Sepang 1000KM race

Winners on the podium

SEPANG, 4 September 2016 – Malaysia’s Drift King, Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel led a combination team of professional and celebrity drivers to win the 2016 edition of the Sepang 1000 Kilometres Endurance Race at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) on Saturday night to earn his second overall crown.

Sharing the driving duties with Malaysia’s top racer Keifli Othman and celebrities Zizan Razak and lady driver Faye Kusairi, the quartet from Mayhem-FX Tune Racing completed the 181-lap battle around the 5.543km Formula 1 track in 8 hours 31 minutes 35.819 seconds in their Proton Suprima S machine.

However, it was a race till the end between the two leading teams with Mayhem-FX Tune Racing, which had Proton R3 Motorsports as its Technical Partner, finishing a lap ahead of the defending champion Honda Malaysia Racing Team (HMRT)’s partnership of former Malaysian A1GP driver Aaron Lim and Farriz Fauzy in a Honda Jazz.

In winning the 2016 race, Tengku Djan Ley, who won the title with Syafiq Ali and Proton R3 Motorsports in 2014, denied HMRT’s quest for a hat trick. HMRT had won the title in 2015 and 2013. The seasoned partnership of Desmond Yee and Winson Eu in a Proton Satria Neo took third place for N1 Racing Team, completing four laps behind the winner.

Commenting on their victory, Keifli said it was a bonus as the team did not expect to be on top of the podium. “We are very happy. We actually did not expect to win. It was a bonus, and sincerely, I am speechless. Today, the car simply was perfect and I would like to congratulate and thank each and every member of the crew for preparing a superb race car. We did not have any problems at all and everything just went smoothly,” said Keifli, who won the crown for the first time.

Me with Keifli Othman

Meanwhile, Aaron said he was happy to finish second behind Tengku Djan Ley and team. “We are happy as we did what we could do. We pushed all the way and tried to get as close as possible. But Djan and his team were just out of reach. We hope to come back stronger next year,” said Aaron, who also hopes to compete in the Sepang 12-Hours in December.

Echoing his teammate’s sentiments, Farriz said they had both pushed the machine to limit. “I would like to congratulate Djan and his team for their awesome performance. We tried to get close, but they managed to continue to stay ahead. We just did not have the speed today and were always a few seconds behind,” said Farriz.

Team Dream Chaser, which won last year’s Independent Cup – took a commendable fourth place with the partnership of Frenchman Jean Charles Dahout, Ong Chee Yong and Lim Yeh Siang, completing 173 laps in their Proton Satria Neo.

This year’s Independent Cup was won by an all-Singaporean team of Gerald Tan, Hong Tsui and Shawn Peh, which finished fifth overall with 171 laps in their Suzuki Swift machine.

Flagged off by Malaysian Motorsports Commission chairma Tan Sri Mohammed Azman Yahya at 100pm, the pre-race favourite Sakura Tedco Racing was seen maximising its pole position to take charge in the early stages.

The Indo-Malaysian partnership of Fitra Eri and Mark Darwin, however, effectively lost any chance of winning their first ever S1K crown after their Proton Prevé machine encountered problems with its power steering system and wheel alignment on Lap 25, forcing an early pit stop which lasted more than 45 minutes to repair the damage.

That handed the advantage to Honda Malaysia Racing Team and Mayhem-FX Tune Racing Team, which had started from second and third on the grid respectively, allowing them to take control of the battle as they exchanged leads to continue the race down to its exciting finish.

Spurred by their motto #RefuseToLose, the Sakura Tedco Racing partnership bounced back from their setback in spirited style to finish 12th overall with 121 laps completed – 20 laps fewer than the victorious Mayhem-FX Tune Racing team.

2016 SEPANG 1000 KILOMETRES ENDURANCE RACE

TOP FIVE FINISHERS

1. Tengku Djan Ley/Keifli Othman/Faye Kusairi/Zizan Razak (Proton Prima S) – 181 laps (8:31:35.819s)
2. Aaron Lim/Farriz Fauzy (Honda Jazz) – 180 laps
3. Desmond Yee/Winson Eu (Proton Satria Neo) – 177 laps
4. Lim Yeh Siang/Jean Charles Dahout/Ong Chee Yong (Proton Satria Neo) – 173 laps
5. Gerald Tan/Hong Tsui/Shawn Peh (Suzuki Swift) – 171 laps

Come on Higuain

 

One of the most intriguing clubs during every summer transfer window is always Arsenal. 

