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!
