SEPANG – Sitty Racing’s Keifli Othman said it took a miracle for them to get their car ready for Race 2 of the second round of the Malaysia Championship Series at the Sepang International Circuit today.
Keifli, who partners Aiyub Azlee in the team’s car number 50, managed to secure victory in the Touring Production (TP) class.
Yesterday, he crashed into the barriers after losing control of the car in wet conditions due to heavy rain.
To make matters worse, he was then rear-ended by Anwar Avik from R Engineering.
“Something magical happened today because yesterday our car was a wreck,” said Keifli. “Luckily the team managed to repair our car. They worked from 8pm yesterday and were only done at 7am this morning.
“Because of the crash, our car set-up was ruined so we had to gamble on racing today and during the race I struggled with huge understeer,” he added.
“It was tough to fend off Jonathan (Xie) until he had a problem with his car and that gave us breathing space. Being able to secure the win today was a miracle.”
Aiyub heaped praise on the team for managing to repair the car.
“I’m happy and thankful to my team for working hard through the night to prepare the car to race today. They are amazing and I salute them.
“Last night the chances of us racing were 50-50 because we didn’t have spare parts for our car,” he said. “Our team manager worked hard to make sure we were on the grid so we can collect championship points today.”
Imran Wafi Adnan started the race in pole position after winning the TP class by way of being the sole finisher yesterday.
As the race started, going into turn one Aiyub and Keifli immediately took the lead followed by Jonathan Xie from Skuber Race Team, while Imran dropped to third.
Meanwhile, in the Stock Production (SP) category, there was early drama with Kent Leong Jia Le from the SP2 G category crashing into Soh Chee Chong from the SP2 V category.
But that was not the end of it as at lap four Lim Jin Guang from Skuber Race Team lost control on the final corner and was left stranded in a precarious position in the middle of the track, with flames coming from under the car.
The safety car was then deployed so Jin Guang’s car could be cleared from the track, and racing resumed after three laps.
Right after the restart, Xie seemed to have suffered a mechanical issue going into a corner, losing control of his car but managing to keep it on track.
This saw him tumble down the positions, but Xie kept the car going, cruising around the track and eventually completing the race to score valuable points.
Tan Wooi Loon and Justin Toh Cheng Kiat from Bae Racing Team then crashed on lap 11 and had to park the car off-track to retire.
The race stayed drama free from then on with Keifli and Aiyub finishing first, M. Hisyamuddin from Jebon Derhaka Motorsport in the SP1 category second, and yesterday’s overall winner Farriz Fauzy from R Engineering third.
Round 3 of the series will take place from August 25 to 27. – The Vibes, June 25, 2023
Results
Touring Production
1. Aiyub AzIee-Keifli Othman, Sitty Racing
2. Imran Wafi Adnan-Lee Kum Soon
3. Jonathan Xie, Skuber Race Team
Stock Production 1
1. M. Hisyamuddin, Jebon Derhaka Motorsport
2. Farriz Fauzy, R Engineering
3. Pee Sau Fan-Sim Kwong Teck, DW Motorsport
Malaysia Touring Car
1. Naquib Nor-Nabil Nor, Wing Hin Motorsport
2. Haydan Haikal, Wing Hin Motorsport
3. Mitchell Cheah-Rahul Raj Mayer, Hirev Dream Chaser
Stock Production 2 G
1. Yew Choong-Wee Leng
2. Timothy Thomas Yeo-Aun Yue Wei, Bae Racing Team
3. Ameer Harris, Bae Racing Team
Stock Production 2 V
1. Tak Meng-Kin Sang, RWORKS Riyoz
2. Alex Yoong-Daniel Ooi, Axle Sports
3. Allen Lian-Low Jia Je
