INDIA'S LOHITH LEADS D-MAX DOMINATION

In the round 1 of the AAM Malaysian 4 X 4 Rally Championship, Indian driver / Co-driver Lohith / Moosa finished 3rd in the unmodified T2 category and 5th overall. The round 2 of the same was held between 4th & 5th July 2009. Indian driver Lohith Urs with his Co-Driver Chandramouli participated in this round 2.

The Isuzu D-Max continued to show its dominance in motorsports by claiming all the top spots in Round 2 of the AAM Malaysian 4x4 Rally Championship in Tampin, negeri Sembilan recently. All the four Isuzu D-Max entered in the
rally completed the event in brilliant form, finishing in the top five positions despite the harsh and changeable racing conditions.

Grabbing his first international win was India's Lohith V Urs who was locked in a keen battle with overnight leader Chong Wee Siang until the final SS when the 29-year old from Mysore put his experience to good use in the slippery conditions to claim his maiden win.

"I am absolutely elated. It was a tough race but we kept pushing to the end. I am glad Isuzu gave me a really fantastic car. This is the best rally car I have driven. It is so powerful and tough. I am definitely coming back to drive the D-Max," said Lohith.

The dry weather preceding the event made the roads dry, hard and dusty and most of the 13 teams entered chose to exercise caution through the demanding opening 29km stage. It was the Isuzu D-Max drivers then who set the early pace, confident that their cars were capable of surviving the rutted roads better. Johor-based Chong Wee Siang set the pace with Lohitt just a minute behind. William Mei and arch rival Lim Seng Hai were tied in close battle a further minute behind.

SS2 was run in a rubber plantation and the smoother roads here meant that the pace got even hotter with most of the top drivers clocking within a minute of each other through the 21km stage. With the two stages of the day complete, it was an on-song Chong who was locked in battle with Lohitt while Mei, Lim and Guna were the ones fighting for the final podium position. Leader by a minute and a half, Chong admitted that he was surprised by his position especially since he only recently swapped his Mitsubishi Pajero for a D-Max three weeks prior to the event.

"I only got the car recently and we did some minor upgrades to the car. The car feels more stable and powerful than my previous car which made it easier to tackle the stages. I am surprised that we have been on the pace all day," said Chong.

With heavy rain falling on Sunday morning, the character of the event took a dramatic change as many of the open areas became sodden and soft. SS3 was supposed to be the longest of the event but a tulip error meant that most of the crews were lost after 10km of the 50km stage.

The resultant error saw crews scrambling to find the correct route including Lim Seng Hai who started the day just ahead of William Mei. However, in his effort to beat the clock, he came barreling down a steep hill while back-tracking and his Mitsubishi Triton met with Mei's D-Max head-on.

The Mitsubishi driver tried to avoid a collision but the rear end of the Triton clipped Mei's front bumper. The impact tore the rear suspension off its mounting, crippling the Mitsubishi and leaving the championship leader stranded in the stage.

The organizers cancelled the stage and the remaining crews drove out to the service park where Mei's D-Max was thankfully found to only suffer a broken headlight and a cracked bumper.

"I am constantly amazed by the strength of the D-Max. That impact tore the suspension off Lim's car but we hardly have a scratch to show for it. Nothing that a bit of duct tape cannot cure," said Mei's co-driver Jagdev Singh.

SS4 was a repeat of SS1 but conditions had changed drastically with the rain. Chong decided that caution was the better part of valour and decided not to risk his best-ever finish in a rally. Lohith however could smell victory and he pushed his D-Max hard, passing Chong in the stage to claim his maiden international win.

Gunaseelan Rajoo continued to learn the car and claimed a deserving third position, giving Isuzu its clean sweep of the podium positions while Mei finished fifth overall safely to consolidate his position in the championship.

"The result is better than we expected. All our D-Max finished well in the tough event which proves the durability and reliability of our Isuzu products under extreme conditions. The number of competitors switching their vehicles for the D-Max is also acknowledgement that it is the right product when you want a winner," said CEO of Isuzu Malaysia Takashi Hata.

With the win, Lohith takes over at the head of the championship table with 21 points while William Mei stays in touch with 18 points. Lim drops to third in the championship with 15 points.

Final Results

Pos / No. / Driver / Co-Driver / Class / Model

1/ Lohitt V. Urs / Chandramouli M / T2A, T1A / Isuzu D-Max
2/ Chong Wee Siang / Au Yong Wei Li / T2B / Isuzu D-Max
3 / Gunaseelan Rajoo / Gian Singh / T1A / Isuzu D-Max
4 / Sakchai Hantrakul / Jumpon Poungthip / T2A, T1A / Mitsubishi Triton
5 / William Mei / Jagdev Singh / T2A / Isuzu D-Max

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