10-year-old Sam Scharer from the Ysgol Bro Gwydir School, Llanrwst, Conwy, has won a very special design competition which involves a livery for a Toyota GT86 rally car and WRC. The kid’s sea-themed design won the hearts of judges at the nationwide competition and will be seen taking part at the UK’s round for the FIA World Rally Championship. How cool is that? (more…)
Subsidizing the retail price of fuel for motorists has cost the government millions – this week, the total cost amounts to RM101.52 million – and the money can obviously be better spent for other purposes. However, subsidizing fuel prices has helped not just those who really need assistance but also many who can afford to pay more for their fuel.
So over the past year, the government has been trying to find a way to target subsidies to make sure that only the groups that need fuel at subsidized prices get them. The approach has been finalized and announced today by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The planned implementation date will be at the beginning of 2020 so we should be hearing the full details from the Finance Minister in the coming Budget speech on October 11.
RM30/month for cars, RM12/month for motorcycles
Subsidies under the Program Subsidi Petrol will be given to eligible motorcycle and car owners in Peninsular Malaysia who are also registered for Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH). Those with motorcycles will receive RM12 a month while those with cars will receive RM30 a month. The subsidies will be paid into bank accounts of the recipients every 4 months.
Among the additional conditions are that for cars, the maximum engine size to qualify is 1600 cc or if above 1600 cc, the vehicle should be over 10 years old. Some 2.9 million people will receive the subsidies which are expected to total around RM65.4 million each month.
NZ Wheels Sdn Bhd, an authorised dealer for Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia, has added another outlet to its network of Mercedes-Benz Autohauses in the Klang Valley. The Autohaus, acquired from another party, is a 2S (service and spare parts) facility which sits on 13,866 sq ft of land and has a built-up area of 9,200 sq ft.
Commenting on the new outlet, SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Group Executive Chairman & CEO, Naza Corporation Holdings Sdn Bhd said: “At NZ Wheels, we are committed to giving our customers peace of mind through high quality products and exceptional customer experience. Therefore, we are beyond excited to introduce the NZ Wheels Setapak Autohaus as our fourth outlet and given its strategic location in north-east Kuala Lumpur, the new 2S facility will complement our existing NZ Wheels Bangsar Autohaus 1S facility to offer unparalleled service excellence expected from the 3-pointed star marque.”
“Moreover, we are confident the Setapak outlet will appeal to the most discerning Mercedes-Benz customers as it is fully equipped with state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz approved diagnostic tools and equipment and staffed by professionally-trained Mercedes-Benz Certified Service Specialists,” he added.
The Autohaus conforms to the Mercedes-Benz Presentation System II (MPS II) concept in line with the German luxury marque’s global customer experience concept and corporate identity. Its service centre, which has 5 work bays and 1 bay for wheel alignment, can handle up to 250 vehicles a month for both general and specialized repairs. At present, there are 10 highly-trained personnel experienced in technical, service and parts.
It has been a day to remember for two very lucky Isuzu D-Max owners as they were greatly rewarded with a brand-new Isuzu D-Max 2.5 Auto 4×4 earlier today. The Isuzu D-Max Buy and Win Contest was held earlier this year where Isuzu customers stand a chance to win the grand prizes. (more…)
This report was contributed by the late Gary Khor, a motorsports enthusiast who was also very much involved in the sport in various roles. Gary, who passed away in early 2020, wanted to create more awareness of the success of Malaysian drivers overseas, and gave us reports of events that they took part in.
It was 10 pm Saturday night in Malaysia and 4 pm in Spa, Belgium as the inaugural TCR SPA500 race started. This 500-lap race was a round in the international TCR series and run set in the famous but treacherous Spa circuit. Drivers and crews could expect intense activity for at least 23 hours.
Spa is famous for its unpredictable weather and the recent World Endurance Championship round held there saw rain, hail and even snow during the race! The race is run by the Endurance Racing promoter Creventic and is well known for its ‘Code 60’ replacement for the traditional Safety Car. In the case of an incident during racing, a ‘Code 60’ is issued which is like a full course Yellow except that all cars are required to slow to a 60 km/h speed limit by a certain time whilst maintaining the gap to the car in front. This way, cars are not bunched up in the restart making race resumptions safer.
In this race, Malaysian team Viper Niza Racing led by team principal Douglas Khoo in #65 Seat Cupra was vying for the TCR Nations Cup along with teams from China, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
The team had help from some old team mates -Dominic Ang, Farique Hairuman and Melvin Moh – from the PETRONAS Syntium Team which won multiple championships in the Japanese SuperTaikyu Series. Dominic and Melvin, in particular, have much experience in long-distance endurance racing having competed in the Dubai 24Hours, FujiTec 24Hours and Sepang 12Hours.
After over 100 laps, the SPA500 was into its 6th hour. #65 started with Douglas in 16th and pitted for a driver change during a Code 60 when the leader hit the barriers at Eau Rouge.
Farique was lucky to pit for fuel during another Code 60, double stinted and brought #65 up to 10th before handing to Dominic who also pitted for fuel during yet another Code 60 (but could only take on half a tank of fuel according to regulations).
Dominic then managed to be one of the quickest drivers on the track and brought #65 to 2nd in the ProAm class & 4th overall before coming in after another double stint to hand over to Melvin who had since caught the front runners and bringing #65 up to 2nd overall and was leading the ProAm class !
More than 250 laps had been completed and the inaugural TCR SPA500 was halfway through. The Malaysian team was now 3rd outright and still leading the ProAm class! Farique was behind the wheel after Dominic handed over the car from Melvin earlier on. It appeared during Melvin’s stint that an issue occurred and the car had to be pitted for a check but soon went out again albeit after losing time and laps. It was a pity as Melvin had brought the car up to 2nd overall at one point in the night.
But ultimately, Team Viper Niza Racing did it – winning the ProAm class in this inaugural TCR SPA500. Congratulations to Douglas Khoo, Dominic Ang, Melvin Moh, Farique Hairuman, Nico and all his boys and also Rueben Wong. You have all done us and Malaysian Motorsports proud!
The folks from Pekema (Association of Malaysian Automobile Importers and Traders) has officially launched their latest Pekema Academy. Located at the Wisma Yayasan Pekema in Cyberjaya, Selangor, the special institution provides training for Pekema members, AP holders, and franchise owners across Malaysia. (more…)
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