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http://www.scratchdisk.biz/r3gister/2007/06/07/grass-racing-autcross-2007-championships-round-1/
It was a long time coming. After 'staying tuned' for more than half a year, Grass Racing Autocross (GRA) 2007 Championship Round 1 finally saw light of day, thanks to dedication and hardwork of organisers Ian Khong and Jian Nin with the support of sponsors BF Goodrich, Redline and Mequiar's. This was a welcome (albeit late) kick-start to the motorsports calendar year, having experienced a dearth of grassroots motorsports events. For over 90 enthusiastic autocrossers comprising novices and pro-level drivers, this was certainly the avenue to release all that pent-up petrolhead energy.
The familiar Shah Alam Stadium car park bustled with activity as early as 7am. With new tire regulations, guidelines and a Championship format, which included separate classes for novices (Grass Class) and pro drivers (Pro-Grass Class) as well as a special category for automatic/tiptronic transmission vehicles, GRA Round 1 promised plenty of thrills, spills and tire-smoking competition!
Peter Hansen, CEO of the recently established Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM), the new governing body for motorsports in Malaysia, was there to offer support to the grassroots event.
Novices made up half of the total entries and this is an encouraging statistic indeed, and an important element to take racing off the streets, as well as grow motorsports at grassroot level. The Grass class allowed two practice runs followed by three official timed runs per driver.
Micro Cars Do Micro Times
The Grass Class A (below 1300cc) was dominated by an assortment of Perodua Kelisas, with Lau Kheh Hian taking top spot with 59.5s. Just a mere 3/100ths of a second behind was Lee Chan Hoh. Experienced autocrosser Alven Lee took the final podium position with 60.54s. Kenneth Chiew was one of two flagbearers for Proton cars, coming in a commendable fifth place with 61.12s in his 1.3 Proton Wira Aeroback.
In Pro Grass class, Team Redline's Chan Yau Koon, a regular feature and winner in local autocross events, again showed superiority with a 139.47s cumulative time (best of two runs), upstaging Clement Chan (140.52s) and William Chong (142.94s). Fellow Redline team-mate Shahrom aka Meatball took fourth place with 144.54s. Kenneth Chiew who also participated in Grass class, finished 5th with 146.34s. Class points were awarded for Top 5 finishers - 6pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts and 1pt respectively.
Hot 1600s!
In Grass class, Ho Wai Hoe emerged a worthy winner with 60.47s fastest time set in his final run. The keenly-contested Class B (1301-1600c) saw Low Sim Chee in his Honda Civic EG playing second fiddle with a 60.66s run, with a Hyundai Inokom Getz driven by Anthony Lee, powering in at a surprising third place. Lee Mei Fong, a female contestant driving a Honda Civic, proved gender is no obstacle, with a commendable fifth place finish, upstaging half a dozen other male competitors.
The Honda Civics ruled the quick course in Pro-Grass. Christopher Chin came out tops in stylish VTEC fashion to score full six class points, running away with a scorching 135.78s cumulative time. Veteran Galen Lai was just 2 seconds behind to take second place with 137.19s, and Clement Yeo hot on his tail with 138.09s. Jason Foo in a Proton Satria 1600, winner of the earlier novice class including Fastest Time of the Day, came in a close fourth (138.41s). Daymen Lai in a Honda CR-X took the final 5 position (141.19s). First-timer Victor Cheong, who also happens to be a champion national go-karter, came in sixth with his Toyota Corolla LE.
Champs Do Battle!
In the novice camp, Jason Foo outlassed his opposition in his Satria GTi, scoring an empathic win over fellow SGTi owners with a 58.44s fastest time, which evidently was also Fastest Time of the Day (FTD). Popular blogger Dennis Woo finished on the podium with 60.06s whilst Md. Noor Fahmi took up the final podium spot (60.22s).
