FAST AND FURIOUS
Bandar Malaysia quenches fans’, racers’ need for speed
BANDAR Malaysia set the stage for the fastest street racing action so far in three seasons of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and Toyota Vios Challenge, rewarding those who commit but equally taking its toll on those who fear high speed tracks.
At 1.96km, the Bandar Malaysia track is one of the fastest and longest ever constructed for the series. It features 20 corners and two long straights, the longest being 600 metres. Higher speeds however, also mean a higher attrition rate with a number of drivers forced into early retirement after colliding with the concrete barrier.
In the Sporting Class for amateur drivers yesterday, S&D Tama Motorsports’ Tom Goh raced to his first victory of the season ahead of Crestmax Motorsports’ Adam Khalid in second place in an incident-packed 20lap race which saw the race being held under safety car conditions twice. In third place was 15-year-old Hayden Haikal.
23 Motors’ Mirza Syahmi Mahzan led the opening stages of the race from pole position but his race weekend was severely ruined by a 15-second penalty for a start infringement subsequently followed by a retirement.
Three laps into the race, Saksama Motorsports’ Ricky Tan was too wide going into a left hander and collided with the concrete barrier ending his race which brought out the safety car. When the safety car peeled off the track three laps later, it didn’t take more than a few corners to bring it right back out due to a second collision between Distinctive Model’s Clement Yeo and Panglima City Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh.
“After Mirza’s crash, it was pretty much a race on my own at the front. I was however, trying to play it safe because the level of grip on the track was completely different during the race to what we had initially setup the car for (wet conditions) during the unofficial practice session,” said Tom.
For Adam, second place was a solid finish considering he started fifth on the grid and missed out on scoring any championship points due to a badly damaged car in the opening round of Season 3 in Kuala Terengganu in September.
The pros delivered a sterling drive as expected in the Super Sporting Class with 23 Motors’ Tengku Djan Ley storming to victory from pole position, finishing the 20-lap battle around the 1.96km track just two seconds ahead of Laser Motor Racing’s Mark Darwin and Telegamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang in third place.
Tengku Djan and Mark set a blistering pace and were locked in a private duel at the front, while Freddie and Toyotsu Racing’s William Ho engaged in a second private battle.
“My car felt good throughout the whole race and I could keep a consistent pace. The track in Bandar Malaysia is wide and it allows you to take many different lines of attack into the corners and that builds for closer racing which is good,” said Tengku Djan.
While drivers endured a wet track on the first day of unofficial practice, yesterday’s race was run in perfectly good dry weather, which made it difficult for racing crews to find the most ideal set-up for the cars.
In the class for celebrities, beat boxer Shawn Lee made a text book start from pole position to win the 20-lap race ahead of actor Shukri Yahaya and presenter Nabil Ahmad who finished third.
Shawn practically drove unopposed as the top three drivers broke away from the rest of the pack.
“I really love this track. It’s really high speed,” said Shawn who eventually crossed the finish line 2.2 seconds ahead of Shukri. Finishing fourth and fifth were actress Diana Danielle and singer Khai Bahar.
The race was placed under safety car conditions in the 10th lap when actor Syafiq Kyle crashed into the wall.
Meanwhile, the battle for sixth and seventh position was also intense between singers Wany Hasrita and Nabila Razali, and it lasted for a good 16 laps before Nabila managed to successfully overtake.
For model Ain Edruce, finishing eighth was a consolation considering she started 10 on the grid after running into the wall during the qualifying session.