Shah Alam, Malaysia - Tuesday March 8th. 2005 ... New Zealanders Dermott Malley and Steve Smith collected their first podium finish on a Malaysian Rally Championship event this past weekend. Finishing third overall, they were hotly pursued during Leg 1 by fellow Kiwis, and current Malaysian Rally Champions, Brian Green and Fleur Pedersen. Dermott was able to open a small gap on Leg 2, but Brian maintained his fourth overall placing, which enabled the two crews to finish first and second in Group A.

With these results, SR Motorsport was also able to take the Team Prize, and to open up a healthy lead in the Team Championship.

Driving a third SR Motorsport Subaru Impreza 4WD Turbo car was seventeen year-old rookie James Russell, competing just three weeks after passing his driving test. He was accompanied by experienced British co-driver Tim Sturla, who was able to provide the right level of in-car advice and encouragement. Although James was unable to complete Leg 1 due to brake failure, he was re-entered in Leg 2 and set a number of stage times inside the top five, impressing many people in the process.

As Tim commented at the finish "All through the rally, I kept forgetting this was James' first rally as a driver. Both his level of professionalism, and his speed, were those of much more experienced drivers. It's clear he has the potential for a good career in rallying, if he can build on this excellent first outing."

The whole rally took place within the boundaries of Malaysia's new administrative capital of Putrajaya. The special stages were made up of roads running through future construction sites, and being of a temporary nature, they became steadily rougher throughout the weekend. But, with the exception of some minor problems, all three SRMS cars stood up to the challenge, and came through relatively unscathed.

Team Manager Paul Russell commented, "The mechanics had a tough weekend. James' car needed the most attention, which we hadn't anticipated. With him being new to rally driving, we hadn't expected his competitive pace would work the car so hard, so the lads certainly had an extra workload as a result." He continued "But, everything was completed on time, and the cars ran well. It was another good team effort"

The Malaysian Rally Championship continues next month with an event in the northern state of Kedah, in which SR Motorsport expects to have the same three cars entered. The Championship consists of six events covering the whole of the Peninsular, one round of which will be the APRC "Malaysian Rally 2005."