The competitive Pro-Grass Class C was a three way battle amongst autocross greats - Soo Sing Kuan, Julian Pang and Gareth Tan. Regular winner and podium finisher Soo Sing Kuan or Soomacher as he is affectionately known, powered his recently upgraded Honda Civic to a top spot finish with a 136.00s cumulative time. Team Redline's Unker Pang aka Julian Pang fought gallantly to the finish but had to be satisfied with second spot with a very quick 136.23s. Consistently fast Gareth finished a close third with 137.75s. Team STR's Vernon Chan in Julian's Wira 1800 finished fourth with 140.94s, trailed by Kamal Ariffin in another Wira 1800 (144.79s).
Lotus Dominance
Jack Tan assimilated his non-existent opponents in the lonely Grass Class D with a 65.72s fastest time.
Class D in Pro-Grass was an entirely different story altogether. Covering cars beyond 2000cc, sports cars, two seaters, kit cars, compact sports car, luxury sedan and 'unclassifiable vehicles', was an eclectic and colourful mix of powerful cars. Always a marvel to watch, the Lotus Elises from the Lotus Club proved their dominance once again with a strong 1-2-3 finish. Former Hypertune Magazine editor, Hisham Jahudi battled intensely with compatriot Marcus Chye before emerging victorious. His 129.49s topped Marcus's 130.16s and 17-year old racing extraordinaire Dominic Ang's 132.88s times. Hisham's 64.59s fourth timed run also effectively gave him Fastest Time of the Day (FTD). Former rally champion Ivan Khong had to settle for fourth place in his Subaru Impreza (135.00s), pipping Mickey Teoh's MR2 monster (138.68s).
2501cc and beyond!
The novice big boys hangout was spearheaded by Derek Wong's MR2 turbo, scoring a 59.79s. Professional rally navigator and overall nice guy Gary Lee impressed with his BMW 328i, topping 60.43s to take second spot. Mike Ng, who ditched his red Mitsu EVO VII this time round, came Nismo-powered in his S15 Silvia to take a close third (61.09s). Ashlyn Guok in a MR2 turbo did the girlies proud with a strong fourth place finish (61.29s).
Who says you gotta drive stick?
Winner of last round's 'Bling Bling' award, Timothy Hardie Ketit, came around with a Kancil 660 turbo AT instead of his Subaru Forester, to clinch top spot in the Grass Class Below 1600cc Auto category. His time of 61.28s beat Kevin Kong's Kelisa (61.97s) and Mervyn Hii's Toyota Corolla SEG (64.12s).
Championship Race Begin
The Championship proper for Pro-Grass Class headed off in nail-biting fashion, with the Lotus boys occupying the Top 3 spots. Hisham Jahudi sits up top with 9 points at the start of the championships, with Marcus Chye and Dominic Ang occupying second and third respectively with 7 and 6 points. It was no surprise that the Top 5 spots were occupied by more powerful cars from Class D – Ivan Khong and Mickey Teoh battling for points in fourth and fifth place, their times separated by a mere 0.01s! The only point-scorer from Class B was the impressive Christopher Chin, scoring 3 points. Final two places were taken up by Class C leaders - Soo Sing Kuan and Julian Pang.
2007 Looks Bright
GRA 2007 Round 1 has certainly revived the autocross scene with its 2007 debut, promising bigger, better things to come in coming months. GRA is committed to five rounds this year, soundly backed by sponsors and the MAM, and from the looks of things, the future looks bright indeed.
Kudos to GRA (Ian and Jian Nin) for a smooth-sailing, fun-filled Round 1! A big thanks also for bringing back the GRA Ambassadors - Fiona Kwok and new counterpart Nicole!
Photography credits - Zey Tee.
