Held in Malaysia on the 7th and 8th of January the Rotax Invitational kicked off the 2012 karting season in Malaysia and the region in style. Full grids in Senior and Junior categories, and 15 karts in MicroMax along with another 8 in DD2 meant over 90 karts took the the Speedway PLUS circuit.
Malaysian driver Nik Azri Syazwi took top spot in the incredibly competitive Senior field ahead of Rahul Raj Mayer and Zahir Ali. Drivers in the race included 3 of the 4 Rotax Senior Asia Champions; Senna SN, Afiq Ikhwan, and Ryan Haryanto.
Indian driver Arjun Maini triumphed in the full grid of Junior drivers ahead of local driver Daniel Woodroof and Marino Sato from Japan. Daim Hishammudin was upset with a DNF after leading the race almost to the flag.
Kelvin Choo stamped his authority on the 2012 DD2 season taking 1st ahead of reigning Asia Max champion Shota Kitazono.
Indonesian drivers Presley Martono and Perdana Putra Minang took command in MicroMax with Kush Maini from India taking 3rd.
The Rotax Max Challenge Malaysia & Asia will kick off next month with the opening round on 16-19 February.
Related Press Releases:
Daim Hishammudin
Stratos Motorsports (Woodroof, Elliott, Soebroto)
Senior:
| Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
| 1 | 225 | NIK AZRI SYAZWI NIK HAMDAN | 25 | 18:20.943 | 43.553 | 18 | 79.269 | |
| 2 | 230 | RAHUL RAJ MAYER | 25 | 18:22.241 | 1.298 | 43.604 | 22 | 79.176 |
| 3 | 204 | ZAHIR ALI | 25 | 18:22.549 | 1.606 | 43.665 | 21 | 79.066 |
| 4 | 227 | CHANG MUN SHIEN | 25 | 18:24.526 | 3.583 | 43.709 | 21 | 78.986 |
| 5 | 216 | TERUHISA TANAKA | 25 | 18:24.828 | 3.885 | 43.450 | 21 | 79.457 |
| 6 | 203 | SILVANO CHRISTIAN | 25 | 18:25.169 | 4.226 | 43.654 | 25 | 79.086 |
| 7 | 200 |  SENNA S.N. |
25 | 18:27.931 | 6.988 | 43.801 | 19 | 78.820 |
| 8 | 229 | CALVIN WONG WENG MAN | 25 | 18:28.110 | 7.167 | 43.575 | 23 | 79.229 |
| 9 | 214 | TANAPON NOKKAEW | 25 | 18:28.330 | 7.387 | 43.759 | 4 | 78.896 |
| 10 | 210 | MOHAMAD AFIQ IKHWAN | 25 | 18:30.318 | 9.375 | 43.869 | 16 | 78.698 |
| 11 | 223 | IZZAT HANIF NORAZLAN | 25 | 18:32.134 | 11.191 | 43.849 | 19 | 78.734 |
| 12 | 219 | FONG WEI JIE JULIEN | 25 | 18:33.859 | 12.916 | 43.903 | 19 | 78.637 |
| 13 | 218 | SEAN HEDLEY HUDSPETH | 25 | 18:34.096 | 13.153 | 43.838 | 20 | 78.754 |
| 14 | 222 | BRANDON LEE ZHON WEI | 25 | 18:35.092 | 14.149 | 43.865 | 13 | 78.705 |
| 15 | 228 | MOHAMED FARRIZ MOHAMMAD FAUZY | 25 | 18:35.576 | 14.633 | 44.000 | 23 | 78.464 |
| 16 | 213 | SAPANUT SUWANKHAM | 25 | 18:36.522 | 15.579 | 44.035 | 23 | 78.401 |
| 17 | 206 | GABRIEL ARCADINE | 25 | 18:36.792 | 15.849 | 43.866 | 10 | 78.703 |
| 18 | 232 | TIMOTHY THOMAS YEO | 25 | 18:36.1000 | 16.057 | 44.022 | 22 | 78.424 |
| 19 | 205 | RYAN HARYANTO | 25 | 18:37.444 | 16.501 | 43.888 | 8 | 78.664 |
| 20 | 234 | FREDDIE ANG DING YU | 25 | 18:38.539 | 17.596 | 44.246 | 20 | 78.027 |
| 21 | 212 | SIVAPONG LAMATIPANONT | 25 | 18:45.232 | 24.289 | 44.194 | 8 | 78.119 |
