GRA Nationals Autocross Championships 2012 - Round 2

**d4rk** · 08-01-2012, 05:13 PM

In Grass Racing Autocross, it is not about who has got the biggest engine or the fanciest bodywork; it is about having the skills and guts in car control and pushing it beyond the limit, which all the participants at the Round 2 GRA Nationals Autocross Championships had elegantly displayed. With partners like Red Line Oils, Vanli Genuine Parts, PG Perma Glass, Meguiar’s, Maxxis Tires and Gophers GPS all coming in together to make Round 2 a great show, the weekend haze did little in slowing down the fast-paced and longest running autocrossing community event in Malaysia.

Jumping straight into the action, the early light drizzle did little in hampering the drivers’ spirits to punish the massive layout at Bukit Jalil’s Car Park B. But the large course did not present the Round 1’s champion a clear challenge as Team Lotus Malaysia’s Marcus Chye navigated around it without a hitch. Ivan Khong was is a good shape in the earlier runs, showing a promising spot in the podiums until a spoiled fuel pump hampered Ivan’s hopes in doing so.

Marcus ended up taking the top spot in the Pro-Grasss Overall followed by Mitch Chong in his Satria and Mickey Teoh with his MR-S.*Mickey’s comeback into GRA after a two-year hiatus was more than just earning a spot in the podium as he had also posted the second fastest time of the day at 0:57.302, just a fraction to the champion’s 0:56.521 by Marcus.

As familiar face in the local drifting scene, Ee Yoong Cherng had also shown that his red-hot S13 Silvia can do more than just going sideways as he secured a third position in the Pro-Grass OD, and a respectable sixth in overall at 0:58.925.

The Pro-Grass OD Novice had shown some great hopefuls in the future of motorsports, with entries like the Ang brothers, Freddie and Gilbert where both had yet reached the legal age to bear a driver’s license but could already post faster times than the older participants around in their shared Lotus Elise. Freddie managed to secure a third place in the class with a 1:02.063, with Dixon Khoo’s 1:00.258 grabbing first position followed by Mohan Balasingam at 1:01.878.

Other classes share the same tight battle as well like in the OB Class (1500cc – 1600cc) with Ken Erai coming up victorious in his Satria and Ray Leong whose Team Red Line Starlet caught fire back in Round 1, finishing in third.

The OC Class (1601cc – 2000cc) saw a head-to-head showdown between Mitch Chong and Sim Kian Teng, both running 1800cc Protons. With the advantages that the Satria offers, Mitch spreads the gap between him and Sim’s Wira by more than four seconds at 0:58.315.

Being one of the respectable autocross events there is, the car park had also kept in some surprises with the turn up of some other great machines that would have looked better if they had also joined in the fun.

One unique atmosphere that one would be able to experience on GRA is that close community feel between the participants and the organizers, making it more like a family outing, only with the addition of speed and screeching tires of course. If you have missed the Round 2 and regretting it, worry not as Round 3 is just days away. For more information on the upcoming round and the leaderboard, log on to GRA’s official website at http://www.grassracingautosports.com.