For the first time in 15 years, there is a record 30 competitors for a Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) round this year. And this record number will compete in tomorrow’s start of the International Rally of Johor 2018, which is also Round One of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) 2018.
The country’s premier rally event also serves as the third round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) 2018, which only has four international competitors this time round due to unforeseen circumstances from some teams.
International Rally of Johor 2018 competitor relation officer Arish Qutb Ahmad Khan said the spike in MRC competitors, which will also see Indonesian and Japanese drivers, was due to a postponed round earlier of the year.
“This gives some of the competitors time to really prepare their cars for the International Rally of Johor this weekend,” he told Malay Mail today.
In the previous rounds, the MRC competitor usually numbered around 20 cars.
However, Arish said that since last year, there has been an increase in public interest for rallying due to MRC’s pro-active involvement in social media.
“We have a bigger following nationwide now and our ‘live’ feeds via Facebook Live are very popular with local as well as foreign motorsports fans.
“There are also some locals who have enquired on how they can participate in the MRC,” said the 45-year-old who used to compete in the championship himself.
International Rally of Johor 2018 competitor relation officer Arish Qutb Ahmad Khan said the spike in MRC competitors for Johor was due to a postponed round earlier this year. — Picture by Ben Tan
At final count in the evening, 30 competitors were the final tally of registered cars taking part in this weekend’s International Rally of Johor 2018.
Arish said fans can expect a mix of seasoned and new faces as well as international drivers from Indonesia and Japan.
“These drivers are set to sample the challenges that Malaysian rallying has to offer over the course of the weekend alongside the four APRC registered competitors,” he added.
Heading the list of competitors for the APRC round is Cusco Racing with two cars driven by Yuya Sumiyama and Mike Young. The pair will be driving a Skoda Fabia and Toyota Vitz.
Indian national Abhilash PG (Subaru Impreza) and Malaysian Abdul Kaathir (Satria Neo) make up the list of APRC entrants.
With the flare of competition at this year’s APRC event reduced, the rivalry among participants seems to be intense.
On this year’s MRC front, MRU Motorsports, One Motorsports, 23 Motors, OTFT Rally Team and Tafu Tafu World Rally Team make up the long list of 30 cars.
Among the hopefuls is Muhammad Rafiq and his MRU Motorsports team. His team is expected to do well in the event as they have several fast cars and fast drivers competing.
One Motorsports is also well represented with nine cars taking part in various classes from 4WD to classic cars.
Johor’s own 23 Motorsports and the OTFT Rally Team makes their inaugural appearance with a mix of competitive cars and drivers.
Rally conditions over the weekend are expected to be dry and dusty, with rally cars kicking trails of dust as they zip through the plantation stages in Kota Tinggi.
The two-day event covers 235km of timed stages around the Tai Tak Estate in Kota Tinggi. The competitors will cover a total of 563km over the course of the event.
Source: Malay Mail