Malaysian Rally Championship organizers and promoters Wheel Sport Management, are offering incentives for overseas competitors to come and enjoy Malaysia's rallies and hospitality.

The incentives include discounted entry fees, free hotel nights and a media package.

Contact us for more details.

As part of a worldwide programme, the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship has launched the Pirelli 'Star Driver' scheme, a project aimed at investing in the growth of the sport and, in particular, helping younger drivers reach World Championship level. The successful driver from the region will win a drive in a series of six FIA World Rally Championship events in a Group N or Super 2000 car supplied and serviced under an FIA contract with a specialist preparation company.

As noted by Martin Holmes in gpweek.com, this will become something of a shootout in Malaysia. He writes...

"Rules formulated last week by the FIA for selecting the under-27 Pirelli Star Driver award candidates indicate a variety of regulations according to the various regions of the world where they compete. Whereas the African championship candidate will be chosen according to championship points on the events in the ARC through the season, the Asia Pacific candidate will be selected on performances on only one event, the Malaysian Rally."

This seems like a huge opportunity for a young Asia-based driver to progress to the WRC. If you need a car for the Malaysia Rally (October 10-12) please contact us now.

Sometimes interesting opportunities come right out of the blue. Just when we were expecting a super-quiet month, our #1 driver James Russell received an invitation to race at Sepang.

A Proton Putra had been entered in the Malaysian Super Series "Super Sixteen" races, but the regular driver was unavailable. James has a lot of experience racing at the Sepang circuit, so his name must have come to the top of the pile in the list of replacement drivers.

It wasn't an easy weekend though. There were more cars than the thirty places on the grid, and just about all were Hondas with way more power than the Putra. Qualifying was made more difficult when it rained, and the team didn't have a good set of 'wets.' James drifted around to qualify in P22.

The races were hectic affairs, on the short north-side of the full F1 circuit, and the Hondas were able to pass James on the straight, with him nipping back past them - sometimes four at a time - in the corners. And more rain meant more drifing.

But, James moved up to 14th in the first race and 12th in the second - satisfying placings all things considered.