NST Online: Sports

Motor Rally: Proton's McRae grabs APRC crown

Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:08 PM PST

2011/11/07
By Fadhli Ishak
fadhli@nstp.com.my

LONGYOU: A calm and collected Alister McRae left no room for drama as he hung on to a comfortable second-day lead to win the China Rally and clinch his first Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) drivers' title yesterday.

The 40-year-old, driving a Proton Satria Neo S2000, clocked a total time of three hours and 38.6 seconds over 13 stages to finish first overall and help Proton secure the manufacturers' title for the first time since 2004. In second place was Soueast Motor Kumho Team's Jari Ketomaa on 3:01:52.9s while McRae's fellow Proton Motorsports Rally Team driver Chris Atkinson took third spot with a time of 3:02:17.0s.

The result was enough to see McRae, despite having the China Rally as his only win of the year, edge teammate Atkinson (three wins) to the drivers' title, thanks to a consistent string of podium finishes throughout the season.

"We kept being aggressive throughout the first half of the day to preserve our lead and eased off slightly towards the end to secure the win today (yesterday)," said the Scot, who led the standings from start to finish in the three-day rally which covered a total of 231.4km.

"We have been working very hard throughout the whole year for this weekend and, thankfully, it has been one where just about everything has gone right for us.

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the sport and there have been times in the season where we have faced a lot of problems and had to retire. This certainly makes things worthwhile. It's a great result for not only myself but also Proton," added McRae, who has Australian Bill Hayes as his co-driver.

A disappointed Atkinson, who with McRae were the only two drivers in contention for the drivers' title coming into the China Rally, said he was able to put in a better performance yesterday after relatively slow times in the earlier stages.

"We were able to pick up the pace a little today (yesterday) but in the end we were too far behind to catch up with Alister and Jari who already led us by some margin," said the 31-year-old, who has Belgian Stephane Prevot as co-driver.

"Personally, I am disappointed to not win the (drivers') title but that is rallying. I am happy that we managed to get the 1-2 finish for Proton," added the Australian, who won the Malaysian, New Caledonia and New Zealand legs of the APRC this year.

The clinching of the coveted drivers' and manufacturers' titles marks the end of a dominant season for Proton in the APRC where they also claimed convincing victories in the sub-categories of the championship -- Asia Cup (McRae), Pacific Cup (Atkinson), Rally Cup 2wd (Karamjit Singh), Junior Cup (Akira Bamba), Rally Cup 2wd Manufacturer (Proton) and the APRC Teams Trophy (Proton Motorsports Rally Team).

The new season of the APRC will start in March with New Zealand set to host the season opener.

RESULTS: 1 Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000) 3:00:38.6s, 2 Jari Ketomaa ( Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) 3:01:52.9s, 3 Chris Atkinson (Proton Satria Neo S2000) 3:02:17.0s, 4 Mark Higgins ( Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 3:06:04.5s, 5 Wei Hongjie ( Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 3:13:12.2s, 6 Rifat Sungkar (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 3:14:24.8s, 7 Yuya Sumiyama (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) 3:14:03.7s, 8 Li Wei (Subaru Impreza WRX STI) 3:16:40.2s, 9 Han Han (Subaru Impreza WRX STI) 3:16:41.2s, 10 Wang Hua (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 3:20:28.2s.

Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Badminton / World Junior Championships: Zulfadli upsets Axelsen for world crown

Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:07 PM PST

2011/11/07
By K.M. Boopathy
boopathy@nst.com.my

Zulfadli Zulkifli celebrates with his trophy after beating Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-18, 9-21, 21-19 in Taipei yesterday.

ZULFADLI Zulkifli fulfilled his dream of becoming Malaysia's best ever junior shuttler when he clinched the World Junior title, upstaging favourite Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in Taipei yesterday.

Zulfadli had already won the Asian Junior crown in Pune, India in July before earning a 21-18, 9-21, 21-19 victory over the Danish defending champion in 50 minutes.

It just got better for Malaysia when Nelson Heg-Teo Ee Yi bagged the boys' doubles crown, beating Huang Poh Jui-Lin Chia Yu of Taiwan 21-17, 21-17 after finishing runners-up to compatriots Ow Yao Han-Yew Hong Kheng last year.

No Malaysian had managed to clinch the doubles or the boys' singles event with Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin coming the closest in 2009 when he lost to China's Tian Houwei. Zulfadli himself had been struggling to live up to his true potential in his last two attempts but started to improve under the guidance of his father Zulkifli Sidek and regular matchplay sessions with KLRC Berhad shuttlers Hafiz Hashim and Sairul Amar Ayub. He also received tips from Indonesian coach Hadi Idris.

Zulfadli, sponsored by KLRC, had led Malaysia to their first mixed team gold, beating South Korea earlier in the week and yesterday's win saw him sign off as a junior on a high note.

In a telephone interview from Taipei yesterday, Zulfadli thanked his parents Zulkifli and Hanny Pratyono for their support, and his sponsors for helping him achieve success as an independent player.

"I can't believe I have won the World Junior crown. I have been waiting a long time for this. It is such a great feeling to win both the Asian and World junior titles to conclude my junior career," said Zulfadli.

"My coach just told me to play without pressure when I was trailing 15-17 in the third game. I was relaxed and the pressure was on Viktor and I managed to take advantage of that."

He added: "I now have to focus on my senior career. My aim next year is to break into the top 100 and start doing well in Open tournaments."

Zulfadli, whose idol is Taufik Hidayat, said he hopes to emulate the Indonesian's success and win Olympic gold and the World Championship.

"I have always been a huge fan of Taufik and hope I can play as well as him. I would like to follow his footsteps as a player, but not his lifestyle," added Zulfadli with a laugh.

Nelson-Ee Yi were also under pressure after having failed to win the Asian Junior crown but avenged their defeat to Poh Jui-Chia Yu in the semi-final stage in July to maintain Malaysia's monopoly in World Junior boys' doubles since 2008.

It was Malaysia's seventh boys' doubles title in the tournament and fourth consecutive one which is testament to Yap Kim Hock's ability to consistently churn out quality junior pairs over the last three years.

In the girls' singles, 16-year-old Thai sensation Ratchanok Inthanon became the first player in World Junior history to register a hat-trick of wins when she defeated Elisabeth Purwaningtyas of Indonesia 21-6, 18-21, 21-13 in the final.

Results -- (All Finals) Boys' singles: Zulfadli Zulkifli (Mas) bt Viktor Axelsen (Den) 21-18, 9-21, 21-19.

Doubles: Nelson Heg-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) bt Huang Poh Jui-Lin Chia Yu (Tai) 21-17, 21-17.

Girls' singles: Ratchanok Inthanon (Tha) bt Elisabeth Purwaningtyas (Ina) 21-6, 18-21, 21-13.

Doubles: Lee So Hee-Shin Seung Chan (Kor) bt Shella Devi Aulia-Anggia Shitta Awanda (Ina) 21-16, 13-21, 21-9.

Mixed Doubles: Alfian Eko Prasetyo-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) bt Ronald Alexander-Nuraidah Tiara Rosalia (Ina) 12-21, 21-17, 25-23.

Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Ahad, 6 November 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan