gear kereta

Posted by: Anthony Lim

The KBS-Pennzoil-AAM Malaysia Rally Sprint Championship (MRSC) will kick off its first round this coming weekend, on May 15-16, in Putrajaya; the event itself will take place at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and its surrounding areas over the two days.

Officially launched by the Youth & Sports Minister, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek a fortnight ago, the MRSC is intended to be a gateway into rallying for newcomers, offering the same challenges that a standard rally event would, but on a smaller scale.

The incentive for newcomers are that the organisers will bear the costs of transportation and accommodation, as well as provide necessary support to the new drivers.

With categories based on engine capacity to novice and junior drivers, and even a special category for lady drivers, the event is aiming to raise the profile of Malaysian rallying in general.

All set to go this weekend ...

The first round currently has an entry list of 30 cars, and among the participants are two foreign drivers, Andrew Miller, a Canadian based in Hong Kong, and Indian rally champion Lohith Urs. The leading local entry is former MRC winner Saladin Mazlan of the Felda Rally team.

The event will also feature a team of 10 junior drivers, selected by GSR Motorsports and the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) from their ongoing driver development programme; they will be supported by KBS under the title of 1 Belia 1 Malaysia Rally Team.

All drivers will be required to tackle night run Special Stages (SS) on Sat, followed by the usual day run of SS on Sun. Presently, the MRSC is the only rally championship in Malaysia to feature a night-run SS. Additionally, the MRSC also features SuperSpecial Stages (SSS), whereby two cars compete against each other simultaneously, on one course.