Dash Racing makes Winning Debut

March 15, 2011

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March 15, 2011

Dash Racing team-mates Syazwan Mohd Noor and James Pull marked the launch of the team’s new look with victories in the Junior and Micromax class of the 1st round of the Rotax Max Asia and Malaysia championship at Speedway Plus Circuit in Kuala Lumpur on 12th March.

In DD2 Syazwan showed very good speed for most of the weekend but was plagued by gear selection problems. In the final, Syazwan took the lead initially but the problems resurfaced and he had to retire from the race.

In the Junior class, Syazwan dominated from the start of the weekend in his new GP Racing chassis and set the fastest lap in all dry sessions and races. In the pre-final, he initially was led by main rival Gilbert Ang but passed after a few laps and gained enough lead to cruise to an impressive victory. The final was more straightforward, Syazwan taking an immediate lead and pulling away to a very comfortable win, with Gilbert again finishing 2nd. Syazwan said after the race “My GP10 was really good all weekend and I always felt in control of the races. The DD2 was disappointing but if I win next time I’ll recover most of the points lost today. It’s great to be leading the junior championship but Gilbert and some of the others are tough competitors so I have to keep practicing and improving”.

In the MicroMax class, James was 6th on the grid for the pre-final and got involved in a big dice for 2nd place in the early laps. He eventually moved clear of the pack and chased down leader Jon Lee, overtaking him with 5 laps remaining. In the final, he had a fierce battle with Luqman Hakim for the 1st few laps but eventually broke into a clear lead which opened up a lot as a big battle for 2nd slowed up all the drivers behind him. James said “Winning in RMC is a great feeling. The kart was good and it gave me confidence to be calm during the battles I was in the both the pre-final and final. Hopefully I can maintain this speed and try to win the championship”

Team Principle John King said “It’s a weird feeling – I’m almost disappointed with the results because of the DD2 but both Syazwan and James drove awesome races all weekend and both of them deserve the full credit for their wins. We’ve set the bar high so we’ll be under pressure in the next round but I’m confident the team and drivers can handle it

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CRG Junior Team Asia driver Calvin Wong Wins RMC

March 15, 2011

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March 15, 2011

Petaling Jaya, Monday: – The new season for CRG Junior Team Asia began brilliantly when Calvin Wong dominated the Senior category of the Rotax Max Challenge Asia/Malaysia 2011(Round 1) at the Speedway PLUS Circuit.

18 year old, Calvin Wong, the driver for the CRG Junior Asia Team took the race by storm when he emerged victorious in the competitive 33 kart participants.

The success however did not came easily. Finished 6th in heat 1, Calvin upped his performance when he ended the pre-final with a 3rd place position behind Chang Mun Shien and Farriz Fauzy.

The long 25 lap final race proved worth watching when the top 3 racers bedazzled audiences and visitors from all across Asia with first class overtaking maneuvers.

Calvin was instrumental throughout the final race. Even with a fractured leg, the latter displayed sheer determination combined with a never say die attitude to earn the CRG Junior Team Asia their first Senior silverware in 2011.

As expected with the quality of racers participating, particularly the formidable front four consisting of Calvin Wong, Chang Mun Shien, Indonesian; Senna S.N and Farriz Fauzy, it will never be a dull race. Farriz however struggled and dropped down the order.

Meanwhile, things were looking brighter for Calvin when he took the lead with the other two racers who represents PDB Racing pressing him hard into making a mistake. Calvin however maintained his composure and the race finally reached its peak in the final 5 laps when Calvin pulled a half a second lead emerging as the comfortable victor in what could prove to be one of the highlights for Asia’s go-karting industry.

The team who has just undergone heavy restructuring entered the race well prepared and highly motivated when IRU1 Motorsports was appointed as CRG’s official team factory in Asia.

