Malaysian Rally: Flying Sikh riding high despite using rented Satria
NST, 4/4/2008

The recently concluded first round of the two-day Malaysian Rally Championship over the weekened, saw reigning Malaysian champion, Karamjit Singh emerge second despite using a rented Proton Satria 1.6 to compete.

The "Flying Sikh" once again proved that he is still the country's best on twisty, dirty roads when he used the car, which was said not to have neither the power nor traction needed to finish anywhere near the podium.

The overall winners were Lim Leong Onn and Kamarul Anuar Mohd. Razzali who drove a Perodua Viva and managed to finish with a time of 2:17:45, ahead of Karamjit and Jagdev Singh's Proton Satria which clocked 2:23:08.

"It was a wonder that we even ended up in the top five. Apart from the fact that the car is much slower than other top runners, we also had to face so many mechanical problems. Firstly the brakes were spongy, then the steering rack bracket broke, giving us a lot of free-play and in the last two stages we actually broke the clutch pedal.

“I am grateful for the fantastic work done by my mechanics who prepared the car in less than two days and kept it running despite the many problems. Anyway our goal for the weekend was to end up in the top five, finishing second is a fantastic bonus for me and the team,” Karamjit said after the race.

Though Karamjit's podium placing was the story of the weekend, no less impressive was Perodua M5 Racing team's result with three cars in the top five.

“This is our best result so far. Usually we are happy to have two cars finishing but this time all three were in the top five. It was a combination of factors that helped us win. Firstly the cars ran well, secondly the team worked like clockwork and no less important was the weather which gave us the perfect track, not too wet and not too dry,” said Gary Chua, who is the team manager.

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