MKC 2024 Round 2 Race Report

Round 2 of MKC 2024 was blessed with good weather and even better racing. And we got a new sponsor! Thanks Tourism Malaysia! Though the grid was smaller than usual (so many races around the region these days), there was good representation from the major engine manufacturers as each dominated different categories as well as newer racing teams establishing themselves like JS KARTING.

From a manufacturer standpoint, IAME seems to be the way to go for Cadet but pace-wise wise ROTAX is not too far behind. In the Juniors, it was definitely a ROTAX race as the IAME’s could just about keep up. In the Seniors, it was a clean fight between ROTAX and ROK as their pace was almost identical. All were using Maxxis Purple kart tires. From a driver standpoint, it was a regional affair with Malaysian, Singaporean, and Philippine drivers making up the grid.

In the Cadet Final, it was the Sahill Singh show as he dominated all sessions. However, it was not without a fight as Leeloo Freihuber and Michael Lederer were never too far behind applying pressure all the way to the final. After a fairly clean start, lap times between the trio were separated by 1000th of a second but Sahill kept his cool and led from the front ahead of Michael and Leeloo respectively. Coming in fourth was Keith Moh who drove a stellar race in his AIR COOLED engine. Yes, you read that right, even in 2024 a solid air-cooled ROK engine can still compete. Keith drove with as much maturity as his engine was old ahead of compatriots Libhan Louis Kanna, Mohamed Faliq, Saif Zulqarnayn, Muhammad Azeem, and Maxim Syrapushchynski. Notable moments include Kieth, Saif, and Maxim who were in a neck-to-neck battle for a number of laps until Maxim’s engine gave way.

In the Junior Final, it was Ethan Seto who showcased another masterclass in driving clean and consistent laps to seal the win. What was essentially a Sodi ‘one-make’ race - meaning everyone was on equal kart chassis - qualifying times were separated by just 0.3s between first and last. And with a variety of engine manufacturers represented, it was anyone’s guess as to who might win MKC Round 2. Easton Yong from JS Karting was quick, Esteban Freihuber from City Kart Racing was on pace, Leonardo Mauri from 7 Racing was firing on all cylinders, Ethan Ng was putting his track knowledge to good use, and Aydon Lim was showing everyone what grassroots talent was all about. With everyone equal on pace, the race was like a procession of fierce racers all patiently waiting for someone to make a mistake. And once the gloves were off, everyone swapped places like a game of musical chairs. Esteban went from the front to the back and finally fought it off with Ethan Ng to claim 3rd. This was after Ethan Seto and Easton managed to pull away somewhat to have their own duel. Ethan was unfazed. On another note, the top four drivers in Juniors all have their first names starting with the letter ‘E’.

In the Senior Final, it was Lucas Leong who made the most of a great start to gap Logan Morgan who was a favourite to win the final. Logan made steady progress throughout the sessions on Sunday after qualifying fourth but working his way up to winning the Super Heat and in prime position to take the final. But after a faulty start, Lucas made the jump on Logan and pulled away early as Logan made his way through the field and began the chase of the century as Logan hunted down Lucas. But with 2 laps to go and Logan right on Lucas’ tail, it was Lucas who managed to fend off all the experience Logan threw at him to take the win by a mere 0.2s. Ian Goh, who was poised to take second place also got caught up in all the fiery action in the final as he lost out the battle with Iskandar Ahmad Hadri to take fourth. Soon Yuen Thing and Isa Bin Mohd Fuad also had their fair share of action as the two challenged each other nose to tail but after one too many close calls, they finally made light contact but just enough to send Isa wide and into the grass but down a slope. And the slope was just steep and slippery enough to prevent Isa from re-joining the race no matter how hard he tried to push. Albert Lederer rounded up the field as the sole Master karter.

In the Open Final, it was a showdown between Ahmad Hadri Harris and Farid Hakimi with Thomas Ong not too far behind. However, it was Chua Xiao Jie who lost out the most as he had the pace for a podium finish but couldn’t capitalize ending the weekend with a DNF. Hadri and Farid, on the other hand, had a fearsome battle all Sunday, each taking equal wins in Sunday’s races. Hadri got pole in qualifying by just 0.017s but Farid won Heat 1 and the Super Heat. But it’s all about the final and Hadri managed to pull through with the win by just 0.8s ahead of Farid in second and Thomas in third. Ahmad Zaidi rounded up the grid of ROTAX DD2 engines.

Exciting times are ahead as we might, just maybe, we’ll see, be racing at a brand new circuit. See you at MKC 2024 Round 3!

MKC 2024 Race Report - Round 1

It was a beautiful Sunday last weekend. On the 5th of May, 2024, the Malaysia Karting Championship launched itself into a new era of karting. An open, all-inclusive beginning of something new but with roots in the old.

Before ROTAX, IAME, and ROK introduced their one-make championships, karting in Malaysia was open. Any 100cc reed-valve, air-cooled engine will do as long as it passes scrutineering. Sometimes even tires were open. But since the introduction of one-make championships, pioneered by ROTAX, open championships died a slow death. It took more than two decades to wait for its revival here in Malaysia.

An open series like WSK, CIK World Championships, and even F1 is a true test of any driver and manufacturer combination. The two have to work together to fully understand what’s possible. And with MKC’s fluid BOP (can change from round to round) drivers and race teams must always be prepared to squeeze out any extra gain available.

In the MKC Cadet Final, it was Michael Lederer who took home the win followed by Leeloo Freihuber and Maxim Syrapushchynski respectively. After a clean race start, Leeloo lost her second place to Maxim but quickly regained it two laps later. Fourth place Sahil Singh had the time of his life bringing the fight to Maxim but had to deal with an earlier battle with sixth place Muhammad Azeem. In fifth, it was Aydrae Amit Janardhan who could not make full use of his top speed when chasing down Maxim. In seventh, Keith Moh had to duke it out with Saif Zulqarnayn and that battle proved costly for Saif as it ended up with him coming in tenth. Eighth and ninth place went to Mohamed Faliq and Libhan Louis Kanna who stuck together like a pair of twins throughout the race.

