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team XRAY
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The Singapore GP Off Road Invitational Challenge was held during the last weekend (23-24th April) with factory teams from several Asia countries participated at this event. In a very tough race it was XRAY's Glenn Phuah who set the TQ in the qualifications and also won final race with his XB8-TQ.
Final results:
1. Glenn Phuah + TQ - XRAY XB8-TQ
2. Ah M
3. Andri Hartanot
4. Sam Cheng - XRAY XB8-TQ
5. Danny Teh
6. Wenji
7. Lim Hup
8. Indra Liono
9. Craig Laughton
10. Joe Hwee |
| Race report by Sam Cheng (Hobby link Singapore) |
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| The Singapore GP Off-road Invitational Challenge kicked off last weekend with factory teams from several countries in the region participating at this event. We were lucky to have good sunny weather for the weekend, since for weeks prior it was raining and the track was flooded. As Singapore is situated around the equatorial region, torrential rain can be expected. It was not until Friday when the drivers started to come for practice sessions that the weather began to clear. |
| Qualifying Sessions |
Sam Cheng over woops
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| Qualifying sessions began on Saturday, April 23. A total of 7 heats and 1 heat for the truggies were ran over 4 rounds, with 3 rounds completed on Saturday. The IFMAR points system had been adopted for running the qualifying sessions. As the weather had been wet, the first few heats were run in very wet conditions leading to very heavy cars causing some drivers to have problems running good lap times. The first round saw Indra Liono (Indonesia) leading the pack by doing the only 15-lap run. After the second round Glenn Phuah managed to beat Indra by 1 second to clock a 15lap:10:38, which would put Glenn on the top to gain 67 points. On the last round for the day, Sam Cheng clocked an amazing time of 14lap:09:57, only to have some transponder problems while on his 15th lap. However, it still was the best time for the round, which gained Sam 67 points. |
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Craig and Sam battle
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The points tally after the 1st day of qualification put Glenn as provisional TQ. On Sunday morning when the last round of heats was run, Andri Hartanto from Indonesia clocked a very good time of 15lap:10:39 which led to be the pole sitter for the 4th round.
After the points tally for the finals, Andri and Glenn were tied at 196 points for 3 of their best runs. It was Glenn who gained TQ when his best time beat Andri by a mere fraction. |
| Finals |
Woops section
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There was a short period of rain before the start of the lower finals, which made the track damp with a little more traction at certain parts of the track. By mid afternoon, the lower finals began and some of the drivers managed to climb, especially Wenyi who climbed into the Grand Final.
Grand Finals
Before the start of the Grand Final there was a 30min break, the track was good and ready for the 45 minute final. It was Indra (Ind), Wenyi (Sin) and Craig (Aus) that had a good start, but soon the train caught up to follow the 1st pack. Battling for 3rd, 4th, and 5th was Andri (Ind), Ah M (Sin), Glenn (Sin) and Sam (Sin). The 2nd and 3rd positions changed many times as Andri and Wenyi were swapped leads. |
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Top 10 Drivers
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| Joe Hwee (Sin) had some car troubles and had to retire, while Craig seemed to have tire problems and missed a fuel stop that caused a flame out. It was Glenn who fought his way to lead the race, at this time Andri was close on his tail and the lead was exchanged several times, making the spectators very excited. Ah M was not to far this time and looked like he was closing on Andri and Glenn, however some tangle between Ah M and Andri allowed Glenn to increase the gap between 2nd and 3rd to finally clinch the overall champion in his RB-powered XRAY XB8TQ. |
| Credits |
Glenn Phuah TQ+1st with his XB8TQ/RB engine
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Credits go to the race organizers i.e RCMC Chairman and appointed assistants together with AMB operator Bryan Thng. Also, thanks go to Dave from Australian magazine Racing Lines who traveled all this way to cover the event. Not to forget all drivers and mechanics who all pitched in to make the track good to race on after the rain. Thank you all!
Sam Cheng (Hobby link Singapore) |
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