| 22 | 207 | CLIO CLARISSA TJONADI | 25 | 18:45.805 | 24.862 | 44.298 | 22 | 77.936 |
| 23 | 211 | MITHUN GANATRA | 25 | 18:45.995 | 25.052 | 44.151 | 10 | 78.195 |
| 24 | 226 | FREDDY NUMAN LAWAN | 25 | 18:46.255 | 25.312 | 44.158 | 20 | 78.183 |
| 25 | 202 | TOMY RIZKY ADRIN | 25 | 18:48.271 | 27.328 | 44.101 | 8 | 78.284 |
| 26 | 209 | ANSHUMAN CHATTERJEE | 25 | 18:59.423 | 38.480 | 44.812 | 15 | 77.042 |
| 27 | 201 | ANANDA JULIO PROST | 25 | 19:00.267 | 39.324 | 44.900 | 11 | 76.891 |
| 28 | 215 | GAURAV DAVARE | 25 | 19:06.589 | 45.646 | 45.080 | 16 | 76.584 |
| Not classified | ||||||||
| DNF | 233 | BRENDAN PAUL ANTHONY | 16 | 13:47.181 | 44.848 | 10 | 76.980 | |
| DNF | 224 | RIO HARYANTO | 15 | 11:29.870 | 43.762 | 9 | 78.890 | |
| DNF | 235 | AKASH NEIL NANDY | 13 | 9:38.988 | 43.514 | 9 | 79.340 | |
| DNF | 208 | AMEY BAFNA | 8 | 6:30.459 | 44.408 | 5 | 77.743 | |
| DNF | 221 | CALVIN MACAULAY SEIBL | 2 | 1:35.515 | 45.213 | 2 | 76.359 | |
| DNF | 231 | MUHAMMAD NABIL JEFFRI | 1 | 55.526 | 48.660 | 1 | 70.949 | |
| DNF | 220 | MATTHEW SOLOMAN | 0 | –:–:–.— | –:–:–.— | 0 | – | |
| DNS | 217 | YOSHITO MATSAMOTO | 0 | –:–:–.— | –:–:–.— | 0 | – | |
Junior:
| Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
| 1 | 107 | ARJUN MAINI | 20 | 14:44.165 | 43.549 | 16 | 79.276 | |
| 2 | 134 | DANIAL ADAM WOODROOF | 20 | 14:45.842 | 1.677 | 43.707 | 13 | 78.990 |
| 3 | 117 | MARINO SATO | 20 | 14:49.041 | 4.876 | 43.705 | 19 | 78.993 |
| 4 | 110 | JEHAN DARUVALA | 20 | 14:51.680 | 7.515 | 43.870 | 7 | 78.696 |
| 5 | 135 | GILBERT ANG DING FENG |
20 | 14:52.456 | 8.291 | 44.157 | 7 | 78.185 |
| 6 | 124 | LONG MOHAMAD LONG ARIFF | 20 | 14:52.921 | 8.756 | 43.796 | 10 | 78.829 |
| 7 | 131 | MOHD DANIAL ROSLAN | 20 | 14:53.309 | 9.144 | 43.947 | 16 | 78.558 |
| 8 | 129 | MITCHELL CHEAH MIN JIE | 20 | 14:53.995 | 9.830 | 43.922 | 15 | 78.603 |
| 9 | 132 | LEE WAI CONG | 20 | 14:54.301 | 10.136 | 43.950 | 16 | 78.553 |
| 10 | 100 | DARMA MANGKULUHUR HUTOMD | 20 | 14:55.086 | 10.921 | 43.921 | 7 | 78.605 |
| 11 | 111 | KRISHNARAJ MAHADIK | 20 | 15:00.107 | 15.942 | 44.414 | 17 | 77.732 |
| 12 | 114 | PRAEWPHAN THAMMALAPA | 20 | 15:01.102 | 16.937 | 43.946 | 12 | 78.560 |
| 13 | 128 | MUHAMMAD LUQMAN HAKIM | 20 | 15:03.073 | 18.908 | 44.549 | 20 | 77.497 |
| 14 | 118 | RORY JAMES ELLIOT | 20 | 15:04.355 | 20.190 | 44.424 | 6 | 77.715 |
| 15 | 123 | SHAQEER HAIRE SAIFUL RIZAL | 20 | 15:10.123 | 25.958 | 43.909 | 17 | 78.626 |
| 16 | 126 | LOW KENT JUN | 20 | 15:10.343 | 26.178 | 43.923 | 12 | 78.601 |
| 17 | 103 | NABIL HUTASUHUT | 20 | 15:16.266 | 32.101 | 44.698 | 15 | 77.238 |
| 18 | 116 | VEERADA SANGCHAROEN | 20 | 15:19.926 | 35.761 | 44.797 | 12 | 77.068 |
| 19 | 108 | NAYAN CHATTERJEE | 20 | 15:20.654 | 36.489 | 45.213 | 20 | 76.359 |
| 20 | 105 | JOSHUA TANUSEPUTRA | 20 | 15:20.927 | 36.762 | 45.145 | 20 | 76.474 |