In the MKC Junior Final, it was the Ethan Seto Show as he demonstrated his raw pace throughout the race. Despite a poor start and dropping down to fifth, Ethan managed to make his way through the field and hunt down eventual second place Aydon Lim Shao Yang. Aydon demonstrated good pace at the start but it was just not enough to hold off the charging Ethan. Fifth-place Conrad Garrow made the most of his third-place grid start and held off third-place Leonardo Mauri. But all it took was one mistake at a turn to lose two positions to Ethan and Leonardo. Fourth place went to Easton Yong Shun Wei who made the most of the drama ahead of him. In sixth and seventh, Esteban Freihuber and Nidal Sharir had their duel to the chequered flag. Unfortunately, Zharif Rayqal suffered a DNF, and Putera Mika had a DNS. 

In the MKC Senior Final, Feroz Fauzy took home the win ahead of second-place Lucas Leong and third-place Muizzudin Musyafa. After a fiery start that saw karts go three-wide, it could have been anyone’s race. The top 5 drivers in qualifying were all within 0.5s of each other and it also had a good mix of manufacturers. But after Hendra Putra’s random collision with Isa Bin Mohd Fuad after just 4 laps completed, it was down to Muizz and Lucas to chase down Feroz. Muizz was gaining on Feroz but Lucas was gaining on Muizz more. And it didn’t take long for the two to eventually swap places. Lucas did seem to catch Feroz at one point but it wasn’t enough in the end. Fourth went to Louis Morgan followed by Dominic Ho in fifth, Isa Bin Mohd Fuadin sixth, and Albert Lederer in seventh.

In the MKC Open Final, it was Ahmad Hadri Harris who took the win from second place Farid Hakimi and third place Suresh Kevin Nair. After a frantic race start, eventual fifth place Kenny Ng Yi Teng and sixth place Abdullah Adil had a major throughout the race. However, their passion for racing took its toll around the four laps to go mark. They hit each other on the exit of Turn 1 and sent a kart spinning resulting in both of them being sent to the back of the grid. Farid had to work for his second place after battling it out with Suresh, who set the fastest time in the final but could not hold off Farid’s advance. Though the field was small, the racing on the track was intense to the end.

And there we have it. The first open national karting series in Malaysia is off and running. Something is exciting once again in Malaysian karting. One that hopefully doesn’t bust the budget. One that is designed for all to race. And one that aims to be fair to everyone. MKC has plenty to learn and improve on and rest assured each round will be better measured than the last. The road forward is not a clear path as there are plenty of variables to take into account such as ever-evolving engines and driver ability. Hopefully, before the end of the season, MKC will have a working formula that attracts everyone with a karting race engine to join the championship.

MKC

MKC 2024 Round 1 Photos

Race Results

MKC Round 7 Race Report

It was a welcoming return to Elite Speedway USJ as IAME Series Asia and MKC made their way to the famous circuit with that long loop and twisty uphill. The weather was clear, for most of the day at least, and there was plenty to fight for on track. As expected, all drivers put on a great showing of race craft, determination, grit, and intense racing sprinkled with a few incident-filled clashes here and there. It was a blistering hot Sunday but the action on track was even hotter, if one can imagine so.

In the Cadet category, it was down to the two championship leaders Kamolphu Anuchatkul and Esteban Freihuber who had everything to fight for. One would think they’d be fighting it out from the front of the grid but ironically they battled it out from the back. Both drivers had a disappointing qualifying session positioning them near the back of the grid and most of the heats was spent fighting their way to the front.  Esteban had the better result in that regard making his way to third place in both heats from a starting position of ninth on the grid. Kamolphu on the other hand struggled. However, neither effort was enough to challenge eventual Final race winners Leonardo Mauri and second-placed Jamie White. The duo from the Italcorse Racing Team put on a fine display of consistency and pace during the heats.

In the Pre Final, a slight drizzle sent teams into a frenzy to put on rain tires. Although it was declared a wet race by the officials, by the time the race had started the track was already drying up. Everyone raced on their wets nonetheless but some were unprepared for the sudden change. Esteban who managed to secure third place on the starting grid had no grip throughout the Pre Final and lost positions with every lap that went by. Kamolphu did not fare any better and somehow managed to finish second last. The ISA 2023 Cadet Championship decider was going to be the final race of the day and season. Eventual Pre-Final winner Leonardo put on a stellar display of ‘drying track’ driving and made the most of changing conditions to finish a full 3 seconds ahead of Jamie.

In the Final, all Esteban had to do was score enough points to beat Kamolphu in the championship by getting as high up the grid as possible. It was already looking like a lost cause for Kamolphu who was most likely going to write off the weekend as a dropped round. The burden was therefore on Esteban to perform his best and make to most of the final race of the season. But it turned out to be a difficult task getting by the mid-pack of Leeloo Freihuber, Kim Minjae, Kwanwoo Lee, and Michael Lederer. They did not let Esteban through as easily as they did in the heats and with every lap of missed chances, race leaders Leonardo and Jamie pulled away. Jamie and Leonardo had a fierce battle between themselves with Jamie making a late lunge in the dying laps only for Leonardo to counter a few corners ahead. It was close to the end between the pair who finished 0.3s apart at the finish line. Esteban came in third in the end.

However, it turns out the drama was not over as Esteban and Kamolphu finished the season tied on points after tallying their six best results. Then the organizers counted who won the most Final races throughout the year. Tied. Who won the most number of Pre-Final races? Tied. And finally, it was decided. Who won the most number of Heats, Kamolphu! That rarely happens in motorsport, what a special occasion. To make it the perfect end, Kamolphu and Esteban are best of friends when not racing and both will be going to the IAME World Final 2023 to represent Asian karting. All the best to them!

In MKC, Michael Lederer’s late-season charge was not enough to take away the championship from Ethan Ng who demonstrated how consistency pays off. Ethan took home the MKC title ahead of Sahill Singh who scored enough points in the first half of the season to hold onto second.