For full results, visit:
* http://www.grassracingautosports.com/results.php
More photos and coverage below:
* http://www.pbase.com/zey/gra_2007
* http://andygohyf.smugmug.com/gallery/2957216
* http://denniswoo.fotopages.com/?entry=1182924
* http://www.autoworld.com.my/emzine/review/viewarticle.asp?awReviewId=2212&awCatId=RT.ATC.CAR.MTR
http://www.scratchdisk.biz/r3gister/2007/06/07/grass-racing-autcross-2007-championships-round-1/
It was a long time coming. After 'staying tuned' for more than half a year, Grass Racing Autocross (GRA) 2007 Championship Round 1 finally saw light of day, thanks to dedication and hardwork of organisers Ian Khong and Jian Nin with the support of sponsors BF Goodrich, Redline and Mequiar's. This was a welcome (albeit late) kick-start to the motorsports calendar year, having experienced a dearth of grassroots motorsports events. For over 90 enthusiastic autocrossers comprising novices and pro-level drivers, this was certainly the avenue to release all that pent-up petrolhead energy.
The familiar Shah Alam Stadium car park bustled with activity as early as 7am. With new tire regulations, guidelines and a Championship format, which included separate classes for novices (Grass Class) and pro drivers (Pro-Grass Class) as well as a special category for automatic/tiptronic transmission vehicles, GRA Round 1 promised plenty of thrills, spills and tire-smoking competition!
Peter Hansen, CEO of the recently established Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM), the new governing body for motorsports in Malaysia, was there to offer support to the grassroots event.
Novices made up half of the total entries and this is an encouraging statistic indeed, and an important element to take racing off the streets, as well as grow motorsports at grassroot level. The Grass class allowed two practice runs followed by three official timed runs per driver.
Micro Cars Do Micro Times
The Grass Class A (below 1300cc) was dominated by an assortment of Perodua Kelisas, with Lau Kheh Hian taking top spot with 59.5s. Just a mere 3/100ths of a second behind was Lee Chan Hoh. Experienced autocrosser Alven Lee took the final podium position with 60.54s. Kenneth Chiew was one of two flagbearers for Proton cars, coming in a commendable fifth place with 61.12s in his 1.3 Proton Wira Aeroback.
In Pro Grass class, Team Redline's Chan Yau Koon, a regular feature and winner in local autocross events, again showed superiority with a 139.47s cumulative time (best of two runs), upstaging Clement Chan (140.52s) and William Chong (142.94s). Fellow Redline team-mate Shahrom aka Meatball took fourth place with 144.54s. Kenneth Chiew who also participated in Grass class, finished 5th with 146.34s. Class points were awarded for Top 5 finishers - 6pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts and 1pt respectively.
Hot 1600s!
In Grass class, Ho Wai Hoe emerged a worthy winner with 60.47s fastest time set in his final run. The keenly-contested Class B (1301-1600c) saw Low Sim Chee in his Honda Civic EG playing second fiddle with a 60.66s run, with a Hyundai Inokom Getz driven by Anthony Lee, powering in at a surprising third place. Lee Mei Fong, a female contestant driving a Honda Civic, proved gender is no obstacle, with a commendable fifth place finish, upstaging half a dozen other male competitors.
The Honda Civics ruled the quick course in Pro-Grass. Christopher Chin came out tops in stylish VTEC fashion to score full six class points, running away with a scorching 135.78s cumulative time. Veteran Galen Lai was just 2 seconds behind to take second place with 137.19s, and Clement Yeo hot on his tail with 138.09s. Jason Foo in a Proton Satria 1600, winner of the earlier novice class including Fastest Time of the Day, came in a close fourth (138.41s). Daymen Lai in a Honda CR-X took the final 5 position (141.19s). First-timer Victor Cheong, who also happens to be a champion national go-karter, came in sixth with his Toyota Corolla LE.
Champs Do Battle!
In the novice camp, Jason Foo outlassed his opposition in his Satria GTi, scoring an empathic win over fellow SGTi owners with a 58.44s fastest time, which evidently was also Fastest Time of the Day (FTD). Popular blogger Dennis Woo finished on the podium with 60.06s whilst Md. Noor Fahmi took up the final podium spot (60.22s).
