NOVEMBER 2002
PAT FINISHES SECOND OVERALL IN RAINFOREST CHALLENGE
12 Nov 2002 - The PETRONAS Adventure Team participated in the International Rainforest Challenge with the sole aim of being the overall individual in first, second or third placing. Last year, Voo Ken Yin, clinched the fourth overall placing and he was the champion in the 3,000 cc diesel category.
This year, the result was much better! Francis Khoo (Ah Boy) and co-driver Md Shahrul (Panjang) in Car #128 was the champion in the 3,000 cc diesel category. They also clinched the 2nd overall placing. PAT is proud of their achievement especially because they finished all the Special Stages (SS) unlike the champion Simon Buck who received two Did Not Finish. After the prologue, Francis and Shahrul were number six in the starting order and had to work very hard to catch up with the vehicles in front.
The championship overall was won by Simon Buck and Mathew Cook from UK, and third placing went to Suthat / Anuwat from Thailand.
The Competition (Special Stages)
The Special Stages (SS) this year were much tougher than last year. This year, the SS concentrated more on river and mud crossings, and a lot more winching. Every co-driver had to work extra hard to keep up the pace especially at Sungai Pukin in SS 9, 10, 10B, 11 and 12. Most participants had a hard time because either their winches or steering rods broke.
PAT members Voo Ken Yin and James Wong broke their steering rod at SS 12 and with great determination winched their car (#129) all the way to the finishing box. Voo and Wong considered themselves unlucky this year because they were in the leading group from the early stages until SS 11. Their problems started at SS 12 and continued on to other special stages.
At SS 14, Voo and Wong were the first to start the day. This SS is an uphill climb and with the rain the night before, the obstacles (holes in the ground) were slick and muddy. During this SS, Voo was unable to control his Toyota and overturned at the first obstacle. Both driver and co-driver had to work hard to get going again. Unfortunately, they were stopped half way by the Marshall because they had passed the time limit. They received a DNF.
At SS 17, Voo had problems with a loose steering rod pin and had to immediately attend to it. Precious time was lost and Voo and Wong eventually finished 11th overall.
Our third team was Ujang and Karim in Car #126. Despite trying their best to increase their points, the duo did not do well at the Prologue stages. And from SS 6 onwards, the pair’s start order was number 26, meaning they had to start much later. Initially, the tracks were good for the first 10 cars, but as time went on, the tracks or SS became deeper and harder. Hence, cars at the back of the queue had to start winching, which was very time consuming.
Additionally, vehicle and equipment problems such as a burnt clutch plate, broken timing belt and overheated winch motor, meant that Ujang and Karim did not finish most of the stages. Although they were well prepared, the unfortunate circumstances placed them at 33rd overall.
The Finale
During the Rainforest Challenge, PAT has learnt many new things such as the serious need to revise the competition rules so that there is credibility. Says Halim Rahman, head of the PETRONAS Adventure Team, although this event has tremendous potential for it to reach and sustain a high international standard, it has to protect the credibility of simple rules.
According to Halim, he had talked about Did Not Start penalties with competition officials, and they had agreed on principle that participants who did not show up at the SS according to their start order should be penalised. However, this did not happen.
There were also discrepancies in scoring. According to Yamin Vong, the editor of “Cars, Bikes and Trucks”, 20 points was awarded to many of the competitors in SS12 regardless of their actual ranking. Halim says he will have to carefully consider PAT participating in next year’s event.