In the Junior category, with Katrina Ee already securing the championship win, it was a big fight for second place between Hendra Putra, Zarief Rayqal, and Ethan Seto. It was still mathematically possible for Rayqal to snatch second place away from Hendra as long as the gap was big enough. Ethan was quite certain of third if he bagged enough points and Rayqal under-performed. Conrad Garrow was also in the mix for third but he too would’ve needed to perform spectacularly to seal a top-3 finish.

In the Pre Final, it was a fierce encounter between the top 5 drivers consisting of Rayqal, Hendra, Calvin Wibowo, Ethan, and eventually Katrina after starting from the back. Hendra made an early charge after a clean start to take the early lead while leaving behind the rest to scrap it out for second place. Katrina did swap back a couple of times but could not catch Hendra once he had some clear breathing space. Katrina, Calvin, and Rayqal stayed close by in a pack ready to pounce but Ethan could not keep up. With 2 laps to go, that gap that Hendra worked so hard for was whittled down to a kart length and Katrina was poised to attack. And she did. And she caused Hendra to spin. Hendra amazingly saved it before going a full 180 and rejoined back in fourth place. Katrina won that race but was awarded a 5-second penalty at the end for the collision bumping her down to fifth place, behind Hendra. Rayqal won that affair after a late lunge on Calvin to take the Pre-Final win and valuable points in the bag.

In the Final, the heat was on at maximum. The track was dry, everyone had new tires, and it was the final race of the season. There were endless battles up and down the field, and everyone was giving it all they had. All the lessons learned, all the hardships faced, it was there and then in that fateful Final that great driving was displayed. After early contact between Katrina and Conrad split the field, it was every driver for themselves. Ethan made a spectacular start to begin his challenge on Rayqal and Calvin with Hendra following close behind. Ethan managed to pass Rayqal with 9 laps to go while Hendra made the most of Ethan’s move to also pass Rayqal and take third. Rayqal, bemused by what had just happened, kept pace but all that commotion allowed Sanjana Dandu to join to party. Sanjanu also made a move on Rayqal two laps later and chased down the hunting pair of Ethan and Hendra who were closing the gap on Calvin. Which only took two laps. With 5 laps to go, Ethan wasted no time and made a classic pass on Calvin who could do nothing but give enough racing room. Hendra, again the opportunist, makes use of Calvin’s loss of momentum and also passes Calvin on the same lap as Ethan. However, Calvin was not done and made a desperate move on the inside at the end of the loop but it wasn’t enough and Hendra’s rear right tire caught Calvin’s front left tire. Hendra spun, and Calvin ended up in the wall but walked away with no injuries. Sanjana is now in second after having the oceans split for the junior driver. Meanwhile, Katrina managed to catch up to all the action in front and also made a pass on Rayqal who just did not have the pace in the Final, ultimately sealing his fate for second place in the championship. Hendra, despite all the calamities he tends to find himself in, with all the spins and misfortunes throughout the year, managed to salvage a tumultuous weekend and drive home to secure second place in the championship. Ethan, with the Final race win and probably the drive of his life, wins third in the championship after edging out Rayqal on the most number of Final race wins. Karting could not have asked for a more dramatic end between the talented drivers. They all displayed tenacity and grit with some of the toughest battles witnessed in Asian karting. But Katrian Ee’s pace was unmatched and a big congratulations to her for becoming the IAME SERIES ASIA 2023 JUNIOR CHAMPION!

In MKC, Katrina sealed the title with Hendra taking second place away from Ethan and Rayqal by just one point. And as fate will have its way, Rayqal and Ethan were once again locked in third but with Ethan winning more Final races Rayqal was left in fourth with a season to forget.

In the Senior category, there wasn’t much to fight for as championship leader Aditya Wibowo had a firm grip on the title going into the final round and with an unmatchable pace over the weekend, Aditya was never going to let it go. His utter domination since Round 3 onwards deserves credit and Indonesia has once again produced a stellar driver after his predecessors such as Prass, Senna, Zahir… (and the list keeps going). Aditya sealed the IAME SERIES ASIA 2023 SENIOR TITLE with a cool 9-point advantage over second-place Ferroz Fezril and third-place Ezra Arian.

However, the star of the weekend with the most unexpected performance goes to Oscar Cura. With an impressive qualifying in third place (practically on par in pace with second place Ferroz) and challenging heats, Oscar positioned himself in prime position in fourth to launch a threat no one saw coming, not even himself. With 12 laps to go, Ferroz launches an attack on Aditya which causes them to run wide and gives all the space for Oscar to take the lead as they all make their way through the uphill section. Oscar managed to create some breathing space as Aditya and Ferroz processed what just happened between the two teammates. Oscar was maintaining the gap but Aditya in all desperation made a very risky dive on the inside at the end of the loop, perhaps his only chance to take the lead. And it worked out which somewhat stunned Oscar causing him to run wide and allow Ferroz through to take second. Oscar, not giving up one bit with a big point to prove, wasted no time and retook second place by the end of the following lap and chased down Aditya. Oscar was inching closer with each lap demonstrating a hunger that was not seen throughout the season. But it was not meant to be that perfect dream weekend for Oscar as Aditya maintained composure to finish just 0.3s ahead of Oscar at the finish line. But all credit to Oscar for his fine performance and it’s something for him to build on going into next year.

In MKC, Ferroz managed to seal the title ahead of Muhammad Ezzuan in second and Timofey in third. Things might have been different if Timofey was present throughout the season but Ferroz will always be able to call himself MALAYSIAN SENIOR KARTING CHAMPION 2023.

In the Master category, it was a similar story of dominance and sheer pace. Luke Armstrong took home the title with another dominant display of driving and racing… amongst the Seniors! It’s always amazing to watch Luke arm-strong his way into the leading pack and duke it out with some of the leading Senior drivers. The only other Master driver who can match him with pace is Nik Iruwan but he had a difficult weekend with a crash in Pre Final opening lap after Turn 1 despite making some ground in the Final. Second place in the championship went to Alpesh Patel after driving home a steady third in the Master category. Thiru Kumaran who had a weekend to forget in the final round of IAME SERIES ASIA 2023 thankfully did well enough in previous rounds to secure third in the championship.