The competitive Pro-Grass Class C was a three way battle amongst autocross greats - Soo Sing Kuan, Julian Pang and Gareth Tan. Regular winner and podium finisher Soo Sing Kuan or Soomacher as he is affectionately known, powered his recently upgraded Honda Civic to a top spot finish with a 136.00s cumulative time. Team Redline's Unker Pang aka Julian Pang fought gallantly to the finish but had to be satisfied with second spot with a very quick 136.23s. Consistently fast Gareth finished a close third with 137.75s. Team STR's Vernon Chan in Julian's Wira 1800 finished fourth with 140.94s, trailed by Kamal Ariffin in another Wira 1800 (144.79s).
Lotus Dominance
Jack Tan assimilated his non-existent opponents in the lonely Grass Class D with a 65.72s fastest time.
Class D in Pro-Grass was an entirely different story altogether. Covering cars beyond 2000cc, sports cars, two seaters, kit cars, compact sports car, luxury sedan and 'unclassifiable vehicles', was an eclectic and colourful mix of powerful cars. Always a marvel to watch, the Lotus Elises from the Lotus Club proved their dominance once again with a strong 1-2-3 finish. Former Hypertune Magazine editor, Hisham Jahudi battled intensely with compatriot Marcus Chye before emerging victorious. His 129.49s topped Marcus's 130.16s and 17-year old racing extraordinaire Dominic Ang's 132.88s times. Hisham's 64.59s fourth timed run also effectively gave him Fastest Time of the Day (FTD). Former rally champion Ivan Khong had to settle for fourth place in his Subaru Impreza (135.00s), pipping Mickey Teoh's MR2 monster (138.68s).
2501cc and beyond!
The novice big boys hangout was spearheaded by Derek Wong's MR2 turbo, scoring a 59.79s. Professional rally navigator and overall nice guy Gary Lee impressed with his BMW 328i, topping 60.43s to take second spot. Mike Ng, who ditched his red Mitsu EVO VII this time round, came Nismo-powered in his S15 Silvia to take a close third (61.09s). Ashlyn Guok in a MR2 turbo did the girlies proud with a strong fourth place finish (61.29s).
Who says you gotta drive stick?
Winner of last round's 'Bling Bling' award, Timothy Hardie Ketit, came around with a Kancil 660 turbo AT instead of his Subaru Forester, to clinch top spot in the Grass Class Below 1600cc Auto category. His time of 61.28s beat Kevin Kong's Kelisa (61.97s) and Mervyn Hii's Toyota Corolla SEG (64.12s).
Championship Race Begin
The Championship proper for Pro-Grass Class headed off in nail-biting fashion, with the Lotus boys occupying the Top 3 spots. Hisham Jahudi sits up top with 9 points at the start of the championships, with Marcus Chye and Dominic Ang occupying second and third respectively with 7 and 6 points. It was no surprise that the Top 5 spots were occupied by more powerful cars from Class D – Ivan Khong and Mickey Teoh battling for points in fourth and fifth place, their times separated by a mere 0.01s! The only point-scorer from Class B was the impressive Christopher Chin, scoring 3 points. Final two places were taken up by Class C leaders - Soo Sing Kuan and Julian Pang.
2007 Looks Bright
GRA 2007 Round 1 has certainly revived the autocross scene with its 2007 debut, promising bigger, better things to come in coming months. GRA is committed to five rounds this year, soundly backed by sponsors and the MAM, and from the looks of things, the future looks bright indeed.
Kudos to GRA (Ian and Jian Nin) for a smooth-sailing, fun-filled Round 1! A big thanks also for bringing back the GRA Ambassadors - Fiona Kwok and new counterpart Nicole!
Photography credits - Zey Tee.
For full results, visit:
* http://www.grassracingautosports.com/results.php
More photos and coverage below:
* http://www.pbase.com/zey/gra_2007
* http://andygohyf.smugmug.com/gallery/2957216
* http://denniswoo.fotopages.com/?entry=1182924
* http://www.autoworld.com.my/emzine/review/viewarticle.asp?awReviewId=2212&awCatId=RT.ATC.CAR.MTR
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