Sepang International Circuit hosted the final round of the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) 2023 on September 22-24. It was a thrilling weekend as title contenders in every category battled for their respective championships.
A combined race for M-Production and S-Production 2 (SP2) categories took place on Saturday 23 September. Mitchell Cheah of Hi-Rev Dream Chaser emerged victorious in MProduction (MTC), at once securing the championship title with a total of 103 points. The championship battle went to the wire as Mitchell, Hayden Haikal of Wing Hin Motorsport and Rahul Rai Mayer, also of Hi-Rev Dream Chaser, all had the title within reach. The early part of the race saw a thrilling battle develop between the three drivers at the front of the field before Mitchell managed to pull away to clinch the top podium place.
In SP2-G, Lew Kar Wai of BAE Racing Team emerged the round winner while his team-mate Timothy Thomas Yeo’s sixth place finish was enough to earn him the championship win. Chean King Sang and William Chong of R Works Riyoz drove to victory in SP2-V while Empire M Racing’s Muhammad Hasif claimed the championship victory with his third place finish.
Sunday saw teams competing in the T-Production (TP) and S-Production 1 (SP1) categories battle it out on a wet track. T-Production championship contenders Aiyub Azlee, co-driving with Keifli Othman of Sitty Racing, Jonathan Xie of Skuber Race Team and brothers Umar Abdullah and Avan Abdullah, co-driving for Bank BJB Delta Garage Racing Team dominated the field like they did in qualifying before a torrential downpour forced race stoppage on lap 12. Two (2) laps after the race was resumed, leader Aiyub / Keifli suffered mechanical problems and were forced to retire. Avik Anwar drove a strategy race and took the lead after his final pitstop. He stayed ahead to comfortably take the round win. Jonathan Xie battled brothers Umar and Avan Abdullah for second place right up to the final lap. Jonathan Xie managed keep his cool despite a few mistakes to take second spot, at once taking the championship victory.
S-Production 1 was also competitive, with several drivers in contention for the title. The final round saw 8 entries in the category. The race lead kept changing hands but in the end Jesmond Tan took the victory and secured the championship. His win also made it a double victory for R Engineering on the wet afternoon.
“The final round, with its closely fought battles and unpredictable weather conditions, proved to be a fitting finale to the season. MCS again delivered the excitement and thrill that motor-racing fans have come to associate with the series. Again, we would like to thank all those involved and congratulate the winners for making it a memorable season. We hope to see everyone again in 2024.” said CEO of Sepang International Circuit; En. Azhan Shafriman Hani.
In the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Series 2 final rounds, also held during the weekend here, the title race went to the wire after victory for Andrew Haryanto and James Yu in the penultimate round denied Anthony Liu his chance to win the championship with a race to spare. In the final round, Craft-Bamboo’s Anthony Liu clinched the 2023 drivers’ champion after Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak both failed to overturn their 19-point deficits.
The weekend saw a big turnout of local fans to support members of The Johor Royal Family Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and his brother Prince Jefri Ibrahim who drive for Triple Eight JMR (Johor Motorsports Racing) in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Series.
Additional support races during the weekend were the Asia Classic Car Challenge, the premier Asian classic car race series in its 19th year of running, and the Caterham Championship which is a one-make series featuring the iconic Caterham Seven.