Fast-track Ooi slows down

ICON: Eric Ooi @ Azhari Ooi Abdullah

By Tony Mariadass

Veteran motor racing driver Eric Ooi @ Azhari Ooi Abdullah will be turning 81 on August 17, but he does not look a day older than 60 years-old.

Looking trim, fit and charming as ever, the Caucasian looking Ooi said he owes his long live and good health to his racing days.

And on his Caucasian look, he said he was from through bred Chinese family.

“It is just that my mother comes from Shandong in China where the people are much fairer,” said Ooi of his Caucasian complex.

“I must really thank my racing days where I was very disciplined and focussed in racing,” said Ooi who was among the pioneers in motor racing having started racing in Singapore as a privateer in 1959 before moving to Malaysian in 1963.

“I used to cycle 10 miles every day and gave up smoking when I used to smoke three packets a day.

“My light weight also helped me in the race as the car was lighter.

“I was sharp, aggressive and above all studied the course and made tactical decisions which gave me extra speed in the races to overtake a faster car on the race track.”

His first car was a Conco MGT which he brought from the money his mother gave him.

But his love for speed saw him sell car and buy a TR2 which he modified and raced at the Thompson circuit in Singapore.

Ooi fast gained a name for himself known for his tactical skills in racing, and for being a very fast and good driver.

His reputation saw him lured by Volvo to their team which had experienced drivers like Rodney Siow and Philip Siow.

But it was only a matter of time before Ooi became the top driver driving the B18s.

Among the racers Ooi competed in the saloon car races and rally included the likes of Anne Wong, Steve Harvey, Albert Poon, Alan Davies, SK Quek, James Goon, Alan Moffat, Shankar Pal Singh, Harry Lim, Ian Urquart, Lim Guan Hock, William Lyou, David Bok, Tommy Koh, William Mei, Edwin Stodart, TS Chung, Don Horst, Bill Bretnall, William Lim, Mike Liew, Joe Huber, Harvey Yap, Eric Ooi, Md Hamid, Abdul Malek, Teo Eng, Philip Leong, Foo Wan Kien, Chong Kim Fah, Ron Lim, Ian Gray, Yoong Yin Fah, Ali Kadir and his brother Shah

In the later years when he moved to Malaysia he was driving Toyota before switching to the Datsuns.

Besides racing in Johor in the early days, most of his time was spent racing in the Kenny Hill circuits.

Ooi also competed in rallies and competed in the first and only Asian Highway Rally in April 1969 from Vientiane to Singapore.

He finished the race without any penalty, and was expecting a good placing, but there was chaos when the results was announced at the clerk of course, Trevor Butcher, Ooi was placed ninth.

“I was really disappointed with the result as I had a clean sheet. Then I was told that when I had finished on time at Seremban, it meant that I was speeding because it was trap,” said Ooi.

“This has to be my worst moment in my career because I was so sure that that I had done well only to be robbed of a better placing. Many of the drivers all protested too over the results, but nothing changed.

Ooi’s fond memories of racing was the Batu Tiga circuit in Shah Alam.

“It was indeed a sad day for motor racing when he circuit was closed for development,” said Ooi with sadness.

 “That circuit produced some of the best motor racers both for cars and motorcyles,” said Ooi himself had powered Malaysian Motor Sports Commission (MMSC) driving Nissans together with Kenny Lee and Lee Kwan Leong to win the first interclub championship in Batu Tiga in 1973.

“Anyone could race there because it as affordable. And they had the series production race where one could just race a car with no modifications at all,” said Ooi who was employed by Dunlop then.

Ooi singled out YS Khong as one of the talent who surfaced from Batu Tiga and whom he personally took an interest in.

“Khong was very fast and he impressed me. I did give him some tips to become a better and faster driver, which I believe he put to good use.”

Ooi said that motor racing is very expensive these days and it is only for the rich kids.

“Those days the mechanics could dream to become top drivers one day.

“The Sepang circuit is too expensive and the young enthusiasts cannot afford it.”

Ooi said that he has only fond memories of his racing days, expect for the 1^st Asian Highway Rally.

“I just enjoy racing and winning races was a thrill,” said Ooi who had won many races but does not have a single trophy to show.