Meanwhile, CRG Junior Team Asia development drivers; Connor O’ Byrne and Sean Hudspeth suffered misfortunes when both had early incidents that prevented them from moving up the grade. Sean and Connor made great improvements and were impressive at times running consistently in the top 10.

Upon his victory, Calvin Wong stated; “The weekend went very well for us. We started quite steadily and improved our set-up until the final race. We also made some good changes in the final that proved helped me throughout the race. I just kept my head straight and maintained my composure as I know the pace was very tight between one another. The kart was set-up and performed fantastically especially in the final 10 laps of the race. That was instrumental in the victory today. I am very proud of this team and I would like to thank everyone for this victory.”

Meanwhile, Team Principal, Nir Iruwan Dato’ Izani said he was just proud of the team effort shown. He commented; “The CRG brand carries a winning spirit and our team’s motivation and dedication is profound by this spirit. However, success only comes when you work hard for it and that is the foundation which I want to instill to my team. The win today is a resemblance of all the tireless effort carried out by the team over the pre-season and I am very proud of every single person in this team including the drivers the technicians, my faithful partners Idzham Hashim and Er Chun Tat and also Mr Giancarlo Tinini of CRG Group who helped make today a reality. Indeed, this is a victory for all of us to celebrate.”

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Victory for Calvin Wong at Thrilling Rotax Max Opener

March 13, 2011

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March 13, 2011

Calvin Wong won the Senior category at the opening round of the of the Rotax Max Challenge Malaysia & Asia Zone. Shota Kitazono took 1st in the DD2 category while Syazwan Mohd Noor dominated the Junior final and James Pull took the MicroMax spoils. Full results on http://www.mylaps.com/.

Championship Standings:
Asia Zone Standings
Malaysia Standings

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CRG JUNIOR TEAM ASIA AIMS HIGH FOR 2011 SEASON

March 12, 2011

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March 12, 2011

Mutiara Damansara, Thursday: The new season for CRG Junior Team Asia gets underway on 12th and 13th March, when the Rotax Max Challenge Asia & Malaysia Series begins at the Speedway PLUS Circuit, USJ ELITE. In this interview, Team Principal Nik Iruwan talks about how the preparations are going and the rejuvenated team spirit especially after an extensive restructuring period during the winter period.

Formerly known as IRU1 Racing, the CRG Junior Team Asia is now set to take the karting world by storm with the introduction of the new model CRG kart chassis; The Black Star which has impressed drivers across the globe with its nimble characteristics and sheer speed.

According to the Team Principal; Nik Iruwan Dato’ Izani; “We are greatly honoured to be appointed by CRG; a distinctive brand in the motorsport industry as their official factory team for the Asian region. With the involvement and support from CRG through the implementation of high technology equipments and updated apparatus, it is an exciting prospect to see the combination between CRG’s expertise and ours unveiled in this upcoming race.”

Going into the first race of the season; The Rotax Max Challenge provides the team a solid platform to present to the karting world; the outcome of a continuous exertion involving sheer perseverance, commitment and hard work between the racers, CRG and IRU1 Motorsports.

When asked to comment on the drivers who will be competing in the Senior Max, Nik Iruwan answered with a statement of intent when he said; “Our team is design to win and with the drivers that have been selected, we’ve set an ambitious target of a win for Calvin Wong and top ten finishes for both Connor O’Byrne and Sean Hudspeth”.

18 year old Calvin Wong is a former Malaysian Junior Kart Champion and has the crucial experience of racing for the Petronas Mofaz Racing in the Formula BMW Pacific Series 2010. With his experience, he has achieved so much in his career and his feedback will be very important to the team. His dedication has been nothing short of fantastic as he displayed commitment and team work throughout our ongoing tough preparations for the season.

Malaysian Connor O’Byrne, 17, and Singaporean Sean Hudspeth, 17, are two development drivers who have impressed the team since joining end of last year.