| 21 | 109 | MAHAVEER R | 20 | 15:25.582 | 41.417 | 45.017 | 9 | 76.691 |
| 22 | 106 | ARYA CHIRAG GANDHI | 19 | 14:46.223 | 1 Lap | 44.202 | 17 | 78.105 |
| 23 | 112 | AHMAD RAIEF BIN AHMAD RAZALI | 19 | 14:47.723 | 1.500 | 44.337 | 15 | 77.867 |
| 24 | 121 | BRENDAN MONTGOMERY SEIBL | 19 | 15:03.450 | 17.227 | 44.376 | 11 | 77.799 |
| Not classified | ||||||||
| DNF | 119 | DAIM HISHAMMUDIN | 19 | 13:58.305 | 43.476 | 16 | 79.409 | |
| DNF | 125 | AMIR AZHAN SAFUAN | 11 | 8:08.867 | 43.862 | 10 | 78.711 | |
| DNF | 120 | AMIN NOORZILAN | 5 | 4:06.516 | 44.153 | 4 | 78.192 | |
| DNF | 102 | YASUO SENNA IRIAWAN | 2 | 6:29.683 | 48.635 | 2 | 70.986 | |
| DNF | 101 | KEZIA SANTOSO | 1 | 1:12.170 | 1:08.535 | 1 | 50.374 | |
| DNF | 104 | FELIX LINTANG | 1 | 1:25.864 | 1:23.384 | 1 | 41.404 | |
| DNF | 130 | LUQMAN NULHAKIM | 0 | 2.071 | –:–:–.— | 0 | – | |
| DNF | 133 | M FERREL FADHIL PRATAMA | 0 | 2.898 | –:–:–.— | 0 | – | |
| DNF | 115 | NAPAT SANGCHAROEN | 0 | 6.434 | –:–:–.— | 0 | – | |
MicroMax:
| Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
| 1 | 26 | PRESLEY PETER MARTONO | 15 | 12:26.102 | 49.079 | 6 | 70.344 | |
| 2 | 10 | PUTRA PERDANA MINANG | 15 | 12:32.166 | 6.064 | 49.876 | 10 | 69.220 |
| 3 | 17 | KUSH MAINI | 15 | 12:32.556 | 6.454 | 49.791 | 15 | 69.338 |
| 4 | 25 | GEZHA SUDIRMAN | 15 | 12:34.941 | 8.839 | 49.534 | 3 | 69.698 |
| 5 | 22 | MUIZZUDDIN MUSYAFFA | 15 | 12:36.166 | 10.064 | 50.063 | 13 | 68.961 |
| 6 | 21 | MUHAMMAD AIMAN ZAFRI | 15 | 12:36.870 | 10.768 | 50.154 | 9 | 68.836 |
| 7 | 20 | ARSH EMIR BIN JOHANY | 15 | 12:37.460 | 11.358 | 50.044 | 9 | 68.987 |
| 8 | 11 | BARICHELLO NOOR | 15 | 12:42.016 | 15.914 | 50.085 | 8 | 68.931 |
| 9 | 24 | RAFIF RABBANI | 15 | 12:44.326 | 18.224 | 50.327 | 3 | 68.599 |
| 10 | 15 | PRASSETYO HARDJA | 15 | 12:46.943 | 20.841 | 50.208 | 3 | 68.762 |
| 11 | 23 | JOSH LEE YAN HENG | 15 | 12:53.252 | 27.150 | 50.834 | 9 | 67.915 |
| 12 | 12 | KEANON SANTOSO | 15 | 12:53.583 | 27.481 | 50.762 | 10 | 68.012 |
| 13 | 14 | RAIHAN PUTRA UTAMA | 15 | 12:54.775 | 28.673 | 50.254 | 14 | 68.699 |
| 14 | 19 | ARMAND EMIR BIN JOHARI | 15 | 12:57.908 | 31.806 | 51.123 | 5 | 67.531 |
| 15 | 16 | CHRISTOPHER DARYL J. WENAS | 14 | 12:31.117 | 1 Lap | 52.993 | 14 | 65.148 |
DD2:
| Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
| 1 | 306 | KELVIN CHOO | 20 | 14:42.727 | 43.779 | 14 | 78.860 | |
| 2 | 300 | SHOTA KITAZONO | 20 | 14:43.609 | 0.882 | 43.803 | 18 | 78.817 |
| 3 | 303 | RAY KONG CHUN KEAT | 20 | 14:53.540 | 10.813 | 44.092 | 19 | 78.300 |
| 4 | 304 | FREDDY NUMAN LAWAN | 20 | 14:53.730 | 11.003 | 44.256 | 5 | 78.010 |
| 5 | 307 | ANDREW LITTLEDALE | 20 | 15:16.544 | 33.817 | 45.228 | 17 | 76.333 |
| 6 | 308 | CHEN JET CHOONG | 14 | 14:54.090 | 6 Laps | 44.206 | 10 | 78.098 |
| Not classified | ||||||||
| DNF | 302 | SIDHANT PANDA | 17 | 12:34.058 | 43.879 | 5 | 78.680 | |
| DNF | 301 | AKITO SAITO | 3 | 2:15.297 | 44.022 | 3 | 78.424 | |