KARAMJIT SHINES DESPITE CAR

30 March 2008, Bahau, Negeri Sembilan: Reigning Malaysian Rally Champion, Karamjit Singh finished second in the first round of the Malaysian Rally Championship in Bahau a result that proves beyond a doubt that he is still the country’s best man on twisty dirt roads.

The white front-wheel drive Proton Satria 1.6 he rented for the weekend had neither power nor traction to finish anywhere near the podium but Karamjit’s magic transformed the tired rally car into a top flight fighting machine.

At the end of day two Karamjit revealed the extent of his problems with the car and it was a wonder that he even ended in the top five.

“Apart from the fact that the car is a much slower than the 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 freeplay and in the last two stages we actually broke the clutch pedal,” Karamjit said.

“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,” he added.

Karamjit’s podium placing may be the story of the weekend but 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 are 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, Team Manager.

The team’s 4WD Perodua Viva Turbo behaved perfectly in the hands of veteran driver Lim Leong Onn and stayed five minutes clear of the strong challenge by Karamjit Singh.

Lim’s navigator Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali said they were able to find their pace as early as SS3 after getting the perfect suspension setting.

“From then on we charged hard and kept our focus and the two days went on trouble free until the last two SS when the car began losing stability. We worked it very hard so something must have worn out or loosened underneath but it was good enough to keep us in front,” he said.

Third-place man Kan Chee Hong’s race was a deep contrast to Lim’s free sailing drive as he endured poor communications with navigator Bernard Chin due to a failed intercom on day one.

After the intercom was fixed, his 4WD Myvi Turbo developed gearbox problems which saw him driving two SS in second gear.

The mechanics quickly found the problem and sorted it out but that was not the end of their troubles.

In the second day, they damaged the exhaust system and this denied them the full turbo boost and stopped their charge to reduce the gap with second place man Karamjit.

By the final SS, Kan was just three minutes behind the Flying Sikh and six minutes ahead of teammate P Nandakumar in his 2WD Perodua Myvi.

“We are happy to finish third and score points for the team but disappointed that we could not reduce the time gap,” said Chin.

As the big boys battled in front, clubman driver Roduwan Rashid did himself proud by clocking the sixth fastest time in his 4WD Perodua Kelisa completing 14SS 32 minutes behind the leader.

The Bahau round claimed seven cars out of the twenty starters, a relatively low rate of attrition for the bumpy and slippery stages that were drawn by Wheel Sport Management Sdn. Bhd the rally organiser.

Clerk of the Course for the Championship, Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar Almarhum Tengku Suleiman, said he was pleased so many cars made it through the first leg. “After the heavy downpour the night before, I thought we would be pulling cars out of the Stages on day one but those that didn’t finish did so mostly because of mechanical failure. Today was a lot drier which gave everyone a chance to push their cars a bit harder,” he said. “I hope the competitors enjoyed the first Round of the season and will join us again for Round Two in Terengganu on May 24 & 25.

Winners were presented their trophies by YB Shamsol Kahar Md. Deli, State Assemblyman for Serting and State Exco at Kompleks Feldajaya Selatan, Jempol.

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