Malagamuwa creates history in Malaysia

Japan-based international racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa created motor racing history on Sunday, becoming the first Sri Lankan ever to win an overseas motor racing championship when he clinched the final two rounds of the 2006 Malaysian Super Car Championships at the Sepang international circuit in Malaysia.

Malagamuwa also created history by becoming the first foreigner to win the Malaysian motor racing plum, and achieved this rare feat by clinching the must-win two final races of the series which were held back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. Interestingly the last race of the 2006 series on Sunday was the support race for A1 Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit.

Malagamuwa’s chances of claiming the title were remote coming into the last two rounds as he was trailing behind Peter Hills of Australia and Chong of Hong Kong.

Malagamuwa had performed brilliantly in the early rounds of the series and was leading the title race early, but was virtually thrown out of contention after he failed to compete at two rounds before last week’s final round of races.

Malagamuwa who was faced with a huge challenge to keep his title chances afloat, had to win both races. However Malagamuwa was also in need of plenty of luck as even if he had pulled off that difficult task of winning both of last two races, he still would have finished second had Chong finished second in both races.

But the determined Sri Lankan champion exhibited his true skills on Friday and proved his mettle in a brilliant display of fine driving skills as he clinched the vital pole position for the two crucial races.

Hills emerged second in pole while Chong was only third.

Chong, who was the favourite for the title got off to a perfect start and stormed ahead at the start to grab an early lead in the first race on Saturday as Malagamuwa and Hills trailed him.

But Malagamuwa refused to wilt under pressure and pushed the leader to the limit, testing Chong with his calm and cool composure before finally overtaking Chong in the fourth corner.

From then on, Malagamuwa never looked back and powered his Porsche 996 GT3 ahead to cerate a gradually widening gap. Neither Hills nor Chong was able to match Malagamuwa’s superior driving skill.

Malagamuwa’s title chances received a further boost when both Chong and Hills had to withdraw from the race even before the fourth round due to problems in the cars, as the Sri Lankan went onto win the race in grand style.

Then on Sunday, Malagamuwa entered the final race of the 2006 series with his newly acquired status as the hot favourite but he still had to finish his work to claim the unprecedented glory for a Sri Lankan racing driver.

True to his form and talent Malagamuwa showed no mercy to his rivals as he throttled his Porsche to one final victory leading from start to finish in a relentless display of power driving and marked one of the finest sporting moments in Sri Lankan history though such moments have been rare and far between in recent times.

Malagamuwa left for Japan after his victory on Sunday but will arrive back in Kuala Lumpur on Friday to attend the awards ceremony.

“I have achieved all this for the glory of my country and my own. The government or the sports ministry has not given me any support despite my repeated humble pleas. I am waiting to see how they will react to the news I won the championship” said a delighted Malagamuwa after his great achievement. However he singled out and made specific mention about Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon as the only person from the government who had always been a keen fan of his and had given him lot of support and encouragement.

Malagamuwa’s next race would be the Dubai 24 hour race which will be on January 11, 12 and 13 next year. He will be driving along with two Australians and one British driver in his team for that race.