PRESS RELEASE

SALADIN TAKES EARLY LEAD ON DAY ONE

31 October 2009, Sepang: Saladin Mazlan of the Felda Rally Team finished Day One of the fourth Round of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2009 (MRC) in first place ahead of defending champion Karamjit Singh.

Saladin led from the outset in his Proton Gen 2 and had widened the gap to 24.4 seconds by the end of the day.

“We are very happy with today’s result. The car is running very well and if we have a good day tomorrow we can finish first Overall and in the P12 and 4WD categories,” said Saladin.

Karamjit fought hard to make up lost ground but the turbo of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 was failing which slowed him down considerably.

“We were fast enough in the short, twisty stages but we were no match for Saladin on the long stretches,” said co-driver Jagdev Singh.

A delighted Muhammad Rafiq Udhaya finished third in his new Subaru Impreza. “Today was only our second time racing this car, so we are still getting used its power. But we are very happy with our performance so far,” he said.

GSR Pennzoil Racing Team Manager, Gunaseelan Rajoo drove a conservative race and finished the first day in fourth place without mishap.

Rain yesterday and again this morning made the Stages very wet and slippery which caused havoc for many competitors. Two of the four Felda Rally Team cars were out of the race by the first Stage. Azmeer Yusri Yusoff hit a tree and did major damage to his Proton Satria and Mohammad Zekri Ibrahim skidded off the track.

25 cars started the race and 16 finished today’s Leg.

Hong Kong couple Clayton Check and Tracy Li were the fastest in the 2WD and P11 categories today with Mike Ariokiasamy Ratnam behind them. Mike’s co-driver this Round is his 22 year old daughter. “Maruthi is vey new to Rally. She got her first taste in the Rally Sprint a few weeks ago and now the MRC, but she is a fast learner and enjoying the challenge,” Mike said.

Faidzal Alang was also happy with his performance. The current leader of the P10 and Junior categories maintained his lead over his competitors and was all smiles at the end of the day.

The Rally is being held in the oil palm plantations of Ladang KLIA, Sepang. Competitors completed 12 Stages today totaling 286.65 km and will race another 194.43 km tomorrow.