In MKC, Thiru won the title ahead of Mohd Jasa and Nik Iruwan. Usual contender Mohd Jasa could not pose much of a threat to Thiru as he only managed to participate in five out of the seven rounds in MKC 2023. Thiru in return was rewarded for his commitment to the sport we all enjoy.

In the Veteran category, Peter Chua drove with the title ahead of Ridzman Aziz and Lee Lung Nien. Ridzman, unfortunately, could not match Peter in pace and had to settle for second in both the championship and final race of the season. Previous champion Lung was absent in the last round and in Round 4 which dampened any chance of him repeating his title-winning campaign.

In MKC, Ridzman was crowned MALAYSIA KARTING CHAMPION 2023 in the Master Category. A great reward for his consistent showing at every round.

IAME SERIES ASIA 2023 was a rounding success and none of it could have been possible without sponsors, officials, marshals, drivers, parents, and fans of the sport. The organizers would like to gratefully thank every one of you for your participation and support of the sport. We look forward to more action, more driving spirit, more comradery, and more faces in 2024!

Until then get some rest, recharge those batteries and we’ll see you in January next year.

MKC 2023 Round 6 Race Report

The weather was cool with dark clouds in the distance. But for the 45 racers who took part in Round 6 of IAME Series Asia, the heat within was hotter than ever. With just two more rounds to go until the champions are officially decided, there was plenty to fight for at RUD Sepang International Circuit last Sunday, 20th August. Drivers and teams from India, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, and Kuwait joined local Malaysians in another round of battles on the kart track.

In the Cadet class, a strong showing by Italcorse Racing Team and their two drivers Jamie White and Leornado Mauri stole the show in all races up to the final. It seems that Leornado was saving his ability all day for the Final and made the race-winning move on Jamie with three laps to go. Jamie did his best to counter and repeat his Pre-Final winning strategy but once passed Leornado created enough of a gap to bring home the win.

However, the real battle was behind them for third, fourth, and fifth place amongst the current championship leaders Esteban Freihuber, Kamolphu Anuchatkul, and Michael Lederer. Going into Round 6, the trio was split by 20-points in the championship with Kamolphu ahead of Esteban by just 5-points. In the Pre-Final, there wasn’t much battling between the three leaders as early race action split them up. However, in the Final, they were inseparable. Esteban did jump into second place at the start to pass Leornado but once the two swapped the following lap, the battle was on for the three championship leaders. Kamolphu took full advantage of Leornrdo’s move on Esteban to close the gap and managed to pass him the next lap to take third place. Michael, right behind and within striking range, played it cool and hoped to pick up the pieces of the battle between Esteban and Kamolphu. A determined Esteban fought back hard and never let Kamolphu get away and he eventually lined up a classic pass at the double hairpin. From then on, Esteban, Kamolphu, and Michael were tied together by an invisible string all the way to the chequered flag separated by 0.3s across the line. Esteban won that battle ahead of Kamolphu. The final round will be the decider. Spice.

Further down the grid, there was plenty of action between Maximilian Schilling, Leeloo Freihuber, and Kwanwoo Lee in one group and Danish Dalmiya, Ethan Ng, and Hamza Balasinorwala in another. Maximilian eventually managed to pull away from his leaving behind Kwanwoo and Leeloo to fight it out. However, although faster than Kwanwoo, Leeloo could not manage to make a pass and settled for 8th place behind Kwanwoo. William Jochmann and Santokh Singh rounded off the grid.  

In the Junior Category, it was a masterclass display by Katrina Ee, from DRM Racing Team, who dominated all races including qualifying. She is on course to win the overall title assuming all goes well in the final round. However, the action was non-stop behind her as the rest of the pack battled it out for 2nd place.

In the Junior Pre-Final, it was a clean start by the entire grid in lap 1 but by lap 2 the top eight had presented themselves. As Katrina steadily pulled away, followed closely by Calvin Wibowo, Zarief Rayqal had his target set on Hendra Putra after making quick work of Kiaan Shah. With 10 laps to go, Rayqal managed to pass Hendra and create a gap. Meanwhile, Kiaan was having the battle of his life with Sanjana Dandu which resulted in him losing five positions in one turn. After which, it was Ethan Seto’s turn to challenge Sanjana and that turned out to be quite heated as they swapped positions at least three times… in one lap! With 5-laps to go, Zarief had managed to chase down Conrad Garrow and pass him at the double-hairpin with Hendra doing the same with one lap to go. Mohamad Anaqi and Seshan Gunasekera also had a contentious last lap as they fought fiercely at every corner until the chequered flag.

In the Junior Final, the fireworks continued. The race start saw karters go three-wide into Turn 1, which somehow resulted in three drivers further back the grid coming into contact and causing all three to spin at Turn 2. Ethan and Rayqal managed to capitalize on the calamity and make their way up the grid with Rayqal jumping into second, this time he did not let Katrina get away and stayed close behind followed by Calvin. Ethan hunted Hendra down and managed to pass him within the first five laps. Kiaan and Sara Kojima also had their share of the action as they challenged each other so hard at one point they both ran wide into Turn 1 with Kiaan suffering a front fairing penalty as a result. Sujana and Anaqi continued their Pre-Final contest while Conrad was having a difficult weekend and found himself dropping down the order due to deteriorating engine performance. With 8-laps to go, Rayqal had managed to stay with Katrina and started applying some pressure. However, Katrina responded but just barely as they crossed the line 0.3s apart. On the other hand, Hendra’s chase was more successful as he pulled off some heroics on the last lap to pass Ethan and take fourth place back finishing 0.2s ahead at the finish line. Epic.

In the Senior Category it was the Aditya Wibowo and Mohamed Feroz show as the two DRM Racing Team drivers dominated all outings, with Aditya displaying a dominant drive by winning all races. Only Stefano Pedani momentarily managed to disrupt the show with a second-place finish in the Pre-Final.

In the Senior Pre-Final, other than Stefano getting the jump on Feroz in the first few laps, it was a pretty straightforward race. Feroz tried to apply some pressure on Stefano on the last lap with a move on the inside at the end of the back straight but ran wide as a result allowing Stefano to hold second place to the end. There were also some heated exchanges between Aditya Patnaik and Dipan in the last few laps, Aditya won that contest to take fifth in class.

