William Mei Leads AAM Malaysian 4×4 Rally Championship ‘08
Seremban, 3 September 2008 – Veteran rally driver, William Mei, still has it at the age of 65, as he now leads the AAM Malaysian 4 x 4 Rally Championship 2008 after an easy win over his rivals last weekend at round 3 of the championship. Scoring a back to back win following his success in Round 2 held on the 21/22 of June 2008, William now has a total of 38 points against his nearest rival, Francis Ho Foo Ming with 30 points. With an 8 point lead, all that William has to do to win the overall championship is to get a fourth placing in the last event scheduled for 1st / 2nd November this year.
Driving a hired Isuzu D’max built in Thailand, William was navigated by another seasoned co-driver, Jagjit Singh, son of veteran race driver Pardaman Singh who used to race together with William in the old days. William completed the 125 kilometre course in 3 hours 46 minutes and 34 seconds.
Second was Lim Seng Hai and Thai co-driver Cheong Chaiwan in a Toyota Tiger, also prepared in Thailand, trailing 12 minutes and 53 seconds behind. Third were Chen Siong Chong and Au Yong Wei Li in an Isuzu Rodeo, another three minutes and thirty two seconds behind. A total of eleven 4 x 4 vehicles of various makes took part in the competition.
Ron Teoh, Clerk of Course and promoter of this championship series said that this Championship Series has been going on for the past three years, and that the sport is growing steadily. He would like to see more participation, though, as it is fun, and is relatively at a more relaxed pace.
There are four events in the annual championship, and each event has a minimum of 125 kilometres of special stages wherein the competitors have to race against the clock to get through, and his time is his penalty for the stage. The winner of each stage is the competitor with the shortest time, just like in a regular car rally. The winner overall is the competitor who gets the least time penalties. Winners are awarded points according to their positions, and the winner at the end of the series is the competitor that got the highest points.
From what I could see of the event, it sure looks like fun, and if I can get my hands on a 4×4 ……………who knows?
