Malaysia’s Next Rally Champion: Zero.2.Hero, Season 2

Reality television actually has its roots dating back to 1948 with Candid Camera. Since then, over the years, television programmes without pre-written scripts have been produced from time to time. However, the debut of Survivor and American Idol led to the current ‘reality TV boom’, from which the likes of Big Brother, The Apprentice and The Amazing Race have sprouted out.

As a matter of fact, we now have reality shows producing anything from singers, to supermodels, to corporate leaders, to pickup artists, to porn stars, and pretty much everything else under the sun. Malaysia’s leading rally organiser, Wheel Sport Management Sdn Bhd (WSM) thought it was a good idea to add rally drivers to that still lengthening list. On 10 March 2009, the new reality show searching for Malaysia’s next rally champion, Zero.2.Hero, debuted on Astro Ria.

The first season was five episodes long, and it followed the development of 15 drivers and their co-drivers from rookies to become full-fledged rally drivers. They were put through intense and rigourous training, both theoretical and practical, to prepare them for the often unexpected rigours of rallying. Nobody gets eliminated, with a point system used at the end of the season to decide the winning pair. All the challenges, classes and filmings took place during the weekends, as the participants got on with the day-to-day lives in the weekdays.

Twice a month, they were put through driving challenges, or tests in their ability to repair and handle cars, all of which points are awarded based on performance. Their training starts with defensive driving courses, then progressing to tulip reading on maps before being put behind the wheel in progressively tougher courses that get closer and closer to the real thing. According to WSM, with this being the first reality show in the world based on motor sports, even the FIA is keeping an eye on them.

For the programme, WSM secured for the participants, sponsorship of a car (a Satria 1.6 prepped by Proton R3), and all relevant consumables and participation fees in any events that they were entered. The participants themselves, however, needed to fund for their own travelling, food and lodging whenever filming or any challenges take place.

At the end of it all, the winner got to drive home the car used during the season of the show on the pre-condition that they would use the car for every race in the Malaysian Rally Championship of 2009. The winners also receive a season-long tyre sponsorship deal from Silverstone and a grant from AAM of RM1,500 per person. The top three pairs were also sponsored to sit for their AAM racing licenses.

The prize for Season 1’s winners.

The winning pair from the first season were Faidzal Alang and his co-driver Hazwan Fauzi from Ipoh. Recently, Autoworld had the chance to speak to Faidzal, in the presence of WSM’s managing director Raja Nor Mazli Raja Tun Mohar, to recall his experience in the first season of the show. His audition to get into the show did not happen too long ago, but he has certainly made massive strides since then.

Raja Mazli & Faidzal Alang speaks to the press.

According to the man himself, Faidzal knew next to nothing about rallying before joining the show, and it was simply a spontaneous decision to join it after chancing upon the advertisement placed in the newspapers. Both he and Hazwan held full-time jobs in Ipoh, and as such had to commute to the Klang Valley each time filming took place. Faidzal also recalled the agonizing moment when he learnt that filming of the final round clashed with his planned wedding, which he had to re-schedule.

Faidzal and Hazwan together

Since then, Faidzal has relocated himself to KL, although Hazwan is still based in Ipoh. The pair has raced in two rounds of the Malaysian Rally Championship of this year, in Cyberjaya and Kuala Perlis. In both races, they finished fifth overall and were winners in the P10 and Junior categories. The car they are running, is powered by the stock standard 1.6-litre 4G92P SOHC engine found in the Wira and Satria 1.6. It has, however, received massive tweaks from Proton R3 towards its chassis, transmission, and braking system, making it a very competitive car in their category.

Their astonishing performances in the first two rounds has …

“OK, enough of the grandmother stories, how do I join?”

Auditions for Season 2 of Zero.2.Hero have already commenced. Two rounds have been completed at Perlis & Kuala Terengganu. If you wish to join, don’t worry, you haven’t missed the boat. You can head to Johor Bahru this Saturday (13 June 2009) or to Cyberjaya next Saturday (20 June 2009) for the two remaining auditions.

The audition is open to all Malaysians (male or female) between 18 and 39 years of age. Participants must be of sound health and hold a valid Malaysian driving license. Pros are not accepted, this is strictly for beginners, so anyone who has had any competition license or experience are immediately disqualified.

Registration fee is RM50 per person, and participants must come in pairs, together with a car equipped with manual transmission. Wheel Sport Management has clarified that the participants will be using their own car during auditions only. The finalists (ten of them this time) will be driving an as of yet unrevealed sponsored car when filming the show.

Season 2 will comprise of 13 episodes, with three of them focused on the audition rounds. Filming will take place from July to December during weekends. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be Malaysia’s Next Rally Champion, here’s your chance to prove it.

Further information can be found at the Malaysia’s Next Rally Champion Official website here. Alternatively, contact WSM directly at 603-427 04 656 or by email: info@malaysianrally.com.

The entry form has been posted in Autoworld Forum here.

GOOD LUCK!

[UPDATE: Entry form now downloadable here!]