OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO RALLY REALITY TV SHOW

Cyberjaya, 19th May, 2008 – The search for the next Malaysian Rally Champion proved very popular over the weekend with 37 teams registering to be a part of the reality TV show which was launched last week.

Men and women, aged between 18 and 30 competed against each other in a driving skills test, navigation test and had to change a tyre against the clock in order to score as many points as possible in the hope that they would make the cut.

One keen participant flew in from Sarawak. Another team drove down from Ipoh. But the team that made the most impact on the judges had quickly dropped by for the selection session on-route to a family member’s funeral. The 37 also included 3 all-female teams, 1 husband and wife teams and 2 teams of brothers.

Unfortunately, only 15 teams (drivers and co-drivers) could be selected so there were some disappointed faces as the hopefuls left the Cyberjaya Club House Sunday afternoon. In addition to the 15 teams there will be a guest all-female team from Sponsor Cyberview Sdn Bhd.

The reality TV programme “Malaysia’s Next Rally Champion, 5,4,3,2,1…Zero to Hero” is organized by Wheel Sport Management (WSM), Malaysia’s leading motor rally promoter and organizer of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC). The aim of the programme is to build a pool of young rally drivers with the intent of keeping the extreme sport of rallying alive in Malaysia.

The programme will only go to air in October with five episodes on Astro Ria but from now until then the participants will take part in theory and practical sessions aimed at improving their driving and navigation skills, technical knowledge and knowledge of rallying.

At the end of the show a winning team will walk away with a rally-prepared car and will line up at the start of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2009.

Supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Automobile Association of Malaysia and sponsored by Astro, Cyberview Sdn Bhd and MAM the reality TV show also gives the teams the chance to drive in three Super Special Stages at the same locations as the last three rounds of the MRC.

Unlike other reality TV shows there is no elimination process. Instead, each team will compete for points and the team with the most points at the end of Round 6 of the MRC 2008 will emerge victorious. The winners will be announced in December 2008.

The judges for the programme are Raja Mazli, and WSM Director and Founder, Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar Almarhum Tengku Suleiman. The chief instructor will be Ahmad Razman Bin Mustafa, a senior instructor with the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM).

Special guests from the industry, including veteran and current MRC drivers and co-drivers will also lend their support to the programme sharing their experiences and giving advice to the young hopefuls. Many of them were in attendance at the selection process over the weekend. The show participants’ first task is to make their way to Kangar, Perlis next weekend (24 & 25 May) to the second round of the MRC. Here they will start their theory sessions, leaving with an understanding of what a rally is, the rules, and the role of the navigator and driver. To earn points they will test their driving skills against the clock in the Autokhana competition which will be held at the MRC family rally carnival at Dataran Dato’ Sheikh Ahmad.

The DYMM Tuanku Raja Perlis will open the carnival which is being held in conjunction with the Raja’s birthday celebrations. The public is invited to join in the festivities both on Saturday and Sunday to track the progress of the TV show participants, take part in the numerous family activities and competitions, marvel at the classic car and motorbike display, cheer on the teams in the futsal competitions and be entertained by Akademi Fantasia artists who will perform in the afternoons.

The DYMM Tuanku Raja Perlis will also flag-off the ‘real’ rally drivers and co-drivers as they roar off into the plantations in the second round of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2008.

The prize-giving ceremony for the second round of the MRC will be at 5pm on Sunday 25th May at Dataran Dato’ Sheikh Ahmad and the winners will be presented with their prize money and trophies by the Menteri Besar for Perlis, Datuk Seri Dr. Mat Isa bin Sabu .

15 Participating Teams for “Malaysia’s Next Rally Champion” Reality TV Show:
Driver/Co-driver
1. Mohd Yusof Che Mat Aripin & Noor Azfa Shamsudin
2. Siti Apbaiyah Umar & Siti Waheedah A.Wahid
3. Ashvinder Singh Bhatt & Nezyrin Ikram
4. Azrin Zulkipli & Noorazlin Mohd Sharif
5. Muhammad Khalis Misral & Norlydiawati Amin
6. Muhammad Ashraf Wajidi & Murali Vasnathan
7. A.H. Faizul Abu Hassan & A.H. Fauzi Abu Hassan
8. Md Rafie Md Naser & Mohd Faizal Zainal
9. Faidzal Shahril Alang Abd Rahman & Mohd Hazwan Fauzi
10. Wong Ying Loon & Goh Siau Hoon
11. Mohd Fariz Zulkepley & Syaiful Allan Awalluddin
12. Azmeer Yusri Yusof & Dinie Nazmie Abd Rahman
13. Mohd Shafiq Samsudin & Mohammad Iqram Maula
14. Muhammad Motajudin & Amir Izham Abd Aziz
15. Lee Khye Fang & Lee Khye Hong
16. Norain Osman & Nurul Diana Intan Zafirah Ishak

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