“I gave away the trophies to schools to use for their various sports. For me the memory of having raced is enough and it will forever stay etched in my memory.

“It was great racing days where we competed with passion and competitiveness against each other, sometimes with hostility and bitterness, occasionally ending up in fisticuffs and physicals, but sitting together and becoming friends again.”

One incident which Ooi said will always remember was when during the Enduro race in the 70s during race refuelling stop, oil spilled on the hot engine and caught fire.

“My crew Dorai’s shirt caught fire and I threw my arms around him and wrapping him with my flameproof suit. A marshall directed an extinguisher at us. I remember laughing at Dorai’s white face covered by the foam. We were unhurt but I did lose some face hair.

“Looking back, it is funny but I am glad that I had the presence of mind to wrap myself around Dorai and that we all got off the incident safe.”

Ooi these days spends his time with his family in a slower moving lifestyle.

He drives a Toyata Vios and said that he longer fancies driving fast.

“For starters I have lost my aggression, my reflex is slower and speed does not thrill me anymore. I suppose I have tasted all the fun and thrills of motor racing and am glad that I am still alive to tell my story,” concluded the jovial Ooi.

Air Asia X rallys behind Team GSR Pennzoil Racing Team

After Formula 1 and the World Motorbike GP it's now motor rallying for Air Asia.
The latest venture for the Malaysian based low cost airline is the co-sponsorship deal with the GSR Pennzoil Rallying team which is taking part in the Asia Pacific Rallying Championship(APRC) and also the Malaysian Rally Championship.
An agreement between both parties was finally sealed and delivered this afternoon at the Air Asia X
office in Sepang in which the GSR Pennzoil Team headed by Gunaseelan Rajoo and Air Asia
agreed to a one-year sponsorship deal.
"We are happy to come on board as a sponsor to help support the GSR Pennzoil Racing team. It
actually fits into our plan where motor racing is close to our hearts. We are involved in Formula 1 and
also the British MotoGP and now we are also into motor rallying.
"Our contribution actually meant helping to send a Malaysian team to compete in the
Asia Pacific Rally Championship in destinations where we fly too. At the end of the day
it's all about lending a hand to promote Malaysian sports because we are also involved in
other sports like basketball, marathon and cricket," said the Chief Executive Officer
of Air Asia Azran Osman Rani.

 For Gunaseelan Rajoo, Air Asia's sponsorship deal meant a huge load off his shoulders
as he and co-driver Jagdeev Singh prepares to tackle the six-round APRC championship.
The opening leg in Johor Baru early in the month is behind them where he leads the
field in the  A6 2-wheel drive class.
Queensland, Australia is next, scheduled for May 13-15 and after that is New Caledonia in June followed by New Zealand in July and then Japan and China next.
"We are grateful for their support. We are working on a RM1.2 million budget for the entire APRC Championship and there is also the four-round Malaysian Rally Championship which we are
also involved in.
"So Air Asia's contribution will go a long way," said Gunaseelan Rajoo whose
stable of drivers include the former world champion Karamjit Singh; the four-time APRC champion Cody Crocker and the reigning APRC champion Katsu Taguchi.

A1 Team goes 1Malaysia

Release from A1 Team

The unity initiative recently launched by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia called "1Malaysia", is a philosophy which is close to the heart of A1 Team Malaysia.

The motor racing team which represents the country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, the nation-versus-nation international racing series, was conceived five years ago with the aim of drawing together Malaysians to form na national racing team.

The team embodies 1Malaysia with a crew which is both multi-racial and multi-denominational and competes for the pride of the country, for the pride of Malaysia!

A1 Team Malaysia is a team made up of ethnic Malays, Indians with diverse religious backgrounds, Muslims of Chinese and Malay origin (as represented in the picture) as well as Caucasians.
The fundamental concept of 1Malaysia is an appreciation of the diversity of the nation's people; its goal is to preserve and enhance this unity and cultural diversity whilst recognising that everyone shares a desire for a better tomorrow, within the bounds of opportunity, respect, friendship and understanding. 1Malaysia energetically reinforces this and encourages
everyone to define Malaysia and the role Malaysians must play in its future.


A1 Team Malaysia is proud to represent the nation on a global platform, showcasing national brands and companies by using the powerful medium of motorsport. Since its inception, the team has recruited and developed its own Malaysian crew of specialist race mechanics and technicians, as well as commercial people, who are now in demand from other high-profile
international teams, having been given the necessary top-level international motorsport training and experience.



Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia says of 1Malaysia, "A1 Team Malaysia wholeheartedly supports the ethos of this initiative and applauds Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for creating a forum for nurturing, promoting and encouraging the nation to consider the future and recognising the importance of unity within the diversity of the population.

In our team we only succeed through focussing on a common goal of uniting together with the purpose of achieving excellence. In our case this is to be victorious at A1GP racing events but, whether we cross the line first or not, ultimately our success is measured in the strength of our teamwork and how we strive together to win.

Therefore, it is highly appropriate and relevant that we now incorporate the 1Malaysia logo in to our own. This is a very satisfying and relevant progression of our motorsport brand."

The team has been competing in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport for the past four years and has consistently finished in the top 10 in an illustrious, yet short, life-time and is regarded as a potential championship title contender having finished 6th overall of the 22 teams competing in the last season.

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has grown its annual world wide audience from 60,000,000 to in excess of 100,000,000 in 4 years.

The series is carried by 80 broadcasters world-wide and enjoys a growing regional audience.

In Malaysia the proud and loyal home TV audience now exceeds 2,000,000, with an average of 10,000,000 people watching every race world-wide.

A1 Team Malaysia has a web-based fan club of more than 35,000 members with whom the team communicates on a weekly basis.

The team is currently preparing for a new season of racing which starts next month at Surfers Paradise in Australia, 23-25 October 2009.

Check out the website (A1 Team).

Made-in-Malaysia car in Formula 1 by 2016?

Ambitions and visions are what is required for a sports to grow.

Meritus Racing Team certainly have both and their desire to realise their dream did not come overnight.

The Malaysian national team have developed step by step in the Asian motorsport ladder, winning 32 internationals titles in 12 years and have expanded to GP2 Asia, where they are the only Asian team granted a license to race in the series.

GP2 Europe is the F1 development series for drivers and teams. Basically, it is back to development no matter what sports. One has to learn to walk before they can run.

But at the sametime, ambitions are fine, but it has to be realistic ambitions.

Some may consider Meritus Racing Team's ambition as far-fetched, but here is a team who know what they are talking about having been passionate about the sports and progressing from one stage to another.

They did not mushroom overnight and come up with lofty ambitions. It is a well planned and designed ambition.

Below is release of the plans of the Meritus Racing Team:

Meritus Racing Team

MERITUS EYES F1 SEAT BY 2016

KUALA LUMPUR (AUG 20, 2009): Meritus Racing have an ambitious plan to be ready to compete in Formula 1 by 2016, making them the first South East Asian country to have an entry in the motorsports' biggest event, and they just might do it, in a made-in Malaysia car.

The Malaysian national team have developed step by step in the Asian motorsport ladder, winning 32 internationals titles in just 12 years and have expanded to GP2 Asia, where they are the only Asian team granted a license to race in the series and have announced plans to expand their race engineering services to GP2 Europe by 2011.

GP2 Europe is the F1 development series for drivers and teams. One of the new F1 teams 'CamposF1 have spent the last four seasons of the series to train and develop their motorsport technology.

Meritus are very ambitious and their long-term plan is take a step-by-step approach to achieve their ultimate goal. The first step is to provide the necessary training to develop a National Malaysian Motorsport Technical (MMT) centre and establish a place of engineering
excellence to train Malaysian engineers and technical staff ready to design and
produce formula cars for export and hopefully to design a Malaysian F1 car by 2016.

Team boss Firhat Mokhzani said the ambitious plan, which has been fueled by the

team's unprecedented successes since 1996, is within grasp as Asia's most successful motorsports team have been quietly setting up the blueprints which will see them race in Europe in two years time.

Team boss Firhat Mokhzani Rio Haryanto (16) and Dustin Sofya (14), talent spotted by the Malaysian team.

"Meritus are the only Asian team to be given an entry license to race in the GP2 Asia Series (and have invested RM25million to date) and this is partly because of our engineering success and our 32 Asian motorsport titles and dominating Formula BMW and Formula V6 series for the last six years. These are the Asian stepping stones to racing in the pinnacle of motorsports, Formula 1," explained Firhat.

