Team Proton R3 dominated the 2nd round of the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) with a 1st and 2nd finish in Race 1 and 2.

As usual, weather conditions at the Sepang Circuit was hot and dry with rain in the later part of the afternoon. With in-car temperatures rocketing for race 1, both drivers kept their cool to capitalise on a good start In Race 1. They later maintained their performance on the track to do the same in a rain-soaked Race 2.

In Race 1, Faidzil Alang made the most of his pole position and led the race from start to finish with the only serious challenge coming from his own team-mate, Syafiq Ali. Syafiq, who qualified in 4th due to a problem during qualifying, made a fantastic start to overtake the 2nd and 3rd placed cars … Read More »

In-car with me on my flying qualifying lap in the Suzuki Swift Sport for Team AMC-CBT Ignition.My at the Sepang 1000km race 2010. Not the fastest car out there, but I had the footage anyway, so what the hell. Enjoy!

Given the excitement and last-minute build-up of the Team AMC-CBT Ignition.My Suzuki Swift Sport that I raced, you would be expecting a whole lot of drama during the event itself but surprisingly, the little Swift Sport is a well-built car as standard, and any trouble that we had in the race was self-induced! Read on..

Regulations dictate that the quickest driver in Qualifying would start the race, so it was with certain trepidition that the honour would fall to me. After the usual preliminaries and National Anthem, we headed off for the rolling-start. The Green Flag was waving, and off we went!

The team qualified 48th out of 54 cars, which is a Long Way Back, as final starting position is based on a system whereby they calculate the mean-average qualifying time of all drivers. But I made a killer of … Read More »

Practice

A change from the norm, Practice is now conducted on the same day as Qualifying. For the Class 1 cars they are allocated 1 hour. Team HPC-Ignition.My opted to let 3rd Driver, Brian, to gain seat time as he had not tested the car with its new set up.

Brian duly drove the car and discovered the 4th gear kept jumping out. Apart from this problem, he was very happy with the car’s suspension set up.  Ken tested the car and concluded that transmission indeed had a problem. Ken also noted the engine felt flat as compared to the previous test session. This we attributed to the supplied fuel.

The technical crew set out to work to solve the problem. Oil was drained and replenished. Linkages were checked and adjusted.

Qualifying

All 3 drivers are required to do at least 1 timed lap during qualifying … Read More »

Today was Registration Day for the S1k. As usual all teams had to register their teams.  This encompassses, submiting the enty form, drivers race licence, and taking all the event stickers, such as the number and event tire stickers.

Once  all the necessary stickers are on the cars, scrutineering takes place. All the safety items are checked, such as cut off switch and fire extinguisher. Driver’s equipment are also verified FIA specs.  This is followed by weighting of the car, with driver on board. For the record, the HPC-Ignition.My Celica with the lightest driver on board meets the minimum weight limit. The AMC-CBT-Ignition.My Swift on the other hand has added 80kg of sand ballast.

The refuelling rig was also dispersed to team today that paid the deposit. Unlike in MME where teams use FIA Spec dry-brake refuelling rigs, for S1k all teams use … Read More »

This is the video of the crazy last-minute (1 week before the race!!) preparation and the launching of the Suzuki Swift Sport that I will be driving, under the team AMC-CBT Ignition.My. Believe it or not, no less than the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir himself unveiled the car last Tuesday 25th May 2010 at Aiman Motors new 4S outlet in Jalan 222, Petaling Jaya.

The 3 drivers will be my old teammate and buddy from way back, Khaidi Kamaruddin, as well as Albakry Sallehudin representing Cars Bikes & Trucks, New Straits Times (incidentally, my housemate!), and of course, me.

It’s been a mad rush, as everything was just confirmed 2 weeks before the event which takes place this weekend. It ain’t easy preparing a car for a 1000km endurance, as there is much to be done, parts to be … Read More »

New for 2010 in S1K is the compulsory use of the HANS device. HANS, short for Head And Neck Support, is now compulsory in many international competition. Since 2009, SIC has made it compulsory for MME 12 Hours.

HANS’s primary function is to stop the neck “stretching” in case of impact. It fits around the driver’s neck, tethered to the driver’s helmet and held down under the shoulder belts.  There are generally 2 types of HANS available, the Sports model and all carbon Professional Model. Depending on where you purchase, the HANS can cost as low as RM2.4k to RM 4.8k for the Professional Model.

The Helmets also need to be equipped with HANS Post to attach the HANS. And not any old helmet can be drilled to fit them. Most racing Helmets now come predrilled and some come with HANS post fitted … Read More »