In the Senior Final, it was more dramatic with Stefano losing out at the start and dropping down to fourth. Feroz and Aditya continued their show while Ezra spent the race fending off Stefano. This bodes well for Feroz as he leads Ezra by 30-points going into Round 6. Further down the grid, Shaveeya Sha’in seemed comfortable racing amongst the Master and Veteran drivers as she lacked the pace to keep up with any of the other Senior drivers ahead of her. The championship is still wide open with Feroz bagging a bunch of points and Ezra keeping up the pressure, the decider will definitely be in Round 7. Watch this space.

In the Masters Category, it was Nik Iruwan of the DRM Racing Team who managed to fend off challenges from Mohd Jasa and Luke Armstrong while putting on a stellar performance by keeping pace with the lighter Senior drivers. Iruwan managed to finish both Pre-Final and Final in top-5 positions, behind the leading pack of Senior drivers. Luke Armstrong managed to score some valuable points with two second-place finishes in the Pre-Final and Final after troubled sessions in the Heats. Championship leader Thiru Kumaran had a forgettable Sunday as his pace was unusually off the mark. He will need to pull all tricks out of the bag for the final round to win the overall championship. There is some hope for Thiru as his closest championship contender Salwal Jumawal could not outpace him all day and finished behind Thiru and also suffered an unfortunate DNF in the Final. But Luke is mathematically still within a chance if he has a good run in Round 7. Exciting.

In the Veteran Category, Lee Lung Nien suffered a major setback in his charge for the overall title. Fastest in Time Trials and winner of Heat 1, Lung’s luck ran out in Heat 2 and the Pre-Final with two DNFs. He managed to salvage the weekend with a second place in the Final, 0.3s behind Veteran class winner Peter Chua. Championship leader Ridzman Aziz drove home in 3rd place. The overall winner of the Veteran class will be decided in the final round. Dramatic.

The final round will take place on 17 September in Elite Speedway, USJ. It will be a great test for all drivers and championship contenders as the series makes its way to a different circuit after a long spell at RUD Sepang International Circuit. There will be plenty to fight for in most of the categories as the final round will be The Decider.

See you at Round 7!

MKC 2022 Round 6 Race Report

A return to the spiritual home of karting in Malaysia is always a special occasion. Shah Alam International Circuit has played host to many major races in the past while numerous champion drivers of yesteryear, and up the days of greats such as Jazeman Jaafar, have all raced and won in Shah Alam at some point in time. Most of the Malaysian karting team owners and founders all honed their skills in Shah Alam when they were champions of their day.

And there we were, Round 6 of the ISA-MKC 2022 championship, back to where it all began.

The field was looking strong, with almost 40 drivers spread across the Cadet, Junior, Senior, and Master classes. However, Shah Alam was proving to be quite technical for some. Its bumps and wide lines made it more exciting for drivers of all standards. Lap times were dropping constantly throughout the practice sessions but come Sunday, everyone was in prime condition to perform at their best.

Going into Round 6, a few drivers were on the cusp of winning the ISA-MKC 2022 title. And all it took was another round of solid driving and consistent performance to seal the deal. The pressure must’ve been intense. To secure a championship with one race to go is always a strong statement of talent and skill.

In the Cadet class, it was yet another dominant display by Travis Teoh. He drove a clean-sweep and bagged first place in qualifying, heats, and both finals. However, the real battle in the final was for second place between Conrad Garrow (SG) and Zarief Rayqal (MYS).  All Conrad had to do was get in-between Travis and Rayqal, who are teammates, and hopefully block off one of them, ideally Rayqal, and fight it out for the remaining spot, assuming Travis pulls away. And he did! Both in the pre-final and final. The final battle was the most heated with Conrad and Rayqal switching places numerous times and filled with plenty of dives on the inside. In the end, the pair crossed the finish line roughly 0.150s apart! Further down the field, Esteban Freihuber (PHI) drove spectacularly to make up for his unusual pre-final spin and finished fourth while Max Willoughby (SG) and Jayden Pang (MYS) had their duel also finishing within a tenth of each other at the finish line. There were a few attempts by Jayden but in the end, Max held it to the finish. In seventh place was Nick Joon Yick (MYS) followed by Iman Ziqri (SIN) and Leeloo Freihuber (PHI) who suffered engine trouble in the final.

In the Junior class, Jacob Lauter (MYS) also enjoyed a clean-sweep weekend by winning everything from qualifying to the final. His pace was unmatchable as he pulled away and won each race by at least 2.5s. However, championship contender Katrina Ee (MYS) had a much tougher time fending off Luigi Saw (MYS), Mohamad Anaqi (MYS), and Hendra Putra (MYS). Her battle to stay ahead of the pack was tough yet straightforward - just stay ahead and let the rest slow each other down from all the overtaking attempts. And she did, as she drove home to second place while leaving Saw and Anaqi to fight it out for the final podium spot after Hendra bowed out in lap 10 along with his championship hopes. Anaqi and Saw had a classic kart battle on track. Anaqi defended most of the time while Saw launched a series of attacks and lunges but none of them stuck. The battle was so intense that it took a ‘last lap, last turn’ lunge by Saw to squeeze past Anaqi only to end with a drag race to the finish line. Saw won that drag battle and Anaqi was crushed. However, a decision by the stewards to penalize Saw for his somewhat ‘off-track’ attempt at the pass was made and Anaqi got third place in the end. Oscar Lee (PHI) and Aldrin Cabiles (MYS) had their battle for a few laps at the start but Aldrin struggled to get his kart going and Oscar eventually pulled away. 

