Filed under: Issue #12
The next weekend after the 2011 Singapore Karting Championship concluded, the WSK Singapore introductory race was held – on 26 and 27 November at Kartright Speedway. Luca Dedonno, President of WSK Promotion, was present at the race, flying in specially from Italy just to watch it. Vega tyres were used for this race and karters had to make adjustments to the kart setup as well as to their driving, as these tyres are different from the Yokohama ones used in the SKC.
CADET
National Cadet karting champion Jon Lee won his race but not without facing some pressure from James Pull, who did not race in the SKC this year but has been gaining experience racing in Europe.
In the pre-final, Pull got to a great start and took the lead immediately but was overtaken by Lee later, plagued by his inferior kart. In the final, Pull had a great start again but he was unable to finish the race well unfortunately due to mechanical problems. Lee took the win, followed by Jayden Jin De and Lee’s younger brother Josh.
Said Jon, “I had a good start in the final and pulled away from the pack; thereafter keeping in front and maintaining the pace. The new Vega tyres had more grip and caused the steering to be heavier so it was more physical. We had to make a setup change to accommodate the new tyres but it was all good.”
JUNIOR
After showing immense improvement in her racing at the previous weekend’s SKC, more was expected out of Manon Maistre this time but she was facing some technical difficulties unfortunately. The Junior race saw the ongoing battle between Amin Noorzilan, Gabriella Teo and Yeo Hong Yang ensue. Two-time Junior national karting champion Amin won Heat 1 on Saturday in the dry, but it was Yeo who won the wet Heat 2 with Teo behind him.
Teo gave the boys a run for their money when she won the pre-final on Sunday after taking the lead from Yeo. Yeo and Amin then engaged in their usual battle – Amin overtook Yeo on lap 6 at Turn 2 on the inside line, then Yeo took Amin back at Turn 6 with eight more laps to go. They kept switching positions until finally Yeo overtook Amin on the last lap and finished second to Teo.
Having won the pre-final, Teo started in pole position for the final and was leading the race until Yeo overtook her for the win. Amin had to settle for third behind both of them. Elsewhere behind the three of them, Ryan Chng collided with Manon and the latter had to retire from the race.
Commenting on the race after, Yeo said, “I started in second place for the final and I was planning to overtake (Gabriella) Teo. I accidently gave her a nudge down the hill when I overtook her and I apologised to her after the race. She was cool about it! After overtaking her I managed to pull away, stay cool and push hard to finish ahead.”
SENIOR
The father-son combination of Paul and Thaddeus Lee reigned supreme with the elder Lee winning the Master class and the younger Lee winning the Senior class. Thaddeus won Heat 1 but lost Heat 2 to Clinton Suryabara. It was a calm and rather uneventful pre-final for the Seniors with Thaddeus starting first on the grid, Mohammad Nasri Naufal (Opai) in second and Clinton in third – they finished in that same starting order.
Thaddeus had a straightforward final, leading from start to end. Opai however, was chasing Thaddeus until technical problems struck his kart and he had to let the field go before eventually retiring with just three more laps to go.
“It’s the first time that we are using the new tyres and we didn’t do much testing with the Vega tyres which are different from the Yokohama tyres used in the SKC. For one it has a lot more grip, meaning different track conditions and handling. The race was about maintaining my consistency and getting grip with the new tyres,” said Thaddeus after the race.
MASTER
Paul Lee led a relatively easy pre-final from start to end, like how his son Thaddeus did in the Senior final. Pongchai Malakul had a flying start and was up to second in the pre-final, until Lim Keong Liam overtook him and he finished third. Carrie Choy met with an incident at Turn 1 and was forced to retire from the race. Lim was right on Lee’s heels from the get-go and took the lead with just 10 laps to go, but Lee managed to get back the lead with seven laps to go and there he stayed to the end.
“My strategy was to take pole position then stay cool and push hard till the end. I had a good battle with Lim in the final – I turned back to look for him and next thing I know he was in front of me already! Jokes aside, the new tyres had a lot more grip and they lasted quite long. I needed more time to get used to the handling of the kart with these tyres unlike my son Thaddeus who got the hang of it quicker!” said Lee.
The WSK Singapore introductory race marked the end of the 2011 Singapore karting season. According to race organiser Mark Lange, the Asian WSK 2012 Series is being planned for Singapore, Malaysia, Macau and Japan.
RESULTS
CADET
1st – Jon Lee
2nd – Jayden Jin De
3rd – Josh Lee
JUNIOR
1st – Yeo Hong Yang
2nd – Gabriella Teo
3rd – Amin Noorzilan
SENIOR
1st – Thaddeus Lee
2nd – Clinton Suryabara
3rd – Jason Lee
MASTER
1st – Paul Lee
2nd – Lim Keong Liam
3rd – Leon Khoo
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