Sepang Drag Battle 2012 – Round 4……….This Saturday

The fourth round of Sepang Drag Battle, which was called off on September 8 due to rain, will be held this Saturday night (September 29) at Sepang Circuit. “All competitors have notified and we are all set to stage this vital Round 4. Hopefully, we have good weather this Saturday night,” said Hajah Mashithah Hashim, Senior Manager of Sepang International Circuit (SIC) – the promoter and organizer of the event.
“We have to cancel the event on September 8 in view of safety … the track was too wet and could pose high risk for the competitors although the rain had stopped. Round 5 will still be on our original schedule on October 27,” Mashithah added. 
Round 4 and the penultimate round of 2012 Sepang Drag Battle, which is Malaysia’s prestigious drag racing event, had been anxiously awaited by fans as it could be the stage for a historical crowning this year’s champions including the first ever double champion this season in Nur Faizun Nasri.
Winner of all the previous three rounds in two classes, Faizun’s achievement in winning Class D for turbo-engined 2000cc cars with front wheel drive; and Class F for V-Tech engine cars – is even made more sensational as he could be doing it with a round to spare.
Like Faizun, Mohd Iqbal Ismail Tajinder won all the previous rounds for Class C and he, too, can also clinch his crown tomorrow with a round to spare in the battle of the 2000cc cars with two-wheel natural aspirated engines.
“We have yet to have a double winner in a season since we first organized this event. This will be one amazing feat in drag racing,” Mashithah said, adding that fans can catch the event from the Main Grandstand by purchasing RM10 tickets at the entrance.
“Fans also have the option to catch the event even closer at the paddock and meet the drivers in person; touch the cars in the pits; and see the mechanics in action; preparing the cars. Paddock tickets are priced at RM30 for that unique experience,” she added.   
First organized in 2003 as a club event for members of Sepang Circuit Motorsports Club, Sepang Drag Battle is the only drag racing event sanctioned by Malaysia’s governing body for motorsports – Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM). It was upgraded to national level in 2005 with participants requiring to have racing license from AAM or Motorsport Association of Malaysia (MAM).
Winning all three rounds, Faizun collected the maximum 15 points in his participation for Class D and F where another victory tomorrow would automatically confirm the championship while other kind of results could still be enough to hand him the title.
Faizun, who also competes in two other categories in Class B and C, has a massive 10-point advantage over Gan Kim Hoa in Class F where the championship leader drives a Honda CRX machine. Currently with five points, Gan, who drives a Honda EF, lost ground in his pursuit of Faizun’s after failing to score any points at the previous Round 3 held in June.  In stopping Faizun and take the championship battle to the final round in October, he would need to win Round 4 and hoped Faizun finished empty-handed with zero points.
For Class D, Faizun has virtually one hand already on the overall trophy as he enters Round 4 with a perfect score of 15 points and an 11-point advantage over his closest rivals, Mohd Iqbal Ismail Tajinder and Muhammad Ridzuan Ahmad, whom are both currently tied in second place with 4 points after three rounds.
In Class C, Faizun, who currently sits in joint fifth with Hairul Izani Mohd Ashror with two points, can play the role kingmaker in crowning championship leader Mohd Iqbal Ismail Tajinder, who holds a 10-point advantage over closest rival, Ikmy Adzwan Jamuri.
With a total haul of five points, Ikmy Adzwan has no choice but to win and take maximum points to spoil Mohd Iqbal’s championship celebrations. That, too, could prove not enough as a single point is all Iqbal needs to win the title. Finishing third in Round 3, Faizun can hand the title to Iqbal by scoring his first win of season for the class tomorrow.
Class B, which groups 2-wheel drive cars with forced induction category but no limit engine capacity, provides the tightest in competition with Faizun well-placed to win another championship crown this season.
Winning the previous Round 3 and helped by his second place in the opening round had elevated Faizun to the top of the standings, which he currently shares with Chua Soon Chuan with eight points. Mohd Syukri Mohd Noor is third with five points and Ahmad Firdaus Azman sits in fourth with four points; which effectively guarantees that the overall winner can only be decided in the final round on October 27.
The premier Class A, which groups the Open category cars, looked set to a straight forward battle between defending champion Sheikh Mohd Salimee Mohd Fowzi and his mean Nissan Fairlady 180SX with his close friend Tan Wai Loong and his awesome Mitsubishi Evo 3 machine.
Winning the last Round 2 and Round 3 had given Sheikh Mohd Salimee a two-point advantage over Tan, who had nine points against his challenger’s total haul of 11. Hence, any slip-ups by Tan and a good result by his rival tomorrow could see The Sheikh joining Faizun and Iqbal in an early championship celebrations at Sepang.  
In the contest of the sub-1000cc compact cars for Class E, Hamdani Abdul Ghani is the championship leader with 11 points and enjoying a four-point advantage over his closest rival, Azery Mohd Norzali. Hence, Hamzani, too, could wrap up the championship battle with a good performance tomorrow. 
Sepang Drag Battle 2012
Current Standings: Top Five After Three Rounds   
Class A
(Open category/no limit engine capacity)
1.Sheikh Mohd Salimee Mohd Fowzi (Nissan 180SX) 11 pts
2. Tan Wai Loong              (Mitsubishi Evo 3) 9 pts
3. Muhamad Zaidi Amzah (Proton Wira) 5 pts
4. Suzaimi Ahmad (Daihatsu Charade) 5 pts 
5. Ahmad Raihan Mubin (Mitsubishi) 2 pts
Class B
(2-wheel drive limited forced induction category/no limit engine capacity)
1.Nur Faizun Nasri (Honda Civic) 8 pts
2. Chua Soon Chuan (Honda) 8 pts
3. Mohd Syukri Mohd Nor (Proton Satria) 5 pts
4. Ahmad Firdaus Azman (Honda Civic) 4 pts
5. Mohd Maziz Abdullah (Honda Civic) 3 pts
Class C
(2-wheel drive natural aspirated category/engines up to 2000cc)
1.Mohd Iqbal Ismail Tajinder (Honda CRX) 15 pts
2. Ahmad Firdaus Azman (Honda Civic) 8 pts
3. Ikmy Adzwan Jamuri (Honda Civic) 5 pts
4. Mohd Iqram Ismail Tajinder (Honda) 3 pts 
5. Nur Faizun Nasri (Honda Civic) 2 pts 
Class D
(Turbo front wheel drive category/engines 2000cc and below)
1.Nur Faizun Nasri (Honda Civic) 15 pts
2. Mohd Iqbal Ismail Tajinder (Proton Satria) 4 pts
3. Muhammad Ridzuan Ahmad (Honda Civic) 4 pts
4. Mohd Sani Ali (Proton Satria) 3 pts       
5. Kamarul Nazran Jaafar (Honda) 3 pts
Class E
(K-car category/engines 1000cc and below)
1.Hamdani Abdul Ghani (Perodua Kelisa) 11 pts
2. Azery Mohd Norzali (Perodua Kancil) 7 pts
3. Mohd Afizi Abdullah (Perodua Kancil) 5 pts    
4. Mohd Nasir Abdul Aziz (Perodua Kancil) 5 pts
5. Azizul Arif Ahmad Zaki (Perodua Kancil) 4 pts         
Class F
(Non V-Tech category/engines below 2000cc)
1.Nur Faizun Nasri (Honda CRX) 15 pts
2. Gan Kim Hoa (Honda EF) 5 pts
3. Khairul Asri Mohd Sani (Nissan Sentra) 3 pts
4. Ahmad Firdaus Azman (Proton Satria) 3 pts
5. Azery Mohd Norzali (Proton Satria) 3 pts