Ian Khong promises a more exciting GRA in 2012

mizunori77

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The 2011 Grass Racing Autosports (GRA) Round 5 season finale drew to a close on Nov 27 last year at the PA3 car park in Sepang International Circuit, its seventh year in running.

ZerotoHundred (ZTH) had an opportunity to catch up with one of Malaysia’s best rally driver, Ian Khong, the brains behind the success of GRA since its inception seven years ago.

“2011 was a success due to my sponsors - BFGoodrich Tires, Red Line Oils, Vanli Genuine Parts, EcoCoats, Gophers GPS, PG PermaGlass, Strawberry Fields, Meguiar's and also a lifestyle brand. I thank them for their continued support all these years,” said Khong.

He hinted that GRA 2012 would be bigger as he is currently busy getting more sponsors to come on-board. However, he is pressed for time as it has been effectively a one-man-show all these years.

Although Khong has an assistant (and a beautiful one too!), the work just continues to pile up and he is in a desperate need of a breather, and more hands!

“GRA has grown into the largest grassroots event in Malaysia over the years and it is not easy to manage such a huge event on my own. There are only so many hours in a day,” he said.


"It was a hectic year for me"

“Apart from GRA events, I was also very busy with my new shop and a few other event management projects so I often return home exhausted. However, I continue to gain strength and encouragement when I see our local drivers improve over the years. This is what grassroots motorsports should be – providing a safe avenue for drivers to better themselves,” he added.

According to Khong, Dominic Ang, who was once competing in GRA had moved on to compete in the Formula BMW single-seater series. He also said that there are many GRA drivers today who are very skilled behind the wheel and this is what made GRA such a huge success over the years.

Under Khong’s watchful eye and occasional driving tips, many drivers who once struggled with the tricky course layouts had improved by leaps and bounds, becoming more precise with their steering inputs and throttle control. Even the lady drivers are clocking faster lap times.

This community of like-minded enthusiasts also generously shared knowledge with one another, which enabled everyone to grow together. Driver discipline and safety was also deeply ingrained to minimize untoward incidents.


"Safety is always my priority"

It was learnt that GRA from the start had always been a sanctioned event by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM). Running a sanctioned event is both costly and requires careful planning in order to ensure the safety of the drivers and the spectators.

Apparently, GRA is the only MAM sanctioned autocross event in Malaysia, hence the slightly higher fees to compete. MAM provides trained race stewards (marshals) while GRA coordinates with paramedics for every event.

When asked to clarify the confusion between autocrossing and gymkhana events, Khong explained that real gymkhana events include driving in reverse for either one part of or the entire course.


Khong explains the history and the main differences between Autocross and Gymkhana

Therefore, the other gymkhana events currently being organized by other parties are essentially autocross events. Nevertheless, safety instead of monetary gains should still remain the priority of such events.

“I come from a professional racing background and safety is ALWAYS the top priority. Now that I am an organizer, I too, have to ensure the safety of everyone at my events. An ambulance with paramedics is always on standby and I make sure all drivers comply with a certain level of safety standards whether on-track or off-track. Drivers stand the risk of being banned if they do not observe the safety protocols in place. Should there be an unfortunate mishap, there is still insurance coverage. This is why GRA is still the safest grassroots level motorsports event for both drivers and spectators,” Khong explained.

“For our pro-class drivers, full-face racing helmets, flame-retardant racing suits, gloves and footwear are also mandatory as most of them drive high-powered vehicles. Apart from that, all cars must also have a portable fire-extinguisher in the cockpit so that the drivers can first protect themselves from burn injuries while waiting to be rescued,” he added.

Nevertheless, GRA is not just all rules and no fun. A full season consists of five different rounds held at different locations with different track layouts.

The course layout will only be revealed on the day of competition – leveling the playing field for all competitors. The size of the layout, depending on the size of the location, further ensures that no particular vehicle make will dominate the whole season.

Small and tight layouts favour the smaller and more agile cars while larger ones typically favour the high-powered vehicles. A small layout will generally mean a lap time of less than 1-minute while a larger track could reach a high 2-minute lap time. To ensure fair play, GRA invested heavily on properly timing equipment, spending tens of thousands in the process.

“My timing equipment eliminates the possibility of human errors caused by using stopwatches while minimizing disputes. This is how I ensure fair play apart from splitting the types of vehicles into different classes,” said Khong.


"I almost had to sell my kidneys to get those timing equipments!"

He also hinted that 2012 would see a new vehicle class but remained tight-lipped about the details. Unfortunately, no amount of coercion or threats to photoshop a pink beard on him could convince him to reveal more.

I guess we will all have to wait till GRA 2012 Round 1 to find out!

For more information, point your browsers to the GRA website or join their Facebook group.
 

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EvolutionZ

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great write up....2thumbs up!
 

wkwoo69

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Ian personifies PASSION, matched with ever-energetic enthusiasm and a great sense of humour. Keep up the great work my friend, we are all fully supportive of the important contribution to motorsport development at this level. Plus, GRA has the most and consistent race queens/princesses, some of whom went to significant careers thereafter..
 

pk47

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He handling too much GRA girls, not many. Lol
 

Charles

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Imagine if that PASSION was infected to East Malaysia........heaven forbid if we even hope for one....i cannot imagine the:
1)logistic
2)local impact/responses - both positive and negative.

........but alas we can only continue to hope...hope for a glimmer of ray...
 

pk47

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Imagine if that PASSION was infected to East Malaysia........heaven forbid if we even hope for one....i cannot imagine the:
1)logistic
2)local impact/responses - both positive and negative.

........but alas we can only continue to hope...hope for a glimmer of ray...
Charles, pls contact Ian if the autocrosser in east mal is interested to have a day of similar autocross event like GRA. I believe Ian can answer your question, and he might interested to roll GRA to east mal... ;)
 

EvolutionZ

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leave one for me la, i help u take care.....gals only...guys u take care yourself....haha
 

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