SNF6 – Big Boys Race & More Drama!
There have been several attempts at concluding the drama at every SNF and the world epic has been the most commonly used description. And Round 6 was no different.
Somethings were different this time around though, for example, SNF6 was held on a Friday instead of the usual Saturday night. SNF also played host to a Hari Raya Open House for all the participants and visitors alike, (some resplendent in their traditional Baju Melayu) with enough food for second helpings.
The Open House was also used as a platform to announce that a brand new series will be held next year and it is to be called – MegaLap! The MegaLap is a time-attack challenge and is destined to be popular especially with guys with big horse powered cars.
Although it was a Friday, this did not deter participants to enter Round 6 and in fact this time around the series received participation from the big boys who are regular runners and winners of other motor racing series in Malaysia.
Most of these guys were gunning for the Forged Racing RaceCars Category. Apart from the regular runners in this category this time around we had the company of teams from JC Racing and Type R Racing with their line-up of star-studded drivers.
And boy the stars were bright that night as the heats began. For many this was their opportunity to watch how the top teams were running which provided a great spectacle of close racing.
As usual the start was dramatic with everyone (all 22 cars) gunning for the first turn together and contact was inevitable. Chaos ensued when Raymond Liew’s mistake here brought contact upon Jeffrey Moo and Lim Kum Soon which also caused Ee Yong Chern (HKS Silvia S15) to spin prompting the following pack to take evasive actions. These incidents brought out the red flag almost immediately to clear the debris.
After the debacle of heat 1, the second heat went on without a hitch and finally spectators were able to watch some fine racing. After salvaging his car from the first heat’s incident, Ee Yong Chern was hammering it out for top position with a Honda EK9 from team Type R Racing. Although he had the straight line power advantage, he had to keep a watching brief every time he comes to a turn where the smaller and nimble EK9 has the upper hand. Finally the power of his Silvia S15 prevailed and Ee Yong Chern crossed the line first followed by Type R Racing and Faizal Hashim in third.
Heat 3 continued similarly with Ee Yong Chern again dicing with team Type R Racing’s EK9. But this time around the driver of the EK9 was not going to settle for second place and applied more pressure to Ee Yong Chern to which the latter eventually cracked.
Aided by the power of his car Ee Yong Chern was not going to give up that easily and put up a fight and managed to recapture first place. But the Type R Racing’s driver second place was being threatened as out of nowhere JC Racing’s DC 5 appeared behind him and with supreme confidence passed the EK9 and targeted Ee Yong Chern’s Silvia. Lap after lap the pair was together and finally again, the Silvia’s horsepower saved Ee Yong Chern position. That night Forged Racing RaceCars Category has a new winner and the 2 top guys also cracked the lap record when they ran in the 1 minute 14 seconds.
The category that has been plagued with controversies, the FF Festival, lived up to its reputation once again when the night ended with drama and disrepute during the podium ceremony.
This time around Kazama Autoworks contested in this category with Lai Wee Sing taking up the driving duties. The team’s entry has been overdue as there’s great rivalry between this team with the other top runners of the category.
Lai Wee Sing aka Ah Lai dominated the first heat but Kesavamoorthy aka Moorthy was always in his sight in waiting. This was how they finished and were followed by the hardworking Desmond Yee of N1 Racing in third. Some admiration to Desmond though as he had to work his way up to that position when he began from the tail end!
Heat 2 began with the trio this time around running closely together. Although Ah Lai once again dominated the heat, he was not about to get it easy in heat 3 as the night unfolded.
A highly motivated Moorthy seemed to apply pressure on Ah Lai right from the start of the last heat. It was so tight between the pair that at some turns, some say that Moorthy was ahead and just as quickly it was Ah Lai’s turn in out in front, it was nerve-wracking! This dice went on right to the end with Ah Lai holding on to first place followed by Moorthy and Desmond.
The main protagonist for the 4WD Battle once again battled for top honours during Round 6. The category welcomed M7 Japan as the official sponsor which definitely made aiming for the top three positions a prime target.
Tung Wei and Jon Teo of N1 Racing Team provided a stellar performance by dominating the category with Niki Tham completing in third place for heat 1.
In heat 2 the N1 Racing pair positions were threatened when Ahmad Zuhaili made his way past Jon Teo for second position and was targeting Tung Wei next. Jon was having none of that and wanted that place back which resulted in the pair closing on Tung Wei in the lead. Jon’s determined drive gave him back that position where they finished in the respective order.
Heat 3 concluded with once again Tung Wei, Jon Teo finishing in that order joined by Niki Tham from Singapore.
We’re sure most of you are curious about the Hyrax Oil CamproChase. Well, finally Megat Shazreal of F3 Matspeed fame finally nailed it by winning the first heat. Although Megat won easily he was without his nemesis Michael Ayyavu who left the driving duties to his brother Andrew. Nonetheless it was a great drive by Megat. His win has been waiting for him and his team but unfortunately it was short-lived.
In heat 2 Megat had his buddy Razak Mohideen, a seasoned race car driver took over control of the car and things were about to go bad when during the start, the car developed some brief misfiring, and that was not the only problem. With the car eventually running well Razak was on a roll and just before coming out onto the front straight; the left front wheel came off which ended his race prematurely. With no competition in sight Andrew took the overall honours for the Hyrax CamproChase category.
Dubbed as the Mafia category, the Ultra Racing Street 1.8 Open which sees various types of cars dicing again provided the greatest door-to-door racing.
Spectators favourite Steven Lai and his Toyota Vios Turbo was once again in the limelight where he was going tooth and nail against Ahmad Firdaus driving his Honda Civic EF. The pair was battling it out like it was the final heat but eventually Ahmad had the advantage and won the first heat. Taking third place was Mohd Fahmi in his Civic EK9.
Ahmad Firdaus and Steven Lai continued their battle in heat 2 but this time around they had Francis Ng joining them. Although Ahmad kept his place till the end, Steven had to concede second place to Francis when he made a mistake. Ahmad Firdaus continued his dominance in the final heat followed by Philip Tang and Francis Ng.
K.Logesvaran aka Sing Boy knew that the competition in the GAB SuperCompact class would get harder and harder, his only response was to make his car quicker which he did by recording a lap time of 1 minute 22 seconds!
Although K.Logesvaran took the overall honours in round 6 he was constantly pursued by Muhamad Zahid who was matching his lap time. Let’s see whether K.Logesvaran will improve his car further as apart from Muhamad Zahid he’s also got to be wary of the improving Syazril Amri.
Those familiar with the Super 1.3 Category would know that it’s usually been dominated by the Toyota Starlet Turbos squad. Well things changed slightly when a Perodua Myvi driven by Mohd Azwan put up a good fight to make it to the final step of the podium. As usual, the Starlets make up the top two places driven by Ahmad Sharifuddin and Ahmad Ezani.
Next race takes place November 12.