suleiman said he was relieved the rain had stopped and he was pleased with the progress of the Rally.
“I was very worried about the state of SS2. During the reconnaissance yesterday we had to pull a lot of cars out because they couldn’t handle the muddy, slippery conditions. Today we have sunshine, so the tracks have dried up giving more drivers a better chance,” said Tengku Shaharin.
At the end of the final Special Stages of Leg Two, Karamjit Singh took the overall and Class P12 titles. Last month, he was crowned the Series Champion after Round 4 in Kuantan but his win in Perlis is his fourth victory out of five Rounds in the Championship this year.
With no close rival to challenge him, the ‘Flying Sikh’ and his co-driver Jagdev Singh steered their Mitsubishi Evo 8 to an easy victory, clocking 2:08:25 in time penalties.
Second place winners James Russell and Douglas Pickering in the Subaru Impreza finished eight minutes and 25 seconds behind Karamjit and took home the Class A8 trophy.
Third place went to the Perodua M5 Racing Team duo of Lim Leong Onn and Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali who also finished first in Class P10 in the Perodua Myvi.
The Perodua M5 Racing Team easily clenched the Team Category title with 188 points. SR Motorsport finished second on 133 points and Karamjit Motorsport was third on 76 points.
In Class P11, victory went to brothers Gunaseelan and Jayaseelan Rajoo of the GSR Pennzoil Racing Team on board the Proton Gen2. Their third victory in three years, they beat previous class leaders, Kan Chee Hong and Bernard Chin in the Perodua Myvi, who missed out on the chance to score points due to their DNF on Leg One.
The winners were presented with their trophies at a ceremony in downtown Kangar this afternoon, officiated by State Assemblyman for Chuping, Mansur Jusoh.
A jubilant Karamjit said, “We are very pleased to take home both trophies. This weekend the conditions were quite difficult and we lost 3 minutes in SS3 yesterday when we slowed down to check on possible mechanical problems.”
“This was without a doubt the fastest rally for the year and in SS4, the 8.4Km stage, we were traveling at more than 200 kilometres per hour on the straights. We’ll be back again next year in this car once we have re-built it and look forward to a good Championship ahead,” Karamjit added.
Rally organizer, Wheel Sport Management Sdn Bhd’s Director, Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar Almarhum Tengku Suleiman said this weekend’s rally was a great success and he was happy with the stages.
“On Friday some of the stages were a nightmare because of the rain, but God listened to our prayers, we had fine weather all weekend and the stages were good.” Tengku Shaharin said.
“Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who participated. To those who didn’t finish, try again next year. We’ll have six Rounds in 2008 and we’ll try to make the stages more interesting for all competitors,” Tengku Shaharin added.
The first Round of the 2008 Felda-AAM Malaysian Rally Championship will take place 26th & 27th January, in Negeri Sembilan.
Official Results for Round 5
1. Karamjit Singh/Jagdev Sing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, 02:08:25
2. James Russell/Douglas Pickering, Subaru Impreza, 2:16:50
3. Lim Leong Onn/Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali, Perodua Viva 02:18:22
4. Gunaseelan Rajoo/Jayaseelan Rajoo, Proton Gen2 02:27:52
5. Nandakumar Puspanathan/Suresh Parkash Sharma, Perodua Myvi 02:29:03
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Team Category
Perodua M5 Racing Team 188 pts
SR Motorsport 133 pts
Karamjit Motorsport 76 pts
Class P12
Karamjit Singh/Jagdev Sing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 64 pts
Class P11
Gunaseelan Rajoo/Jayaseelan Rajoo, Proton Gen2 58 pts
Class 10
Lim Leong Onn/Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali, Perodua Viva 42 pts
Class 9
Jamaludin Tukimin/Rozita Tukimin, Proton Satria 65 pts
Class N4
Thomas Duroyon/Gulvinder Singh, Subaru Impreza 32 pts
Class A8
James Russell/Douglas Pickering, Subaru Impreza 64 pts
Club Men
Nik Ammar Mohamed/Roduwan Rashid, Perodua Kancil Turbo 66
