[guyermer]

Black Dog Pte Ltd is the only authorized distributor or Rotax engines and parts in Singapore.

We are also the biggest team competing in the Rotax Max challenge racing series.

The rotax max racing series is organized and paid for by the authorized distributor of the country it is held in.
The distributors expend considerable amounts of money and time organising these events and they do it for the good of the sport in their country.

This year we plan to hold one round of the RMC in Singapore and we would encourage all racers to get involved.

All countries have different tariffs and import regulations and as a result prices vary from country to country.
The price of an engine in Argentina for example is different to the price of an engine in Singapore.

Unfortunately there are black market importers who try to bypass the distributors in order to make more money for themselves but they compromise the benefits to the customer.
Unsuspecting buyers cannot make warranty claims, have no access to authorized service centers and worst of all they may be banned or fined at all RMC races in the region.

If some one wanted to race in RMC events using an engine that was not purchased from the authorized distributor of that country they would be subject to a technical inspection fee.

Currently the penalties are a:

1) Technical fee for registering an illegally imported engine is approximately $1000
2) Complete ban on using the engine at all RMC events
3) Competitor ban at all RMC events

In the past there has been no distributor in Singapore and many people have purchased new and second hand engines through third party suppliers with no knowledge of its origins.

With this in mind Black Dog is offering a limited time, general engine amnesty for all Rotax engines purchased before 1 January 2009 regardless of their history.

We will register the engines and issue them new engine passports free of charge.
These engines will then be eligible to be used at any Rotax Max event in Singapore, Malaysia, Jakarta & Brunei with out penalty. They will be registered with Rotax and be eligible for free replacement parts (when they are recalled)

TO REGISTER Just email guyermer@blackdogtv.biz with the engine number and the year you bought it and we will issue you a brand new engine passport no questions asked.

The passport will be essential if you want to race or sell your engine to some one else later.

Check our website for details www.blackdogracing.com.sg

[James Leong]

As the master distributor for Rotax engines and parts in this region, I must stress again what Guy have just said in this forum. RMC and Asia Max Challenge are registered and owned by KRS Motorsports. Every year we spend a huge sum of money to organise the events. This can only come about from funds derived from sales of engines and parts, sponsorship and contributions from the company. If we allow a driver who does not buy the engine from us or from our dealers, we are in fact losing the income for the race. Also it is unfair to those who have bought engines directly from us.

Therefore it is a universal rule among all distributors to charge the "Inspection fee" so that it will discourage someone from buying elsewhere. However, the most important thing you lose when you buy an engine elsewhere is that there will be no warranty on the engine.

For all the RMC/AMC races in 2010, handing in your engine card will be compulsory at registration. Those without an engine card will have to prove that the engine was purchased from Malaysia or Singapore. As distributor we can access the BRP engine database to check where and when the engine was sold and by whom. That way we can determine the origin of the engine and apply the rules accordingly.

This the same method used by all car companies to control grey imports. Dont lose out just by saving a couple of dollars. Grey importers would not be able to offer you the technical service unlike a fully registered dealer or distributor. When in doubt contact us at www.kartmoreracing.com


James Leong

[jonbummer]

Guy, I will be emailing you my engine number which I bought second hand from Gary.

It will be most interesting to have a round or two of RMC in Singapore.

I know things are tentative now, but will the result be taken together with the Malaysia RMC?

cheers
jonathan

[guyermer]

Hi Jon,

Send over your number and i will gladly issue you a new engine Passport.

If we get the Singapore leg organized it will be part of the RMC Malaysia. its not really feasible for us to do
our own RMC yet because there are no facilities yet.

We have enough drivers for Singapore to have its own seat at the World Finals. So we will see a singaporean at the world finals in 2010.

This year Jack McGregor qualified for the Singapore seat at the RMC World Finals.

