By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Reigning Malaysian champion Karamjit Singh has emerged second in the just-concluded first round of the two-day Malaysian Rally Championship, even though he was using a rented Proton Setrina.
The “Flying Sikh” once again proved that he is still the country’s best on the twisted, dirty roads when he used the car which was said not to have either the power or the traction needed to finish anywhere near the podium, New Straits Times said Tuesday.
The overall winners were Lim Leong Onn and Kamarul Anuar Mohamad Razzali who drove a Perodua Viva and managed to finish with a time of 2:17:45, ahead of Karamjit and Jagdev Singh’s Proton Satria that clocked 2:23:08.
“It was a wonder that we even ended up in the top five. Apart from the fact that the car is much slower than other top runners, we also had to face so many mechanical problems. Firstly the brakes were spongy, then the steering rack bracket broke, giving us a lot of free-play and in the last two stages we actually broke the clutch pedal,” Karamjit Singh said.
“I am grateful for the fantastic work done by my mechanics who prepared the car in less than two days and kept it running despite the many problems. Anyway our goal for the weekend was to end up in the top five; finishing second is a fantastic bonus for me and the team,” he said after the race.
Karamjit’s podium placing was the story of the weekend, the newspaper said.