KUCHING: It was a disappointing start to the new season for international go-karter Freddy Lawan as he failed to finish his race at the Rotax Max International Invitational Challenge at the Sepang Go-Kart Circuit last Sunday.
SEPANG PILE-UP: Freddy on go-kart number 122 (centre), fails to continue with his race after being knocked into by an Indian racer (No 145) during the pre-final of the Rotax Max International Invitational Challenge at the Sepang Go-Kart Circuit in Selangor. — Photo courtesy of Johnny Bun
The race, organised by Kelab Karting Selangor and promoted by KRS Motorsports, is one of the biggest events held in the South-east Asian region and participated by racers from all over the world.
The challenger from Sarawak was caught in two accidents, during Heat One and the pre-final in the Seniors’ race in which the chassis frame of his go-kart machine was totally damaged and his second chassis was also badly bent in the second incident.
“It just wasn’t my day to race. The weather and track conditions were good but I was unfortunate to get caught in two accidents. In the first accident on Saturday, I was negotiating a corner when there was a crash in front, so I was unable to brake in time,” he related his bad experience.
According to Freddy, he had only purchased the new chassis an hour before the first heat and it was a total loss. However, in the second heat on Sunday, he managed to improve his position by finishing in 22nd spot out of 33 racers. In the pre-final, an Indian racer hit Freddy from behind on the 15th lap and the impact left his machine in bad shape.
“I started the final with the bent chassis and just after the rolling lap, the machine became wobbly as the alignment was out and then the radiator dropped, causing the engine to overheat and slow down,” said Freddy.
That race was eventually won by the Japanese racers who swept all the top three podium finishes. Coming in first in the 25-lap race was Ryuichi Nara in 21:03.080s, followed by Yoshito Matsumoto and Akito Saito.
Freddy’s next race will be the first round of the Rotax Max Asian Challenge/Rotax Max Malaysian Challenge at the Sepang Go-Kart Circuit or Speedway Plus on March 12-13. Round two will be held in Langkawi on May 7-8 while round three is scheduled to be staged in Kuching on June 18-19, followed by round four at Pekan on July 23-24 and the fifth and final round at Speedway Plus on Sept 17-18.
Freddy had actually intended to race in the Max Winter Cup at the New Tokyo Circuit in Japan on Jan 23 and the Philippines Open Championship at Angelos City at the end of the month but was not in time to arrange for his visa, ticket and accommodation for both events.