If you want to know more about racing or you want to race in the BlackDog Team give me a call 93637180 or go to http://www.blackdogracing.com.sg

Cheers for now

Guy

[danzer]

There was a RMC Singapore in the RMC Malaysia too? Is it for seniors only as I would think that Calvin Seibl would be the more deserving Singapore Driver for a seat in the World Finals with regards to number of podium finishes that Calvin has got (2) compared to Jack (0), with consideration of racing experience coming after that. I would think that Jack should get more experience first as I find that it is a waste of time for someone with minimal race experience to go to world finals as they would most likely get eaten up and may cause a loss of morale.

[guyermer]

A single seat was allocated to Singapore for 2009 with the condition that we field a certain minimum number of drivers in the RMC.

This was not easy, and i would like to thank all the Singapore drivers who supported us this year.

As the Singapore Distributor for Rotax it was up to me to decide how that seat would be allocated.

There were a number of possibilities but i decided the seat should be allocated to the driver who performed well in the Seniors. This is the most competitive class and who ever did best there would deserve to go.

Jack McGregor finished the year 6th in the Seniors and Calvin finished 7th in Juniors.

Undoubtedly both drivers deserve to go to the Finals but there is only one seat and Jack had the better overall result.

I hope you will join me in congratulating Jack on a fantastic first season. Its hard to believe he is only 15 and this RMC was his first time racing.

[ace]

I think Danzer there has a point on why Jack McGregor was chosen instead of Calvin Seibl.

I agree with you that as the distributor, you get to decide who the seat belongs to. However, I have to disagree with you that Seniors is the most competitive and whoever did best there deserves to go. I would have to say Juniors is the most competitive class for the simple fact that all of them are chasing for a future in motorsports.

Most of the boys in Junior can challenge the peeps in seniors.

Although Calvin finished 7th, you have got to remember that he was DQed in rd1 for a fault that most couldn't understand. Otherwise, he probably would have been 2nd and preparing for egypt now.

And if you look closely, Jack's 6th place was rather fortunate with people like Syafiq Ali, Rohairijaz, Fahmi Illyas not competing the full season. James Lee had already had bad luck in the first 2 races so I discounted him.

As you said, Jack is only racing first time this year and I wouldn't be surprised if Jack gets knocked out even before the 2nd chance race. I truly believe that he needs to get more experience in Malaysia before he is really prepared for Europe.

Perhaps the fact that Jack is part of BlackDog had something to do with his selection. Somehow, I find that you allocated this place not for Singapore Drivers in general but more for Blackdog Racing. If it was for Singapore, why not select yourself? Am I right to say that it is more for Blackdog Racing?

Was Mohd Nasir considered? He is probably Singapore's best karter at the moment and his bad luck of having his rear hub come loose at Sepang and having people push him out in Pekan was uncalled for but when he has a normal race, he gets a podium like in Rd5.

[James Leong]

I think there should be a clarification on the selection of driver for the Grand Finals. In order for Singapore to earn a place for the Grand Finals, the conditions set by Rotax is very straight forward. You have to hold 5 rounds of the RMC in order to qualify granting of a seat. In every class which you hope to have a seat, you have to be able to get a minimum 15 entries.

Singapore was not able to hold 5 rounds of the RMC so I as the Master Distributor offered Guy a solution. He has to bring 15 drivers to compete in the Malaysian RMC and from there I will grant him a seat to the GF. I stipulated that he must have at least 15 drivers from Singapore to get a seat. Guy did just that and managed to get drivers to come up for the race. Unfortunately, the only seat available from Rotax was a senior seat. Therefore, Guy has to choose the best senior driver to go. This was not a matter of whether Jack was a better driver or he was from Black Dog Racing.

Calvin was not given a seat because there was NO SEAT for a junior driver. Period! When Singapore is able to field 15 juniors and 15 senior drivers regardless if the race is held in Singapore or Malaysia over 5 rounds, I will ensure you get the seats. Until such time when you are able to get the numbers for the seats, the situation stands.

