This event - previously known as the "Singapore Invitational Challenge" - attracted a total of 90 buggy and truggy participants from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It was held at Turf City's Buggy track in Singapore over the weekend of August 16/17.
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Qualifying heats were held on Saturday, August 16 and a points system was used to determine qualification. After four rounds the qualifying the results for the semi-finals would be determined.
The semi-finals began after a short rain shower that groomed the track well and kept the dust levels down. It almost seemed like it was a battle in the main final and drivers were determined to finish in the Top 5 to secure a place in the main 60min final.
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The organizers decided on a 12-car final. After the 60min battle the results were as follows:
Team XRAY managed to put 4 cars in the final, including Chester Chua, Luigi Venturi and Glenn Phuah. While Luigi and Glenn made it directly into the semi-finals, Chester fought strong to win the 1/4 -finals to get bumped up to the semis and finally into the main final.
Several drivers managed to take the lead at some stage of the final, including Meen and Panit from Thailand. The strong team from Taiwan was well represented in the main final. It was not 25 minutes into the race when Glenn took the lead with Kyosho's Ben Seet following closely behind.
Meen suffered some car troubles and had to pull into the pits, allowing Glenn and Ben to extend the lead a little more. However, after Meen's super mechanics rectified the problem, Meen's flawless driving style brought him back up into 3rd place and battling with Ben for 2nd place. A flip by Ben meant that Meen would be in 2nd. As Glenn was still half a lap in front, the rest of the race saw Meen trying to close up ranks with Glenn. In the final minutes Glenn suffered a dislodged steering ball-link, which meant Meen would close up even quicker. Quick reactions by Glenn's pit crew got this rectified and with clever fuelling strategies allowed him to stay ahead to take the win with Meen in 2nd and Ben Seet in 3rd.
