Andy Kow eases to GRA title at Putrajaya

The 2009 season of the Grass Racing Autocross Championship came to a conclusion on Sunday at Putrajaya, with star performers Andy Kow and William Lim sealing the Pro-Grass and Grass titles respectively. The all-conquering William, in his Suzuki Swift 1.5, sealed his Grass title and Grass Class AA title in the morning, before returning after lunch to take the Pro-Grass Class OA title as well. Andy, meanwhile, hardly exerted his Subaru Impreza WRX as he finished comfortably on top for both the overall Pro-Grass and Pro-Grass Class OD standings.

The season concluded at Putrajaya

Competitors certainly did not have it easy, being scorched by the sun, and having to drive over a gravel-filled car park all day long. The course itself, while looking deceptively fast on the map, proved tricky to navigate, as participant after participant strayed off course in confusion. Compared to previous rounds, the number of runs which finished as ‘wrong course’ were disproportionately high. Some participants failed to even register a timed run.

Confusing course sent some participants running around like headless chickens.

The action got off to a start in the morning with the Grass Class drivers hitting the course. The Grass drivers were given one practice run, followed by four timed runs, out of which the best time is taken to rank them against each other. Wong Siew Weng, in his Proton Iswara Aeroback 1.3, recorded the fastest time for Grass Class A (below 1,300 cc) of 1:10.165. Just half a second behind him was Charlene Khoo in a Perodua Kelisa 1.0 (A), followed by Lim Chee Siong in a Proton Iswara 1.3. The class title, however, went to fourth-placed Danial Khairi, who drove a Proton Satria 1.3. Danial finished the season with 27 points, followed by Charlene and Wong, closely tied at 21 and 20 points respectively.

Grass Class A race winners (L-R): Wong Siew Weng, Charlene Khoo, Lim Chee Siong

Danial takes Grass Class A title ahead of Charlene and Wong.

Sean Siew, driving a Toyota Corolla AE111, finished the fastest driver of Grass Class B, posting a time of 1:10.085. Finishing less than 0.2 seconds behind him was GRA newcomer Jarryd Tan, driving a Proton Satria Neo CPS. Quah Beng Jun, driving a Proton Waja 1.6 took the remaining podium spot for the class. Sean’s victory on the day catapulted him to third place in the class standings with 18 points, a remarkable achievement, considering he only took part in two rounds. Battling it out for class honours were David Lau and Hafis Shukor.

While Sean, Jarryd and Quah battled for Grass Class B podium finish…

David and Hafis went into Round 4 having only raced two rounds each, but separated by a point from each other on top of the Grass Class B standings. Hafis started poorly, straying off course during the practice and first two timed runs, though he managed to recover his composure to record a time 1:12.656. It was insufficient to lead him to a podium finish, but it crucially enabled him to finish one place above David, who clocked a time of 1:13.148. The two finished fifth and sixth respectively. With David bagging six points, and Hafis five, the two are tied on top of the Grass Class B standings with 22 points each.

… Dave and Hafis were fighting it out for class honours.

Grass Class AA (automatic cars) once again provided all the overall Grass class winners. William Lim, Fred Foong, and Adams Marcos were the only Grass drivers who clocked in times below 1:10, enabling them to win (in that order) both the Grass Class, and Grass Class AA categories on the day. William, who has comfortably and comprehensively dominated the overall Grass Class championship thus far, wrapped up his season with another flawless performance. His time of 1:07.165 is firmly in Pro-Grass territory, which he also competes in.

Taking second place on the day is Fred Foong in a Proton Wira 1.5(A), clocking an equally impressive 1:09.243, with Adams Marcos following close behind in his Honda Civic EG8 1.5(A). Though Fred won the battle, it was Adams who won the war finishing two points ahead of Fred in the Grass Class AA championship point standings. Fred bagged 26 points to Adams’ 28. Taking the class title was, you guessed it, William Lim. The trio also topped the overall Grass Class championship in the same order. (William – 40, Adams – 31, Fred -24).

Dominant figures in Grass Class AA and overall – William Lim, Adams Marcos, and Fred Foong.

