30 May 2009, Kuala Perlis: Karamjit Singh and co-driver Jagdev Singh of the GSR Pennzoil Racing Team took the lead early in Day One of the second Round of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) 2009 in Kuala Perlis today.

The pair was determined to secure maximum Championship points to make up for their ninth place in the first Round in April.

Despite some mechanical problems with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, Karamjit was able to get a good lead over his main competitor Rozali Abdullah of the Felda Rally Team.

“The Stages were very slippery due to the rain this morning but I managed to get more than a five minute lead, so now I can take it easy to make sure we do not further damage the car”, Karamjit said.

Gunaseelan Rajoo also of the GSR Pennzoil Racing Team had to play catch up all day after going off track into the sugar cane fields in Special Stage (SS) 2. Guna was able compensate his loss of time and regain his spot in second place in both the 4WD category and overall in front of Rozali Abdullah by the end of the day.

The slippery stages were a big problem for many competitors in the 2WD category with half of the 18 starters out by the end of SS4.

The experienced team of Jamaluddin and Rozita Tukimin, the brother and sister pair, were the fastest in Leg One in the 2WD category driving a Proton Satria.

Defending 2WD champ, Mike Ariokiasamy Ratnam experienced mechanical problems early in the day which slowed him down considerably. He managed to stay in the top three in the 2WD category until the end of SS5 but experienced major engine problems and couldn’t start the last SS of the day.

25 cars in total started the race but only half were able to finish the first Leg.

The rally is being held at the PPB Group’s Sugar Cane plantations in Chuping, Perlis in conjunction with the DYMM Tuanku Raja Perlis’ month-long birthday celebrations.