KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Malaysia’s greatest rally driver Karamjit Singh walked away with his 16th Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) crown after dominating the two-wheel drive category in the Rally of Perak yesterday.
Along with co-driver Maruthi Ariokiasamy, the 54-year-old “Flying Sikh” blitzed his competition from start to finish to win in a time of 1’40:26.3s.
Karamjit’s victory in all nine stages confirmed the latest title of his 31-year career and comes 23 years after he won his first MRC title.
His Proton Wira was followed by Azad Jasmi and co-driver Hazwan Fauzi in a Proton Satria, who was 10:16.3s slower.
Suhaimi Nasro Ali, also in a Proton Satria, was 21s behind Azad.
Suhaimi cemented his runner-up position in the championship with the podium finish.
Dinie Nazmie Abd Rahman and Henzee Hamzah rounded off the top five, while the only two Japanese drivers Takeshi Azuma and Masafumi Sudou propped up the standings.
Only 11 out of the 14 participants finished the race.
Karamjit’s display was as overwhelming as it was consistent, as he won three out of four rounds this year — with the exception of the Rally of Pahang in Rompin, which he did not enter.
Surprisingly, the man himself — who turns 55 next month — claimed he was not driving at his full capacity.
“I had to nurse the car, so I would say I was probably driving at 80 per cent of my speed,” he said.
“I’m really satisfied with the win because I entered as a privateer and still managed to win. I still feel I am the best driver. Hopefully, I can do this for another 10 years.”
Asked about his future plans, the champion said he still hoped to be a contender in next year’s Asia Pacific Rally Championship — which he has won eight times.
However, he added he would need more sponsorship to be competitive.
“The last time we entered was 2012 and we won the two-wheel drive championship. I am still confident I can win it but I will need a car that can compete. That will be expensive.
“I hope all of the rally competitors here get sponsorship. The Sports Ministry should support all rally drivers,” he said.
In the four-wheel drive category, Shazly Ilias won the championship from Rafizal Rashid, while Amir Ahmad placed third.
The top three did not finish yesterday’s race, and scored a cumulative total of 45 points, 25 points, and 14 points respectively after four races.
Meanwhile, One Motorsports Bagan Datoh Rally Team duo Roduwan Rashid and Amirul Zahri Sazali were hurled out of contention after their Proton Satria Neo careened into a ditch while they were second.
Both were uninjured in the accident which happened as they were trying to make up for two minutes of lost time in the Special Stage 5.
“We were trying to close a gap to the car ahead. Admittedly, we went for the dry tyres when we should have plumped for the mud tyres,” said Roduwan.