In the Senior class, it was Feroz Fezril (MYS) who drove home with the win after a very intense battle in the final. All weekend, the race could’ve gone to any of the top six drivers which included Raja Ariff (MYS), Sergio Noor (INA), Nooris Gaafor (SIN), Nik Iruwan (MYS), and Akshat Misra (IND). All six racers were in the sub-54s during qualifying and were constantly battling it out between themselves in the heats and pre-final. But it was in the final that all gloves were off and they went for it. After five race starts (yes, five!) the field of Seniors finally got going and they went straight into battle mode. The opening three or four laps were some of the wildest racing Shah Alam has seen in a while. On the first lap, Ariff took the lead after making the most of his second-place start grid but Sergio was right behind. On the second lap, Sergio went in front but at the same time, Ariff dropped back to fifth. Within a few laps Feroz was back in front and this time he drove his heart out to open up a gap. And the rest continued to behave in the same do-or-die manner. They fought for position at every turn and even on the straights when they were two-wide. In the end, Feroz managed to hold onto first place but the battle for second was epic, to say the least. Ariff, Sergio, and Nooris exited the last turn three-wide and had the drag battle of the century to the finish line. In the end, they were split by a difference of 0.078s! Ariff won that one followed by Sergio and then Nooris. But they might as well have shared the second spot on the podium because the crowd loved it.

All this action was not just for the front runners as further down the grid Morghan Loganathan (SIN), Matias Araneta (PHI), and Aymaan Erba (MYS) were also having the battle of their lives in the final. However, it was Morghan’s wondrous move to take both of them in one turn that sealed his promotion up the grid. Yes, you read that right, two karts in one move – worthy of the prize for Overtake Of The Day. In the Senior Rookies class, Erba managed to bag the win followed by Azriel Azhar (MYS) and Alif Shawqi (MYS).

In the Master class, it was Luke Armstrong (SIN) who drove a solid race for the win in the final. After a calamitous start by Mohd Jasa (MYS), he spun on the first lap and effectively ruled himself out of the race, and after an unusual spin by the pre-final winner Marcelo Cosas (SIN) around lap seven, Luke Armstrong had the easiest of Sundays a karter could ask for. Coming in second place was Lim Chong Han (MYS) followed by Ahmad Hadri (MYS) the current head of KRD, a Malaysian grassroots karting series held in Shah Alam. Thiru Kumaran (MYS), a resident speedster in Shah Alam could not find the pace all weekend and settled in fourth place followed by Marcelo and Lee Lung Nien (SIN). Tengku Ridzman (MYS) had another fun, casual outing to finish off the field.

The amazing thing about Round 6 was that the organizers managed to get all the races in before the inevitable evening rains, which didn’t arrive in the end. Unfortunately, all that time saved was spent on long steward deliberations after a few protests that came up. Prize giving was somewhat delayed and the organizers would like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to drivers and teams.

But of course, Round 6 did not end on such a sour note. Champions were decided and a big congratulations go out to Travis Teoh (Cadet), Katrina Ee (Junior), and Mohd Jasa (Masters) for winning the ISA 2022 Championship and the Malaysian Karting Championship 2022! Your skill and determination have led you to this and for that, we salute you and your deserving title. Senior is still undecided so stay tuned.

See you at Round 7, Shah Alam, September 18 – THE FINAL ROUND!

MKC 2022 Round 5 Race Report

In classic Sepang fashion, the weather played its part in Round 5 of the MKC 2022 championship. Building up to the weekend, the weather was becoming quite predictable - hot sunny day but come evening time dark clouds would gather resulting in a major downpour. On some of the practice days, the wind was so strong that it moved a few of the team tents. At the time, one could only wonder what Sunday would look like. 

A total of 32 drivers took to the grid on Sunday. Drivers came all the way from India, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia to race with Malaysians for the IAME Asia Series championship. The season is drawing to a close with 2-rounds remaining and soon the MKC 2022 champions will be determined. 

Going into Round 5, the main contenders for the MKC 2022 championship have been revealed. In the Cadet category, the title will most likely go to either Travis Teoh or Zarief Rayqal. In the Junior Category, Katrina Ee has a major points advantage over second place Hendra Putra and third place Jacob Lauter but a poor outing in Round 4 might have knocked off some of that confidence she displayed in the first half of the season. In the Senior category, Akash Neil Nandy has a slight lead over Nik Iruwan with Ferroz Feznil not too far behind in third place. Usual contenders such as Hayden Haikal and Putera Adam were not present to give Akash a good fight hence this was his chance to seal the deal. In the Masters category, Mohd Jasa has a major lead over Thiru Kumaran who missed the recent round.

The Cadet Final was a clean start from the pack with Travis Teoh jumping into the lead. Closely following behind were Zarief Rayqal and Indonesian driver, Oliver Sini. Estaban Freihuber, who looked very promising in the pre-final, suffered engine trouble at the start and was out of contention from the get-go. However, it was Oliver who put on a show and challenged Zarief for second place. The duo swapped positions a couple of times and it looked like Oliver was closing in on securing the runner-up position. However, Zarief and his bag of experience decided to pull a last-lap lunge on Oliver and it worked. Oliver just lost out in the end by 0.128s. Travis took the win uncontested in the end while Leeloo Freihuber from the Philippines put on a consistent showing and finished the final in fourth place ahead of fellow first-timer Ng Jook Yick. 

The Junior Final also witnessed a clean start with Luigi Saw and Jacob Lauter taking an early lead and easily pulling away from the pack. However, the battle in the final was all about third place and beyond. The contest for the final spot on the podium was between Hendra Putra, Mohamad Anaqi, and Katrina Ee with Aldrin Foo Cabiles and Philippine driver Oscar Cura close behind to pick up the pieces. Anaqi led most of the race with Hendra fending off Katrina. Uncharacteristically, Katrina could not find a way past Hendra and the duo fought it out hard with plenty of close shaves and desperate attempts. Amazingly, in all that dueling, Hendra and Katrina managed to keep pace with Anaqi, and eventually, it was his turn to defend. However, it was not meant to be for Anaqi as a dicey move by Hendra paid off and Anaqi was left spinning out of control with four laps to go. Further down the grid, Oscar Cura put on a final push towards the end of the race to close the gap to Aldrin but it was too late. In the end, it was a 1-2 finish by Luigi Saw and Jacob Lauter from team CW Racing, a masterclass display of pure speed and dominance. 

For the last race of the day, the heavens opened up and racers were greeted with the predicted rains and everyone had their wet tires on immediately. The weather looked like it might hold up for the Senior/Master Final but a brief sprinkle in the pre-finals had already sent signals that it might just happen. Cadet and Junior drivers managed to escape it for the final races but not the Seniors/Masters. 

After an amazing start by the field of drivers, all of whom survived Turn 1 in the pouring rain, it was Akash Nandy who lead the pack from Raja Ariff and Sergio Noor. Although most survived Turn 1, many didn’t survive the first few laps without incident. Notably, Aydan Khaliq, who had a promising run through the heats and pre-final, suffered an early spin in his first proper wet race. But the ‘biggest loser’ award goes to Nik Iruwan, who thought second place was achievable given his performance in the heats and prefinal, but sadly his wealth of experience could not save him from an early spin and he saw his chances dash away with every droplet of rain hitting his visor. And it was pouring.

In the end, the ‘rain master’ award went to Akash who sealed the MKC win along with the fastest lap. Feroz Fezril grabbed second place after Raja Ariff had a slight mishap towards the end of the race but still held onto third place. In the Senior Rookie class, Aliq Shawqi drove an excellent race to finish ninth overall while Azriel Azhar had a very eventful outing but managed to finish the race.

The real winner of the day, the one who benefited from the rain the most, is Luke Armstrong. The Masters driver from Singapore used all his ‘downforce’ to ensure maximum grip in the wet and climbed the field from his eleventh starting position to finish the race fourth overall. On this rare occasion, the Masters driver had an advantage over the lighter Senior drivers and Luke maximized all of it. Masters driver, Lee Lung Nien, did not manage to capitalize on the wet conditions as much as he hoped he would but still stayed ahead of Mohd Jasa to finish second. 

Round 5 was undoubtedly one of the most exciting rounds to date, especially with the Senior/Master finals. The wet weather will always bring drama and it didn’t disappoint on that fateful Sunday. The crowd was filled with energy as they watched in amazement and admiration. There were cheers of excitement, sounds of sorrow, and applauses for fantastic moves. A great reminder of why we love the sport of karting. With only two more rounds to go at Sepang, who will claim the MKC 2022 Champion title? Time will tell. 

Marshal Of The Day - Sarjan Azhar

MKC 2022 Round 4 Race Report

Our first race outside of the Klang Valley and what an adventure it was. ISA and MKC went all the way north, near the border of Thailand, to the state of Perlis. Round 4 took place at UNIMAP Racing Circuit - a 1.2km high-speed circuit with one of the longest straights in Malaysia. Some drivers even managed to reach top speeds over 120km/h. The rest of the circuit had high-G turns that required strength and laser focus to nail that perfect line while carrying the speed throughout the corners. No stop-start driving in Perlis that’s for sure. Plus the weather played its part in creating more excitement for drivers and organisers.

All praise to the unsung heroes of karting - our race marshals - for clearing up flooded areas. 

The Cadet category was filled with plenty of drama with battles going on at the front and back. Two major duels were happening throughout the weekend. One between race leaders Travis Teoh and Zarief Rayqal. The other between Joshua Walker and Didi Tse. The battle between Travis and Rayqal seemed to go Travis’ way after he won both heats and the prefinal, despite Rayqal being the fastest in time trials. But in the final, things changed and Rayqal’s patience paid off. The start was clean from all drivers with Rayqal jumping ahead for an early lead only for it to be retaken by Travis, all within the first few turns. Travis led most of the race and Rayqal stayed close behind, both slowly pulling away from the rest. It seemed like another procession from the heats and prefinal. But with two laps to go, Rayqal made a lunge for the lead at the end of the straight and went full defensive. Travis did manage to gain his position back but just before the start of the last lap while entering the last two turns, both drivers were side by side and Travis was forced out wide onto the grass giving Rayqal some breathing space and eventually the win. There may have been some contact between the two as Travis received a three second penalty for a dropped front bumper at the end which resulted in Conrad Garrow taking second place - a reward for Conrad and his clean, stay out of trouble, driving style. The funny thing is, the duel between Joshua and Didi was exactly the same! Joshua was faster in qualifying, Didi finished ahead in all heats and pre-final but it was Joshua, after a late lunge on the last lap, who won the duel. These drivers may be the youngest of the lot but their fighting spirit, racecraft, and perseverance can rival the most experienced of drivers. 

In the Junior category, it was all about Chanoknan Veeratacha. Complete domination by the driver from Thailand. There was no contest as Chanoknan drove home the perfect weekend. Fastest in qualifying, won all heats, and cleaned up both pre-final and final. As for the rest, it was a topsy turvy weekend. Usual podium contenders such as Katrina Ee and Hendra Putra had a dramatic clash in the final which saw Hendra bowing out after a knock by Katrina, who managed to chase down Hendra after a poor start. Unfortunately for Katrina, she was penalised a total of 10 seconds for the incident (5s for a dropped bumper plus another 5s for the knock on Hendra) which bumped her down to last place. Stefano Pedani and Adhithiya Arvind also had a tense battle. The two did make contact after a lunge by Adhithiya which he managed to hold onto and finished the final in second place but the contact was too great as he was ultimately penalised 5 seconds, giving Stefano second place on the podium. Jacob Brown and Aldrin Cabiles managed fourth and fifth respectively. Mohamad Anaqi had a weekend to forget as he was the first casualty in the final, running wide and never recovering. A tough weekend for the Viper Niza Racing team. 

