This was the opening race for the 2008 Malaysia National Championship and as such was attended by nationwide drivers competing in the series. With drivers ranging from beginners to experts, it was a very busy track with numerous different types of driving styles, making it tough for the experts to get through. Team XRAY did a very good job, giving XRAY the reputation as being the one to conquer at any race in 2008.
In the first qualifying round he had a last-minute engine tuning problem due to weather changes and couldnâ™t get his car running well. The second heat was the heat he was waiting for, and he got a time of 17laps in 5:03:807. After small discussion with team members, he decided to change his front 1-way to a front diff with 80k fluid. It was the correct decision and he managed to better his run on the TQ position.
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Five XRAY NT1 cars were in the A main, and Emeel was once again the Top Qualifier and Champion. Yap Chew Kong dominated to become the B main winner. Overall there were 46 participants, with 8 XRAY drivers participating. Unfortunately, the final could not be run due to heavy rain after all the qualifying rounds finished. Emeel clocked the best time (17laps 5:02:090) and he also got the overall best lap (17.344). From observation and based on previous practice times, he confidently could have done better.
The rest of the team members performed well and few of them managed to improve their personal times and increase their confidence for the next round of the MNC.
