Motor Plus Southern Monsoon:

Rally a grand success for all

The 12th annual Motor Plus Southern Monsoon Rally concluded last Sunday in Matara with Shafraz Junaid winning the event along with his co-driver Shafraz Hamsadeen giving away only 68 debit points.

Junaid was well ahead in the stage one and the second stage saw him a little downward and was placed fifth at the end of this stage with 25 debit points. The third stage the most vital one too capitalized and gave away only five points and was once again took control of the whole event.

Hameem the last years winner who finished third in stage one came back strongly to win this stage won the final stage but could not catch up with the leader as he had given away 118 points in the first stage which saw him take only the third overall position. Yakub Arif and his co-driver was consistent in the first two stages taking the second position in both these stages but failed to live up to expectations in the final stage and had to be satisfied with the third slot in the overall standings.

The Rally run through the wilderness of the southern Province covering a distance of 604 kilo metres was one of the hardest routes ever experienced by the drivers in rallying in Sri Lanka.

Though the route plotted by the famous Andrew de Silva was a tough and harder one all drivers were of the view that it was the best they experienced in rallying here said most of the drivers.They had to go through many obstacles right throughout the night specially when passing waterways late in the night which was a thrilling experience for all competitors. They really enjoyed the route, they said.

Rallying in Sri Lanka has taken up well in the past few years. This was proved beyond doubt with the participation of three women drivers with their opposite numbers as their co-drivers. These women too were highly taken up with the rally and said they hope to continue with it in the future too.

The event was sponsored by Sri Lanka Insurance Motor Plus. All in all the Rally was a success for all Motor Plus Southern Monsoon Rally 2010 - Results

Stage 01 - Matara to Middeniya Debits
1. Shafraz Junaid/Shafraz Hamzadeen 38
2. Yakub Ariff /Mohomad Arshaf 58
3. Ashhar Hameem/Chandika Amarasinghe 118
4. Sanjaya Sedara/Chamara Wedage 118
5. Jagath Munasinghe/Kolitha Silva 120

Stage 02 - Middeniya to Weerawila
1. Ashhar Hameem/Chandika Amarasinghe 19
2. Rizan Salih/M.S. Zivar 23
3. Yakub Ariff/Mohomad Arshaf 24
4. Sanjaya Sedara/Chamara Wedage 25
5. Shafraz Junaid/Shafraz Hamzadeen 25

Stage 03 - Weerawila to Matara Debits
1. Ashhar Hameem/Chandika Amarasinghe 3
2. Shafraz Junaid/Shafraz Hamzadeen 5
3. Rahal Uluwita/Wasantha Jayasena 5
4. Dishan Goonasekara/Jayantha Karunasena 6
5. Sanjaya Sedara/Chamara Wedage 6

Team event
1. Team Southern 01 (Ashhar Hameem 140, Sanjaya Sedara 149, Dishan Goonasekara 177) - 466
2. Team EZY Racing (Shafraz Junaid 68, Yakub Ariff 90, Shalutha Adasuriya 705) - 863
3. Team Unknown Mansoor Hassen 325, Tariq Hassen 662, Rameez Mahamoor 690) - 1677

Novices Event
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage Total
1. Rahal Uluwita/Wasantha Jayasena 254 68 5 327
2. Prabath Harshana/Tachith Ishan 747 43 78 868
Edrian Jayasinghe/Jaikisen Jayasinghe 2214 1603 34 3851

Non Rally Prepared
1. Jagath Munasinghe/Kolitha Silva 120 46 11 177
2. Rahal Uluwita/Wasantha Jayasena 254 68 5 327
Prabath Harshana/Tachith Ishan 747 43 78 868

Overall Winner
1. Shafraz Junaid/Shafraz/Hamzadeen 38 25 5 68
2. Yakub Ariff/Mohomad Arshaf 58 24 8 90
3. Ashhar Hameem/Chandika Amarasinghe 118 19 3 140
4. Sanjaya Sedara/Chamara Wedage 118 25 6 149
5. Dishan Goonasekara/Jayantha Karunasena 131 40 6 177