I hope I have clarified the situation and please do not construe that Jack is going because he is a driver with Black Dog racing. I am sure if other drivers compete and do well they will also be selected to go. If you are unfortunate not to be able to go under the RMC, there is always the Asia Max Challenge to try to get a seat to go.

James Leong

[guyermer]

Thank you James for the clarification.

Ace. Its clear that if the choice had been up to you, you would have made a different selection based on your personal assessment of who you thought was a better driver, who had the luck etc.

I based my decision on who had the best results for the year not the most excuses as to why they didnt do better.

The record clearly shows Jack came 6th in Seniors ahead of all the other names you mentioned and therefore he earned his spot.

You suggest Jack was chosen because he was part of Black Dog racing. Shame on you for making such baseless and misinformed accusations.

No 1 we could only choose from the senior class.

No 2 We could only choose Singaporean drivers

Lets look at the facts. The only other Singapore drivers who could have gone are all Blackdog Racing team members

Jack McGregor BlackDog Racing overall finish 6th
James Lee BlackDog Racing overall finish 11th
Julien Fong BlackDog Racing overall finish 12th
Mohammed Nasir (Opi) BlackDog Racing overall finish 14th
Hersh Bhatt BlackDog Racing only raced one race

Keith Pang is not in BlackDog Racing he finished 19th overall perhaps you feel he was deserving of this?

Please check who is on the BlackDog Racing team it will help you get your facts right next time. http://www.blackdogracing.com.sg/team

So Ace, in answer to your question. "Am I right to say that it is more for Blackdog Racing?"

I could have picked anyone else and it still would have been BlackDog Racing

[ace]

I realize that my suggestions of the places meant for Blackdog members are uncalled for and I apologize.

But my wonder is why, with the power and all, didn't you choose someone who was more experienced and more likely to not make a fool of himself (not suggesting that jack will make a fool of himself) like James Lee or Mohd Nasir? Perhaps they could have done better had they raced all the rounds but I don't want to follow up on that excuse. Like Danzer said there, if he does indeed do badly, it would really give his morale a hard beating.

For curiosity sake, in your honest opinion, how do you think (not what you hope for) Jack would do in the world finals against the best in RMC series around the world?

[guyermer]

This will be my last response on this subject.

Jack wasn't chosen to go. He earned the right to go by beating everyone else from Singapore. It was never about me choosing.

The same applies next year. Who ever does best will go to the Grand Finals. Hopefully Opi, Calvin or James will have the overall results that make this possible.

If Jack feels this will be demoralizing or detrimental in anyway to his development as a driver he can choose not to go.

If he did decide not to go then James Lee would be asked and if he refused, the next one in line.

I dont give opinions on how i think people will perform because i dont know.

I do know he will give 100%. I do know that his team and friends will support him 100%. I do know that what ever happens he will learn from this experience and be a better driver going forward and i do know he is a good kid who deserves the support of every single one of you.

You should be building up his confidence not tearing it down. He will be representing you and you should be proud that he is.

Why are you all not happy that Singapore got a seat against the odds. 9 months ago we didn't have enough drivers now the complaint is the best drivers didn't get picked.

Hands up. Who is going to the World Final? If your hand isn't in the air its because you weren't good enough.
Good news is the opportunity is there for everyone. You can compete in RMC and if you win, you qualify on your own merit.

Thats how champions become champions

[danzer]

He will be representing you and you should be proud that he is.

Why are you all not happy that Singapore got a seat against the odds.

One reason that we Singaporeans may not be proud about this is because the person "representing" Singapore is not even a Singaporean. What's there to be proud of? You won't understand because you're not a Singaporean. Perhaps if an Indian Citizen represents your country in a Rugby tournament or lets say Formula 1 and he is the winner, how proud is it to cheer for an Indian citizen when you are South African? It's just like cheering for Massa or Raikkonen or Alonso, you don't feel proud because they are not part of your country.