The Gunners' most recent success (or lack thereof) depends on your expectations. They've qualified for the Champions League in each of the past eight seasons yet have failed to bring a trophy back to the Emirates.

For a squad that is pretty much the epitome of "on the brink," the transfer window is incredibly key.
But Arsene Wenger is often characterized as frugal, opting rather to run a successful business and develop talent than overpaying for it.

Will that once again hold true this July?

Arsenal: Van's the man again as captain nets double in late win

The ball was lofted over the back four with a deftness of touch from Alex Song that was quite exquisite. 


So soft was the touch that it hung in the air for what seemed an extra second as Robin van Persie sprinted clear of Jamie Carragher and Martin Kelly. And as it fell for the Arsenal striker, you sensed that here was the match-winning moment, two minutes into injury-time.


No matter that the angle was impossibly tight, that he was faced by a goalkeeper of Pepe Reina’s quality. Van Persie is unstoppable in these situations and so it proved.
Once again it was necessary to invoke Marco van Basten to convey the quality of the finish. Somehow the left-foot volley, struck first time, flew in at the near post and as Arsenal cavorted in celebration, Liverpool were left incredulous. Yet Van Persie still did not deserve to be man of the match.
That honour belonged to Wojciech Szczesny, for whom this represented a near perfect display of goalkeeping as he kept his side in the game in the long periods when they were dominated by Liverpool. 


‘If I was in the position of Liverpool it would be hard for me to take,’ said Arsene Wenger afterwards. Kenny Dalglish contented himself with: ‘The scoreline does not reflect the game. The result was the only disappointing thing about today because it was an unbelievable performance.’

Yet there it is. Arsenal take the three points and seemingly end Liverpool’s Champions League ambitions as well as moving to within four points of Tottenham in third, a team they trailed by 10 points — and two goals — less than a week ago.

A miracle against AC Milan on Tuesday seems implausible but in this turbulent season, nothing is impossible.

And though Szczesny and Van Persie were outstanding, this should actually read as a critique of how far Arsenal have fallen.
Song can be excused after his later contribution but the midfield trio of him, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky were so wasteful in possession that it was at times embarrassing to behold.

Yossi Benayoun, after his inspirational display last weekend, returned to anonymity while Kieran Gibbs, though left exposed by Benayoun, was defensively deficient. In fact, Arsenal resorted to long balls, which they invariably lost, more times than Wenger will care to remember.


Things improved after Arteta left with what looked a serious neck injury, though his replacement Abou Diaby was withdrawn after less than 30 minutes with a recurrence of his hamstring injury.


As for Liverpool, they were excellent in all areas except their finishing and those two moments when Van Persie found himself free. But as Dalglish pointed out: ‘We could have allowed him those two moments (and still won) with the opportunities we had.’
The litany of missed chances began with the 18th-minute penalty, in which Suarez deserves credit for the superb one-two he played with Dirk Kuyt, but less for the theatrical dive he performed as Szczesny raced out to block him.

So quickly did it happen that referee Mark Halsey could not be faulted but it was a carbon copy of the unjust penalty Szczesny conceded to Gareth Bale last Sunday. No matter. The Pole produced a superb save, diving to his right to block Kuyt.

Then, astonishingly, as the rebound fell kindly for Kuyt, Szczesny recovered to dive to his left and save what seemed a certain goal. When Liverpool’s goal did come, it had a degree of calamity about it, Laurent Koscielny inexplicably turning in Jordan Henderson’s cross on 23 minutes.

Another superb save followed from a Henderson strike on 25 minutes and Suarez hit the post from the rebound but, having contributed so little, Arsenal were level on 31 minutes. 


Sagna swung in a hopeful cross and Jamie Carragher allowed Van Persie to get in behind him and head home. The Liverpool onslaught resumed. Suarez’s finest moment came on 40 minutes, when he turned Thomas Vermaelen, beat Sagna and Koscielny to wriggle through on goal, only to be denied at point-blank range by Szczesny again.

And as half-time approached, Kuyt slid in for a Charlie Adam cross and hit the post before Gibbs cleared. Szczesny had to dive at the feet of Martin Kelly on the hour before the Liverpool right-back spoiled an excellent afternoon’s work by missing the simplest chance on 70 minutes from three yards out.

Arsenal were not without potency, notably on 72 minutes when Song and Gibbs set up Theo Walcott, with Reina saving the deflected shot well. Walcott did less well with a soft header on 79 minutes.

Still, one man is certain to score for Arsenal these days and maybe they were simply waiting for the ball to drop for him. For when it did in that 92nd minute, there was little doubt about the conclusion.