Karamjit, Jagdev top on an eventful day
NST, 29/6/2008

THE near-perfect weather and glaring sunlight in Kuantan pierced a few egos in the early stages of the third round of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) yesterday, sending two top contenders back to the service park with badly damaged cars.

But champions Karamjit Singh and Jagdev Singh were firmly in the lead at the end of Leg One in their Mitsubishi Evo 8.

James Russell lost control of his Subaru Impreza and ended up blocking the other cars while Team India driver, Arjun Rao, flipped his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI.

Russell's crash, which left his car immobile and blocking the path of competitors behind him, disrupted the event, leaving more than two thirds of the field unable to complete the stage.

By the time the organisers realised that Russell's car was blocking the path, more than half of the competitors found themselves part of a traffic jam on a dirt road in the middle of Felda Lepar Hilir 2.

That forced the cancellation of SS2, while the field was left in disarray as no one knew for sure what their times were for the rest of the day's stages.

The timing data was sorted out at the end of the day by the stewards.

The top four drivers in the rally, who were unaffected by the incidents were Karamjit and Gunaseelan Rajoo who are both running Team GSR Pennzoil's colours.

Team Perodua M5 were also spared mishap in the first four stages and this allowed Kan Chee Hong and Lim Leong Onn to continue uninterrupted.

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