[mlange]

He will be representing you and you should be proud that he is.

Why are you all not happy that Singapore got a seat against the odds.

One reason that we Singaporeans may not be proud about this is because the person "representing" Singapore is not even a Singaporean. What's there to be proud of? You won't understand because you're not a Singaporean. Perhaps if an Indian Citizen represents your country in a Rugby tournament or lets say Formula 1 and he is the winner, how proud is it to cheer for an Indian citizen when you are South African? It's just like cheering for Massa or Raikkonen or Alonso, you don't feel proud because they are not part of your country.

Why should we (Singaporeans) not be happy that there is representation, even if not by one of our countrymen?
The progress of a country is the product of what its residents, both locals and foreigners alike, chose to contribute.
Likewise, even if it was a Singaporean representing, there would definitely be other Singaporeans who wouldn't be happy and who would complain about the selection.
Ultimately, James/Guy's decision was based on the concept of meritocracy and quantifiable results.

[rob]

It has been a long time since I "contributed" to this website but having a young son involved in karting (although not the RMC) myself I felt compelled to respond.

Jack has been selected and is going to the RMC finals! What a great experience for him and he must be overjoyed! However if he reads the posts on this website I am sure that some of the shine has been taken away from the whole experience. He is a 15 year old kid and very nice one at that. Whilst hopefully unintentionally, shame on you for taking some of that joy away from him.

Jack, if you are reading this, no matter what the result in the finals I’m sure you will do the Singapore karting community proud. Good luck and give ‘em hell over there.

[guyermer]

One reason that we Singaporeans may not be proud about this is because the person "representing" Singapore is not even a Singaporean. What's there to be proud of? You won't understand because you're not a Singaporean. Perhaps if an Indian Citizen represents your country in a Rugby tournament or lets say Formula 1 and he is the winner, how proud is it to cheer for an Indian citizen when you are South African? It's just like cheering for Massa or Raikkonen or Alonso, you don't feel proud because they are not part of your country.[/quote]


Danzer are you from Singapore?

If you are then you will know that Singaporeans love to import their National sporting stars.

Millions cheered for the national football squad when they played their last game. On that Lions team were John Wilkinson, Baihaikki Khaizan, Daniel Bennet and Precious Emeujeraye (a very dark african gentleman) non of these players is Singaporean yet they are representing Singapore.

Singapore erupted in spasms of excitement and national pride during the olympics when Singapore won its first OLYMPIC medal. Feng Tian Wei and Li Jai Wei brought glory to the nation. No one questioned they were born and raised in China the important thing was they were doing it under the national flag of singapore. And Singapore has a medal. They represented singapore.

When Peter Edward Gilchrist won the professional billiards championship in 2006 he had a singapore flag on his chest and Singapore has a medal because he represented the country.

People less xenophobic then you understand the contribution these athletes and other immigrants make to the nation.

Thats why i and many people like me were asked to come here. To be part of this community.

Singapore is not based on race or colour or religion. Its a meritocracy, a blend of people and cultures from all over the world working together to build a nation. If being born here is the only thing that qualifies you as a Singaporean then a Quarter of the population are not singaporean and under your myopic ideas should not be supported regardless of there achievements.
In your world 25% of the people here dont merit any support in there sporting endeavors. I pity your bigotry and i hope you thoroughly check the ethnicity of Singapore's next sporting hero before you raise a miserly cheer. I fear your cheers will be few and far between.

As to the question of Jacks eligibility. You will be glad to know he does not fall into the 25% category of NON singaporeans. Jack was born in Singapore and has never lived anywhere else. He deserves as much respect and support as any of the Singaporeans playing on any of the National Squads.

So come on Danzer how about a half cheer for Jack. Holding the Flag high for singapore. Land of his birth.

I hope to see you at RMC where i will cheer for you when ever you race.

Good Job Singapore.