Connor O’Byrne was raised in Ireland since a very young age, and the team has scouted him when he was back in Malaysia for holiday. Connor O’Byrne has the valuable experience of competing in the competitive Irish Karting Championship for two years. He impressed the team by finishing 10th place in the last Rotax Invitational Race in January 2011.

Sean Hudspeth of Singapore is making his full season debut in the Rotax Max Challenge Asia, having join the team end of last year after short stint with Drakar Racing in selected races of Singapore Karting Championship. Sean impressed the team when he finished runner-up in the final round of the Singapore Karting Championship last year in only his second race ! Sean is now a ‘famous’ sportsman in Singapore and is tipped to make Singapore proud in Asia’s karting competition.

Another driver that is part of CRG Junior Team Asia is 13 year old Timothy Yeo, but he will be competing in the prestigious ASK Asian Series KF3 commencing next weekend.

Nik Iruwan added, “I am proud with the line-up in the team and I think we have the mix of experience and the desire to succeed. All members in the team including myself, the mechanics and the drivers are working tremendously as a team and functioning more or less like a family now. This is very important for the stability of the team and I believe with hardwork and perseverance we should all hope for some great results this weekend”.

Newly appointed Technical Chief for CRG Junior Team Asia, Albert Teoh explained : “ Things are falling into place quite nicely in the team. CRG has given us a great chassis to work on and performance so far has been strong overall on all areas including the medium and slow speed corners. I would like the team to continue working hard and try our best for the race. The competition is also very close, and anything can happen. We’ve done our homework so we should be confident for the race”.

The race weekend begins with Qualifying and Heat 1 on Saturday while the Pre-final and Final are on Sunday.

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James Pull Ready For 2011 Rotax Max Challenge Season

March 12, 2011

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March 12, 2011

Singapore, 11 March 2011 – With a two-month break since his last race at the Rotax Invitational Race, James Pull has been training hard in preparation for the 2011 season. The 11-year-old Singapore-based cadet karter will be competing this weekend in the first round of the Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) Malaysia championship held at the Speedway PLUS Circuit in Malaysia. Driving for John King’s Dash Racing in Asia, Pull will also be driving for 2005 CIK-FIA Karting World Champion Oliver Oakes’ team when he races in Europe later this year.

It was a four-day weekend for Pull last week due to school holidays and the Tanglin Trust School student was training hard in Kuala Lumpur with his 2010 Kosmic chassis. Racing in the MicroMax class of the RMC, Pull is looking forward to the first race, “Testing was good and I managed to be a lot more consistent than I have been in some practice sessions before. I’ve been working on my fitness to build strength and stamina and I hope it will help me drive better and faster.”

Team manager John King said, “We pushed James harder this time to help him build consistency and speed. If we can reproduce the same speed and consistency, he should be able to do well at this weekend’s race.”

Other than RMC Malaysia, Pull is finalising plans to race in other series in Asia, and will travel to Italy and the United Kingdom to participate in a number of events.

2010 was Pull’s first time competing in the full season of the Yamaha SL Cup Malaysia and AKOC. Eventually finishing second overall in both series, Pull gained tremendous racing experience and he even led both Championships at certain points of the season. He also headed to Italy at the end of the summer as part of his development programme and participated at a World Series Karting (WSK) Master Series race.

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Dash Racing Ready for 2011 RMC Season

March 7, 2011

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March 7, 2011

Press Release:
Dash Racing team-mates Syazwan Mohd Noor and James Pull were both impressive during the final weekend’s practice for the 2011 RMC championship which starts at Speedway Plus Circuit in Kuala Lumpur on 12th March.

In the Junior class, Syazwan showed amazing speed, setting times under last year’s pole position almost every time he went onto the track, using both his new and old GP Racing GP10. Already one of the favourites for the Junior championship, this weekend has probably established Syazwan as the driver to beat, particularly in Round 1 at SPC where he won in last year’s championship race. Syazwan said “I’m really happy with the testing and we’ve got a really good set-up for the race now. If we can maintain the same pace next week, I should be very near the front”.
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