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Post date: May 11, 2012 7:48:26 AM
Photo taken by Shukri Yaacob
Kane Fernandez takes his first win of 2012 and Brandon Thein settles for 2nd
Eleven boats registered for the 2nd round of the KBS F3000 Powerboat Top Gun Championship Series 2012 that was held in the picturesque Tanjung Emas esplanade in Muar on the 29th of April 2012.
Brandon Thein who got pole, set a blistering pace in qualifying with a 1.5 second quicker time that 2nd placed Kane Fernandez. Anuar Saidon who was struggling to set a good time in qualifying managed to get as high as 9th in the 11 boat field. He however did not make the parade lap and the race as he couldn’t start his engine as he had “fuel combustion problem” – as he later explained.
At the flag-off, Brandon apparently fumbled with his ‘in’-‘out’ trim switches and got a poor getaway that allowed Kane to draw level going into the first turn. It was almost like that into two more turns before a near collision out of turn one, where Brandon had run wide and almost bumped into Kane who had already given him a wide berth at the turn buoy. Perhaps nerves got the better on Brandon that saw him back off just a little for Kane to put down the hammer and take the lead. Kane pulled away to build a 4 second lead after 3 laps and it stayed that way till the end.
There was an early battle for 3rd position between Tony and Awang, with Tony eventually pulling ahead and securing 3rd place with a 5 second lead after 6 laps. Awang never quite troubled him after that also because Tony continuously pushed to stay ahead and there were a couple of moments when it looked like it could have gone over the edge.
Warren, the youngest son of series owner Robert Fernandez, who at 15, is currently the youngest driver in the championship, ran a steady race and finished a commendable 5th. He started 7th on the grid and had overtaken 2 boats after 3 laps to cruise home comfortably in his only second outing. Notably, he had come within “a 2 second striking distance” of 4th placed Awang before the red/checkered flag was raised (as later remarked by him).
Suffian from Team Andrew Racing blew over on the back straight. Suffian came out all right except for some bumps and scratches but lost his boat as it sank and up till now efforts are still underway to recover it. Apparently one of the compartments must have ruptured in the crash. There was a good scrap going on between Tan and Suffian for 6th place and it kept the crowd on their toes, duly entertained. It was on one of these ‘come from behind’ manoeuvre as he tried to get the boat to fly a little bit more that resulted in the blow over.
18 laps were completed before the race stoppage and Kane who was in the lead was declared the winner (see race results). This time around, the highest percentage of boats was still running till the end. 11 boats started, 9 boats finished. Syabas! (Bravo!) to all the teams for putting up a good show.
We would like to express our utmost appreciation to :-
a) YB The Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Dato’ Razali Haji Ibrahim for officiating the event and giving away the prizes;
b) All KBS personnel who worked very hard and gave their full suport;
c) The YDP and Majlis Perbandaran Muar for hosting the event;
d) Our valued sponsors particularly Dynotab/Chemplex Continental Sdn Bhd and Mercury Marine Sdn Bhd;
e) All F3000 Powerboat Pilots and Teams who participated in the event;
f) Last but not least, all the personnel / crew and everybody who worked so hard to make this event a success ...
THANK YOU !
For detailed qualifying times and final finish positions, check out Race-Results.
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