The Senior category saw the return of champion drivers Putera Adam, Hayden Haikal, and Sergio Noor. And they definitely did not disappoint. The trio set the track ablaze with their raw pace while reminding the competition where the benchmark is. However, it wasn’t a straightforward weekend for the trio as they too were reminded that a single mistake can be costly especially when the competition is always ready to pounce. And they did. Adam learned that in Heat 1 after just one mistake running wide onto the grass and a whole swarm passed him which pushed him down to 8th. Hayden learned that in the pre-final, also bumping him down to 8th. Sergio’s lesson came in the final after going wide just a bit which resulted in him finishing 6th. Similar lessons were also dealt out to Chia Wing Hoong in the final despite his strong performance in the pre-final. However, it was Putera Adam who managed to pull away in the final but only by a slim margin. Hayden Haikal had a stellar drive after his 8th place starting position in the final. He charged through the field, somehow survived the heated battle between Akash Neil Nandy, Wing Hoong, Sergio, and Mohamed Feroz Fezril, and then set his sights on Adam. The chase was movie-worthy but it was not meant to be as Adam just managed to hold on to the win by 0.409s. Two laps more and things might have been different. Lee Wai Cong, another champion driver returning to karting, had a difficult weekend after a DNF in the final with technical issues. Raaj Bakhru from India finished in 7th while Kabir Anurag and Louis Morghan from Singapore managed to finish the final 8th and 9th respectively. Further down the field, Aymaan Xavier Erba and Foo Tun Yik had an unusual incident together which resulted in Foo bending his chassis so badly that he was running on three-wheels back to the pits. Thankfully, both drivers escaped injury.

In the Masters category it was Mohd Jasa who dominated the weekend. Other than a small blip in heat 1 due to changing weather conditions, it was a clean sweep for Jasa. Luke Armstrong drove home a solid 2nd place in the final after managing to pass Al Farouk and Thiru Kumaran, making up for his poor race start. Thiru, who managed 2nd place in the pre-final, was suffering from a slightly bent chassis and made the most of it, finishing 3rd in the final followed by Al Farouk in 4th. Tengku Ridzman had a casual weekend at Perlis to bring home the field in 5th. 

ISA and MKC drivers who raced in UNIMAP Racing Circuit all had plenty of good things to say about the course. They enjoyed the challenging turns, the high speeds, and the neck bending G-forces that came with it. Some even likened it to a European style karting circuit. And to add some spice to the weekend, the weather was unpredictable and torrential to say the least. But all in all, everyone had a great time with no major incidents to ponder. Should it be a mainstay in the karting calendar? Time will tell. 

MKC 2022 Round 3 Race Report

After a long two-month break, Malaysia Karting Championship (MKC) and IAME Series Asia (ISA) are back in action! With just over 41 racers in action for Round 3, one can assume that karting in South East Asia is slowly picking up again. This time around, MKC and ISA were greeted by drivers from India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Thailand to race with the local Malaysians in a thrilling weekend that was filled with extreme sunshine and the inevitable random thunderstorm.

In the Cadet category, it was Travis Teoh who managed to maintain his grip on the leader board. After multiple starts in the final, Zarief Rayqal lost out on his usual second place behind Travis to Conrad Garrow. Conrad stuck behind Travis and followed him all the way home to take second place finishing just 0.687 seconds behind the race winner. Zarief, who is as fast as Travis on his day, did not manage to catch up to Conrad and Travis and eventually lost out on any slipstream available. Meanwhile, Joshua Walker and Max Wiloughby, both from Singapore, had a dramatic finale as they battled it out throughout the race. They swapped positions multiple times and they kept the full capacity crowd entertained right to the end.

In the Junior category, Katrina Ee continued her dominant display of speed and consistency. After a fairly clean start in the final with all eleven drivers surviving the first corner, Katrina initiated her game plan and set the fastest lap after fastest lap with her quickest coming in on lap 8 out of 15 with a 50.745s. She left behind Chanoknan Veeratacha and Saw Guan Xian fight it out for second and third place. Which they did. After a thrilling battle of determination and perseverance, Chanoknan finished the race just under a second ahead of Guan Xian. However, the ‘photo finish’ prize goes to Mohamand Anaqi and Adhithya Arvind who finished the race 0.135s off each other. Jacob Lauter, last round’s final winner, suffered a setback when he and Hendra Putra collided after the start and dropped out of contention. There were also some fearsome battles between Jacob Brown and Aldrin Foo Cabiles but it was Jacob who ultimately won that duel.

In the Senior category, Akash Neil Nandy sealed the win after a dramatic final. Throughout most of the race, Akash was fending off Raja Ariff Bin Raja Azmi who also set the fastest lap of the final with a 49.934s. It was only when Ariff had a slight coming together with Suriyavarathan Karthikeyan from India two thirds into the race that things started to go sideways for the young Malaysian who eventually finished in 10th place. The real gainer was Muhammad Ibrahim from India who at one point was running in fourth but benefited from all the action between Ariff and Suriya. Aydan Khaliq, after his stellar qualifying performance only managed 6th place after fending off Kabir Anurag from Singapore who himself drove well considering his 11th place starting position. In the X30 Senior Rookie category, it was Alif Shawqi, Aymaan Xavier Erba, and Azriel Azhar who took home first, second, and third respectively.

In the Masters category, it was Mohd Jasa (Accer) who drove home with the win. After an incident-filled start, with drivers running four-wide into Turn 1 at one point, Chew Chen Yee (Sherwin), who is a potential race-winning driver, was the first casualty of the evening with his kart spinning around amidst the calamity in the beginning. The second (and third) casualty of the evening was Luke Armstrong and Alpesh Kumar Patel both hailing from Singapore. After a bullish charge by the duo to chase down Accer, Luke managed to put himself in contention for the race win with Alpesh trailing to pick up the pieces, if any. However, it was not meant to be as Accer, Luke, and Alpesh had an unusual coming together halfway through the circuit. All three drivers spun uncontrollably towards the side barrier but it was only Accer who survived and managed to continue as Luke and Alpesh made contact with the barrier ending their race. Thankfully, both drivers escaped without any major injuries. Lee Lung Nien benefited from all the drama to drive home with 2nd place. But the prize for ‘Best Move Of The Day’ goes to Thiru Kumaran, who finished in 3rd place, with his double overtake lunge on Al Farouk and Marcelo Cosas at the beginning of the last lap. It was an unexpected yet bold move by the Malaysian who proved his tenacity despite having a difficult race weekend.

Overall, it was a thrilling weekend for motorsports in Malaysia, especially the four-wheeled kind. There was racing at the Sepang main circuit, where many former MKC and ISA karters were participating and dominating, and at the karting circuit future racers were being born. Definitely a great day for any motorsport fan. MKC and ISA would like to thank all its sponsors, drivers, teams, officials, and fans of karting for the great turnout at Round 3.

See you at Round 4, Perlis!