Wai Leong's BioData and Achievements
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Updated
6th November 2000
- Ng Wai Leong : Asia Formula 2000 Champion!
- Over the last weekend, the penultimate round for the
Asia Formula 2000 Championship was held at Zhuhai
International Circuit, China. Unlike this season’s
Formula 1, the championship was decided right at the
very end with our Malaysia’s Ng Wai Leong scoring
enough points to win both the drivers and team
championship for the year.
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- Wai Leong’s supremacy began on Saturday, where he
clocked both faster times than his nearest two rivals in
the championship, none other than India’s Sureshwaren
and Briton Goddard. Only France’s Phillip Descombes, a
non-championship contender clocked a faster time than
Wai Leong by 0.602 seconds. Wai Leong however responded
by clocking the fastest time in the next qualifying
round, ahead of Goddard and Sureshwaren yet again.
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- His new found speed was quite amazing, considering his
two 3rd placings behind Sureshwaren and
Goddard at the last races at Zhuhai a month back. In
fact, after the last race at Zhuhai, Wai Leong concluded
that Goddard has definitely a better chance at the
championship as he had the speed, perhaps due to fresher
engines – a notable fact as Goddard runs Ghiasport and
can opt for the best engine for the weekend. Goddard
also regards Zhuhai as his home track – as clearly
seen from his easy two victories in the last round.
Perhaps, Wai Leong personally would have like to start
as the underdog and win, a strategy which proved
effective now.
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- In the first race ( Round 13 ), Wai Leong outdragged
Frenchmen Phillip Descombes and was first into the first
turn. His race tactic worked as the Frenchmen was
holding Sureshwaren and Goddard respectively. Eventhough
not competing in the championship, the Frenchman’s 2nd
placing meant that Wai Leong was never challenged during
the race.
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- Round 14, Wai Leong knew he had a tougher race ahead
as Mark Goddard was alongside him at the grid. Making a
perfect getaway, he blasted off and never looked behind.
He left Goddard to dice with Sureshwaren and worked on
getting further from the action. In the end, Wai Leong
was ahead of Goddard and Sureshawren. Eventhough Goddard
posted fastest lap times on both rounds, he could not
challenge Wai Leong for the lead.
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- The final championship points standing reads ; Ng Wai
Leong at 220 points, Parthiva Sureshwaren at 210 points
and finally Mark Goddard; six points behind at 204.
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- A very happy Wai Leong attributed his race victory to
his Meritus Team's preparation and mentioned that the victory was also
deserved by his excellent team; race engineer Martin
Quick and crew. Coincidentally, Meritus also
won the International Entrants Championship with 246
points from Ghiasports, who had 240 points. Meritus must
be very proud of this achievement as Ghiasport had 4
drivers whereas Meritus had only one entrant; Wai Leong
himself.
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- Meritus team manager Firhat Mokhzani promises to try
to repeat
this performance for next year’s season – an early
warning to the other teams. Finally, Team Owner Peter
Thompson must also be basking in sweet victory after a
very fruitful year's outing.
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- Congratulations to Wai Leong and the crew of Meritus
Team! Till next season!
Footnote : Wai Leong honed his driving
talent from karting - a fact that brought him to his success
today, just like the Schumachers, Mika Hakinnen, Ayrton Senna
and latest F1 sensation; Jenson Button. Want to be the next F1
star? Get a kart and practise, practise........
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- 16th
October 2000 : Wai Leong drops to second in championship standing after
Zhuhai!
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- Ng Wai Leong, after his double
triumphs at Bira was looking forward to China's
Zhuhai race, which was held at the previous weekend
earlier this month ( Oct 7th & 8th
). He however had mixed results after finishing 7th
in the first race and 3rd in the second race.
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- He qualified in both rounds in 3rd
spot, behind India's Sureshwaren and a very fast Mark Goddard on
Saturday. In the first race ( Rd. 11 ), Wai Leong
started well and immediately gained a place ahead of
Sureshwaren and was trailing Goddard. In his pursuit of
the Briton, he made a mistake while driving and spun
out, allowing Sureshwaren and gaggle of Chinese & HK
drivers to pass through. Wai Leong recovered immediately
and finished in a low 7th. Lucky for him, the
other finishers after 2nd placed Sureshwaren
were not championship contenders and were awarded vital
3rd place points.
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- In the next race ( Rd. 12 ),
Goddard clearly with a more powerful engine & local
track advantage blasted off from the start and left the
other two rivals for the title; Wai Leong and
Sureshwaren to dice for 2nd spot. After
several exciting overtaking maneuvers, Wai Leong wisely
settled for 3rd spot as not to risk making
another mistake like in the previous race. He was 3
seconds behind Sureshwaren at the fall of the flag.
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- The current points’ standing is
Sureshwaren now leads the points table at 183 points.
Wai Leong is five points behind at 178 and Goddard at
177 points respectively. So unlike Formula 1, the
championship will only be decided at the final round of
the championship next month.
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- The penultimate round will also be
held at Zhuhai Circuit on the 4th & 5th
November and let’s hope Wai Leong finds the
additional speed in the last two races to allow him to
retain his title in the meantime!
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- Be there to wave your Malaysian
flag high and support Wai Leong!
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12th September 2000
- Wai Leong scores a double!
Ng Wai
Leong repeated his double victory feat at the last Formula Asia
2000 championship meeting (
held on 2 & 3rd Sept ) at the Bira track, located in Pattaya,
Thailand. His last double victory was in Pasir Gudang, way back in
May.
