FELDA-AAM MALAYSIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 – ROUND ONE
The first round of the revamped FELDA-AAM Malaysian Rally Championship (FAMRC) 2006 series kicked off in Pahang on 25th and 26th March 2006. Centered around Bukit Goh, Kuantan, the oil palm plantation roads managed by FELDA provided a thrilling season opener with terrain that suited both competitor and spectator alike.
After the grand flag-off ceremony by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, competitors headed off to the special stages (SS) where actual competition takes place. Former Indonesian rally champion Rizal Sungkar and navigator Anthony Sarwono took the early lead and never looked back as they powered their way to victory to the end of the rally completing all 16 SS without a hitch. Driving a Mitsubishi Evolution 6 rally car, Rizal aims to seek more funding via sponsorship to enable him to compete in all the FAMRC rounds this year and hopefully snatch away the overall championship which was won by the pairing of Saladin Mazlan and Arish Qutb in 2005. Saladin had to miss competing in round 1 as he had been contracted to drive in another country over the same weekend.
Former Malaysian rally champion Gunaseelan Rajoo’s return to the championship after a 2 year absence saw him trailing the leader in his aged Proton Putra Turbo 4wd after the first leg on day one. His rally however, came to an abrupt end on the first SS of leg 2 of the second day after a rare mistake left him stranded by the wayside with a broken track rod on his car. This left the door open for rally veteran Rozali Abdullah, coincidently the son of a FELDA settler, to inherit second place overall after a brilliant drive through wet and treacherous conditions during a downpour on leg 2. Rozali also won the P10 class for cars up to 1600cc. Third overall was won by Lim Leong Onn in what is believed to be the last appearance of the now famous Perodua Kelisa Turbo rally car.
Former tarmac rally championship runner-up Mustafar Rahadi’s foray into the gravel rallying scene was seen as a learning curve for his team and was rewarded with a fourth place overall in his immaculately prepared Proton Satria R3 Turbo 4WD. Mustafar later admitted that he wasn’t happy with his suspension set-up and predicts that he will be faster on the sugarcane plantation roads of Chuping, Perils where round 2 of the FAMRC is going to be held. The winner of the ‘Most Promising Rally Driver’ award for 2005, P.Nandakumar proved that he was worth his title by impressing new bosses Perodua after he took their little 1300cc class P9 winning rally Kelisa to 5th overall, beating cars with much more horsepower. Team Perodua M5 Racing team also took the Team honours for the rally.
Rookie driver Syahabudin Mazhor and navigator Wan Mohd Shafiq won the clubmen category while another notable entry from Indonesia, Kikie Desky partnered by countryman Rudy Siregar, overcame mechanical gremlins to win the P11 category for cars up to 2000cc in a locally prepared Proton Satria 1.8. Meanwhile, Proton’s entry in the FAMRC with it’s Proton Gen-2 rally car fared well despite a cautious approach clinching 2nd place in the P10 category with seasoned driver Sutan Mustaffa Salihin behind the wheel. Proton’s research and development team was on hand to gather any data needed to ensure a comeback with a stronger showing in the later rounds. After almost two decades, Team Pennzoil Malaysia reappeared in the Malaysian rally scene with a team of three cars. Despite only one team car, a Proton Wira 1.6 in the able hands of Asrul Azam Ali finishing, they won 2nd place in the team category. Disappointment came in the form of a broken fuel tank mounting which spelt the end of the rally for former Malaysian rally 2WD champion Azmarul Sa’adi who is making a comeback to the sport of rallying in his trusty Proton Satria after being away for five years.
With three more rounds of the FAMRC to go and with an anticipation of a star-studded entry list, round one in Pahang was only the tip of the iceberg of what is now one of Malaysia’s premier motor sporting events. Details and news of upcoming events, photos and even a forum is accessible through
www.malaysianrally.com
