Driving the attention grabbing Proton Satria and backed up by the performance-bred Federally G-11 gravel tyre in size 185/65/R14, Hafiz, the Malaysian driver under Penzoil & FA Racing banner had an untroubled run to victory; winning the event outright against one of the strongest fields seen for many years at the season-opener of the 2011 Asia Pacific Rallying Championship (APRC) which began April 1st -3rd. The racing talent came in 6th overall out of a total of 30 in the 2WD categories, comprising 1,300, 1,600 & 1,800cc.
Malaysia's challenge at the APRC is sure to be the treacherous one on its calendar. There are a crowd of big names in rallying came together for the opening leg of the competitive race. The 2011 APRC season will also see a total of 35 entries from 9 countries including China, India, Australia and New Zealand, making it one of the largest gatherings of rally entries in Malaysian soil.
The Malaysian Rally is always difficult, overnight rain had made the normally tricky roads even more of challenging. However, the young local Malay showed his huge potential by taking an encouraging lead in the beginning of the competition, hence outperformed the previous champion in the class 1,300cc. He felt more confident with the control with Federal tyres, and was eager to defend his title.
After an earlier off-road excursion, Hafiz was very satisfactory with his strong result and noted, “Rallying is full of surprises and excitements. You never know what lies ahead and lies next. Federally Gravel is the best sport tyre to run on dry and damp gravel surface, which allowed me and the team to gain tremendous improvements in terms of power, performance and reliability.” Besides Hafiz’s success, this is also extremely important for a global player in the tyre industry like Federal to expose more awareness of the sport to the masses, and rally fans in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. On top of hat, the race was broadcasted with television viewers in over 129 countries worldwide.
Engineered to complement the performance for off-road rallying, the Federally G-11, the newest addition in our Federal Motorsports (FMS) Federally series is perfectly designed to fit for 2WD or smaller rally cars. It produces exceptional lateral grip, acceleration and braking on hard packed, lose, and sandy surfaces. It also delivers a balanced overall performance for gravel rally competitions and autocross events.
The next event in the APRC is the International Rally of Queensland, Australia. A series of events will continue to tour venues of the following:
Round 2 13th – 15th May 2011, Australia
Round 3 17th – 19th June 2011, Nouvelle-Calédonie
Round 4 15th –17th July 2011, New Zealand
Round 5 30th September – 2nd October 2011, Japan
Round 6 4th - 6th November, China
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