"Malaysia and Asian motorsport offer a very cost effective ladder for drivers to step up from karting and provide all the career steps for ambitious drivers focusing on F1. The big difference for Asian families following a lucrative sporting career for their child is that these Asian steps are at least 50% cheaper than similar European ladders.

"Meritus are planning to expand our current GP2 Asian operations to include GP2 Europe by 2011. Our GP2 teams will basically be the Malaysian National F1 Development team as well as training our Malaysian race engineers.

"The first goal is to develop our Malaysian Motorsport engineering technology and to develop a sustainable Malaysian motorsport industry for the export of formula cars to the multi billion dollar motorsport markets in Europe and North America. This will provide a sustainable profit generating industry which will absorb the development costs to structure and develop an engineering design team.

"We would be honored one day to race as the National team in F1 and we hope to be ready to build our own F1 car with Malaysian engineers to achieve that goal by 2016."

Firhat when on to say: "The team have already helped drivers who have gone on to race in Formula 1. F1 pilots such as Narain Kartikeyan and Takuma Sato, Recardo Rossett were all Meritus graduates. In fact the ex McLaren F1 David Coulthard first tests in a slicks and wings formula car was with Meritus in 1990.

"Our 2003 Formula BMW champion, Hopin Tung tested a Williams F1 car and our own super star Jazeman Jaafar was invited by Sir Frank Williams to try the team's F1 simulator two years ago."

Firhat said all of these efforts have helped generate profit and global awareness for Malaysia but nothing would beat the exposure of developing a national team to race in Formula 1.

"However our feet are firmly on the ground and our short-term goal is simple, to win races in GP2 Asia and to have a go at winning the 2010 GP2 Asia

Championship. To do that, Meritus have already begun their search for top class
drivers."

With the team in Firhat's capable hands, 2016 is a realistic target.

Rally development

It is heartening to note that sports who are considered not the "more popular" ones, are making every effort to gain popularity and to ensure that the sports continues to produce champions.

Rally racing may not have caught on like wild fire in Malaysia, but Karamjit Singh with his prowess has done enough to make it popular.

However, when stories of how difficult it is for Karamjit to stay in the sports keep surfacing, it could have a negative effect.

(From left) Gunaseelan, Karamjit Singh and his co-driver Jagdev Singh at the Press Conference for this weekend's Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) which is held concurrently with the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in Kota Tinggi.

This is where, another rally driver Gunaseelan Rajoo, together with his sponsor, Pennzoil, have decided to give the sports some feel good factor.

Gunaseelan, the Malaysian Rally champion in 1999 (Closed) and 2003 (Open), who is firm believer of promoting youngsters to take up the sports and make a name for themselves, has been working hard to get the support from many quarters to realise his dream. (Read his biography and rally history at www.gsr.com.my)

The GSR-Pennzoil combination now have been hard at work to develop young talent for the past one and half years.

And they have managed to get the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) and Sepang International Circuit (SIC), to lend their support.

Through the combined effort, GSR-Pennzoil has been able to organise the Rally X-Series and Rally sprint, which is open to all from 17 years and above.

The response for each leg has been tremendous where there were at least 30 participants in each leg and GSR-Pennzoil have shortlisted four drivers and four co-drivers, for further training and exposure.

The eight are drivers Mohd Shazly Ilyas (co-driver Mohd. Shazmie), Kenneth Koh (Mohd Dinie Nazmie), Mohd Sallehudin(Ahmad Fikri) and A. Magendran(Daveender Singh).

From left....Mohd. Shazmie Ilyas, Mohd Izwan (Guna's co-driver), Shamsul Nahar (Pennzoil Marketing Manager), Gunaseelan and Mohd Shazly Ilyas

"The drivers are all below the age of 25 and the youngest being 18. We are grooming them to become the new Karamjit Singhs," said Gunaseelan, the team owner of GSR-Pennzoil Racing Team.

"These young drivers will certainly gain tremendous experience racing against top drivers in the MRC," added Gunaseelan.

In total, there are five rounds in the MRC. The remaining two rounds after the Kota Tinggi round will be at Negri Sembilan in October and Selangor in December.

If only all sports associations take trouble to think seriously of development, Malaysia will certainly be standing tall in the sporting arena of many sports.