The
weekend started very well for our young man as he made pole position
on Saturday, clear by more than a second from his two nearest rivals;
Pathiva Sureshwaren and Mark Goddard. Wai Leong was claimed to be more
familiar with the Bira circuit than his two rivals, hence making his
task a bit easier. However, he was also not handed a victory without
any problems of his own.
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The Meritus driver
battled with some gear problems throughout the race. "I am
very pleased with this weekend's performance. I know it has been quite
a wait." added Wai Leong after the race. Wai Leong finished the
races with 154 points and is currently leading the standings with a
mere one point from Indian Parthiva Sureshwaren with 153 points. Mark
is at a distant 3rd at 135 points but his threat can never be
discounted.
The next leg of the
championship stops in Zhuhai on the 7 & 8th October. The track is
the home track of Mark Goddard, so we can expect some fireworks from
the Briton then.
Be there to hold the
Malaysian flag high and support Wai Leong!
See the action pictures from the
Bira AFOS race! Click
Here!
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- 14th
August 2000 - Another Exciting Weekend for Wai Leong at Sepang!
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On the 29th & 30th July, the Asian Formula
2000 championship had its series run at our world class Formula 1
circuit; the Sepang F1 Circuit. On hand to make the impressive line of
drivers was no other than our own Ng Wai Leong.
In Round 6, Wai Leong’s archrival, Parthiva Sureshwaren of India
surged ahead from pole to take the cheqeured flag. Wai Leong came a
distant second with Mark Goddard ( Ghiasports Racing ) snapping at his
heels. Wai Leong’s car was lacking on top speed but somehow managed to
keep Goddard at bay with an impressive drive.
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- On Sunday, Round 7 & 8 were held. As though the track action was
not thick enough, the sky’s opened up at made the race in Round 7 more
interesting. The race even had to be restarted after an on track
incident. The restart saw Sureshwaren making a bad start and dropped to
the rear of the field. In the end, Mark Goddard who capitalised on the
wet conditions and notably faster car finished first with Sureshwaren
second, after a determined drive. Wai Leong, again lacked the top speed
at the fast track of Sepang, finished third 4 seconds behind the Indian.
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- The most exciting race of the day was surely Round 8. Wai Leong,
determined to make amends to his 2nd & 3rd placing were
making sure he score first in the final race of the weekend. He started
reasonable well, with Sureshwaren in tow. The lead position changed hand
a few times until the inevitable happened.
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- Sureshwaren made an error going wide into the first second corner
combo and Wai Leong sensing the chance dove inside to pass. His move was
not entirely successful as Sureshwaren regained grip and turned in on
the path of Wai Leong. The collision resulted a damage nose and front
wing for Wai Leong, which made the handling all the worse. Sureshwaren
was not luckier also as his rear left strut was also bent and made his
rear wheels out of alignment. With both the younger drivers tangling
with one another, Goddard passed into 1st place.
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- The two had a further go at each other until Wai Leong overtook
Sureshwaren at Turn 4 on the outside to regain second place. At the fall
of the flag, Goddard was 1st, Wai Leong 2nd and
Sureshwaren was again a close third.
- Wai Leong was later queried by the Clerk of Course and reprimanded for
the collision with Sureshwaren in Round 8. He however kept his points
for 2nd placing.
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- Sureshwaren now leads Wai Leong with 126 to 112 points and Goddard at
108 points. The closeness of all three drivers promise an exciting
remaining races at Bira ( Thailand ) & Zhuhai ( China ).
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- Catch the action of Wai Leong at his next race at Bira ( Thailand ) on the
2nd & 3rd September! Be there to cheer our Malaysian Ace!
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- See the action pictures from the Sepang AFOS race! Click
Here!
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23rd July
2000 -
Mixed Fortunes for Wai Leong at Batu Tiga
At the last Asian Formula 2000 races held at
the Batu Tiga Speedway Circuit on the 6th & 7th July, Wai Leong
recorded a mix bag of results in the three races he participated.
In the first race ( Round 3 ), Wai Leong started strongly from 2nd
position on the grid, behind Sureshwaren. Due to a minor touch with
fellow competitor Mark Goddard, his front wing was bent slightly, he
lost ground slowly to the front two. More excitement came when Goddard
and Suresh took each other out on the last corner in an attempt to
overtake while on the apparently last lap. Wai Leong, who saw the
accident also thought he clinched victory after crossing the line and
drove straight into parc ferme. However, victory was not to be his as
the marshal’s mistake in displaying the final lap board one lap early
meant that the race was still on!
After a formal protest by the Meritus team of Wai Leong, the
organisers decided to award the first place to Wai Leong. He was however
penalised for speeding in the pitlane and earned a minute penalty and
hence finished in 7th place. Wai Leong, together with the
Meritus team accepted the decision in view of good sportsmanship.
In the second race ( Round 4 ) the following day, Wai Leong did better
and finished 2nd behind Sureshwaren while Goddard spun out early on lap
1, but clawed backed to third spot.
The last race ( Round 5 ) of the weekend was another nail biter, with
the three challengers ( Wai Leong, Sureshwaren, Goddard ) fighting all
the way. Wai Leong however manage to overtake Goddard on the last lap
but Goddard however collided with Wai Leong in the ensuing counter
attack, leaving Wai Leong with three wheels to limp home in 6th
position. Goddard, despite losing his nose in the desperate move
finished 2nd position, much to the disgust of the spectators.
Sureshwaren currently leads the championship at 77 points with Wai
Leong at 74 points. Goddard is third with a distant 58 points. The
next race will be held at the Sepang Formula 1 Circuit on the July 29th
& 30th. Be there to support Wai Leong and the Meritus
Racing Team!
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