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FIA World Touring Car Championship

The Endurance World Touring Car Race of Malaysia is happening this weekend, and it is shaping up to be quite a spectacle for motorsport fans. Teams from all over the globe are taking part, and if you have never followed any WTCR race, then you know what to do this weekend as it is something to behold.

But in the weeks leading up to the race, we were given special access to a Malaysian team that will also be taking part in the WTCR. But besides that, has also impressed on the global motorsport arena by racing in Road to Le Mans (yes, THE Le Mans in France) in an LMP3 race car.

But the ultimate feather in the team hat is actually winning at the WTCR race at Spa in Belgium. Yes, the all Malaysian team won! So these guys mean serious business and don’t just do it because they have money to throw around. This is serious business for them.

And this time, I found myself sitting next to Douglas Khoo, owner and driver of the team, as we set out in the Seat Cupra, the same car the team will be racing this weekend.

A road going Seat Cupra (pronounced as Si-Yat) is not that impressive of a car, a fine workhorse no less, but not quite a head turner. But in pure race form, it is a mighty race car.

To comply with regulations, the engine has to be kept standard while the sequential gearbox is supplied by Sadev.

Grip is enormous and the car is kept stuck to the tarmac by the masses of aero wings all round the car.

Now I have been around Sepang on plenty of fast cars, but have never quite been flung into a corner the way Douglas did with his Cupra. The bloody thing just did not let up. Well, we did spin once, but that’s probably because I was laughing too loud and encouraging Douglas not to brake as hard into a corner. Terrible passenger, I am.

There is no doubt that Douglas Khoo is one of Malaysia’s finest driving talents. The five-year touring car veteran boasts racing experience in the TCR Asia Series, TCR International Series, TCR Thailand Series, Asian Le Mans Series, Blancpain GT Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup as well as two stints at the Sepang 12-hour Endurance Race. So it comes as no surprise that he was awarded one of the three wildcard entries into this weekend’s World Touring Car series.

Competing against 30 of the world’s best touring car drivers representing seven manufacturers: Hyundai, Seat, Lynk & Co, Audi, Volkswagen, Honda and Alfa Romeo, Viper-Niza heads into the weekend with a serious advantage – home ground advantage.

The team has terabytes of data to rely on, and the proven expertise of its drivers, so the weekend is shaping up to be extremely exciting, and we would like to wish the team the best. We leave you with a short video of our onboard experience with Douglas Khoo and his Seat Cupra.

HardKhor Motorsports Report: Malaysian Team Viper Niza Racing wins TCR race ProAm class in Belgium

PISTON.MY

Polestar Cyan Racing has clinched both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship titles of the 2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The team finished the season finale in spectacular fashion, making a clean sweep this year.

“To become the first ever Swedish racing World Champion is something I have dreamt about since I started racing! I can’t put words to my feelings right now but this is by far the greatest moment of my racing career,” said Thed Björk.

He then added, “The season final went according to our plans and a massive thank you to everyone in the team, they are as much World Champions as I am!”

Race 1 of the Qatar event was won by Tom Chilton in his Citroen C-Elysee, followed by Medhi Bennani and Kevin Gleason. Race 2 on the other hand, was won by Esteban Guerrieri with Rob Huff finishing second and Nicky Catsburg in third.

Björk may not have managed a podium finished in either of the two races, but his 5th place finish in the first and 4th place finish in the second race, put him 28.5 points ahead of nearest rival Norbert Michelisz, and effectively the champion of 2017.

Polestar Cyan Racing managed to edge out Honda by the same margin to be awarded the Constructors’ crown for this year. The feat seems surreal for the team because a plan had been put in place to clinch said titles in 5 years, but it accomplished it in just two short years.

The team functions as Volvo’s official factory auto racing team, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It operates as a separate entity and is lead by team principle, Christian Dahl. Volvo’s acquisition of the Polestar Performance and the Polestar brand in 2015, didn’t include the racing team.

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