KARAMJIT DRIVES HIRED
CAR IN ROUND ONE, MRC
26 March 2008, Bahau, Negeri
Sembilan: Karamjit Singh, overall winner of the Felda-AAM
Malaysian Rally Championship 2007 (FAMRC) will drive a hired
car this weekend in the first Round of the 2008 Rally.
With his new car still stuck in a
warehouse in Port Klang, the three-time Asia Pacific Rally
champion and the first Asian P-WRC Champion said he is determined
to finish the rally despite preparing his hired car just
a few days ago.
“For the first round, we will
be driving a Proton Satria. Being a front wheel drive, it
is slow compared to the Subaru, Mitsubishi and even the
Perodua Myvi 4WD, so we don’t expect to win this round.”
said Karamjit.
Instead Karamjit and co-driver Jagdev
Singh have agreed just to finish, what is expected to be
a muddy, slippery rally and score some points for the Championship.
This is music to the ears of other
competitors such as Gunaseelan Rajoo, GSR Pennzoil Racing
Team who has his sights set on a good, fast rally.
“I was hoping to able to compete
in the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 but the car is not ready
yet. I have to rely on my old trusted Putra, but it has
done us proud in the past,” said Guna.
Joining the Penzoil team is the one
and only all lady team of Kancana Nanda Kumar and new co-driver
Dzainurhayati Mohd Daud in the Proton Satria.
Kancana who got the taste of rally
for the first time last year in Perlis is back with high
spirits. This gutsy lady intends to finish the rally and
score some points.
Privateer Sutan Mustaffa Salihin in
a Proton Satria admitted that driving against a big name
like Karamjit Singh as well as powerful machines such as
the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo 9 is what motivates
him to compete every year.
“On a race track we couldn’t
compete, but on rally route you never know what will happen,
so every car has an equal chance as long as you finish the
rally and make good time,” said Sutan.
The first round of FAMRC 2008 season
which kicks off this weekend (29-30 March) at the Felda
palm oil plantations in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, will see
more than 20 cars taking part in seven categories, namely,
A8, P9, P10, P11, P12, Clubman and Showroom.
The participants which include teams
from Japan, Indonesia and New Zealand will be flagged-off
at 12 noon, Saturday 29 March at Kompleks Feldajaya Selatan,
Jempol, Negeri Sembilan.
Leg 1 which begins on Saturday, 29
March at will see the participants compete for over a total
distance of 109.39. The longest Special Stage (SS) distance
for Leg 1 is 16.78km at Feldajaya while the shortest distance
is 7.63km at Jerneh. The participants will compete in eight
(8) SS.
Leg 2 on Sunday, 30 March, will see
the participants compete in six (6) SS with a total distance
of 72.3km.
In conjunction with the rally, a two-day
Rally Carnival for the public will be held at Kompleks Feldajaya
Selatan. There will be lots of fun-filled family activities
such as colouring competitions for the kids, entertainment
by popular singers, booth displays, an auto show and car
stunt driving. The public should log onto www.malaysianrally.com
for more information.
The FAMRC is organized and
promoted by Wheel Sport Management Sdn Bhd and sanctioned
by FIA and Automobile Association Malaysia (AAM).
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