The Pro-Grass classes got the action underway in the afternoon. Due to tight scheduling, the Pro-Grass racers had to make do without a practice run. Out of four timed runs, they were ranked against each other using the cumulative time of their two best timed runs. William and Adams returned after a quick break to compete in Pro-Grass Class OA (below 1,500cc). Their all-conquering performances in the morning continued with even better times in the afternoon. William’s best time was 1:03.052, as he clocked a cumulative time of 2:06.552, comfortably beating Adams’ 2:14.396. They were joined on the class podium by Woo Keen Pong driving a Perodua Kancil.

These two returned in the afternoon to compete in Pro-Grass, where they proved just as difficult to beat.

Pong was able to keep up with his Kancil

In the final standings, William’s dominance in the Pro-Grass Class OA is as comprehensive as it was in the Grass classes. Like in the Grass classes, he topped Class OA with a 100% record, scoring 36 points from four races. Kenneth Chiew and Asman Yahaya, finishing fourth and sixth on the day, took second and third placing in the final class championship standing.

Kenneth and Asman finish 2nd and 3rd in Pro-Grass Class OA championship behind William.

Nigel Chye won Pro-Grass Class OB (1,501 – 1,600 cc) with his front-wheel driven Toyota Trueno 1.6, with Charlie Ling’s rear-wheel drive Corolla AE86 in second place. It was a very narrow victory, as Nigel’s cumulative time was merely 0.15 seconds faster than Charlie’s (2:10.204 vs 2:10.209). Third place went to Tuah Damak in a Honda Civic EX 1.6, clocking 2:11.051. Sia Chee Bin, in a Proton Satria Neo 1.6 managed only fourth place, but still topped the final championship standings ahead of Nigel and Tuah.

Pro-Grass Class OB won by Nigel Chye, Charlie Ling, and Tuah Damak

… but final class honours go to Sia Chee Bin

Jason Foo and Julian Pang headed into the day neck-and-neck in the Pro-Grass Class OC (1,601 – 2,200 cc) point standings. It was winner takes all between the two, and it was Jason who emerged triumphant in his Proton Satria 1.8. Jason’s cumulative time of 2:05.794 was not only fastest in Class OC, but the fastest of all Pro-Grass classes. Julian, who clocked 2:08.291, had no choice but to settle for second place in both the race and championship standings. Coming in a further four seconds behind Julian was William Wong, driving a Proton Satria GTI. The anticipated battle between Nicholas Teh and Jordan Saw for third place did not materialize as the latter was absent for this round. As a result, the former only needed a fifth place finish on the day to seal his position in the final class standings.

Jason edged Julian for Pro-Grass Class OC honours

William Wong finished the race third, but Nicholas took third place in the class point standings

In Pro-Grass Class OD, Andy Kow once again found himself upstaged by Ee Yoong Chern, who repeated his victory over the Penangite at Sepang. Yoong powered his brightly-coloured Nissan Silvia 2.0 home in a cumulative time of 2:06.006, a full second ahead of Andy’s 2:07.035 in his Subaru Impreza WRX. Mervyn Mohamed finished a distant third with a time of 2:12.810. Yoong’s second successive victory, however, did little to alter the outcome of the championship standing, as Andy still finished comfortably on top of the class. Missing Round 2 did work against the renowned drifter, as he had to settle for second place in the class championship, though still a full four points ahead of third-placed Ray Leong.

Yoong powers to victory…

In the  overall results, Jason Foo emerged as the fastest Pro-Grass driver of the day, followed closely by Yoong at about half a second behind. William Lim continued to surprise in his speedy Swift, coming in just ahead of Andy’s Impreza. After an average display in Round 1, and skipping Round 2, Yoong came back strongly to take joint third place in the Pro-Grass overall championship points with Julian Pang. Jason’s overall victory, meanwhile, helped him seal second place in the overall championship. Though he once again found himself upstaged, Andy did more than enough to ensure that he walked away as the season’s biggest winner – Class OD and Pro-Grass Overall champion.

While Andy strolls to the championship.

KON

See also: GRA Round 3: Flying Silvias break Andy Kow’s dominance