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HEART OF BORNEO SAFARI 2007

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AWARDS NIGHT DINNER AT PAN PACIFIC, SUTERA HARBOUR

This year, the top 3 winning cars are considered 'lower powered' cars. Here's champion Chung Hong Ru's Suzuki. It has a 5L 3litre Toyota engine with an addition of a turbo, with the usual PTO winch, centipede tyres and lockers. The strangest thing is it's fuel tank that looks like a an air tank. Is this car pushing the trend for superlight competition cars for the Borneo Safari?

Here's the never say die Toyota BJ40. It is powered by a 14BT engine (15BT is the ultimate powerplant)but with a skilled driver and brother team of Mak Chee Koh & Mak Chee Ming from Keningau. Off course it carries all the other goodies including air lockers and PTO winche.

Third place is a Daihatsu Hybrid belonging to Kok Tsin Yee. It is powered by a 1J Toyota engine with the addition of a turbo, nothing special except the normal good stuff.

Chung Hong Ru (5th from L) & Minion Kotidis, with Tourism Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun and other prize winners and officials on the podium.
Apologies to Chung and Minion as we did not have a winning picture of them receiving their prizes.

SECOND OVERALL, Mak Chee Koh & Mak Chee Ming from Keningau

THIRD OVERALL, Kok Tsin Yee & Yap Swee Siong

Fourth overall are cousins Chang Ket Kuin & Chang Ket Vui. Their engine blew in SS2 and suffered the penalty of changing engine.

Fifth overall are Md. Hamdan Abdullah & Januddin Warion

Liew Fui Kong & Lee Ghun Ping are 6th overall...the prizes are still very nice.

Harohiko Yoshida & Masato Miura are the top international team this year. They are also the Land Rover team champion of Japan. Team leader Toshi did say that Japanese team would win prizes this year...

Toshimi Moto & Toshituki Takashi are veterans of the Borneo Safari and this time round, they won second in the international category.

First time driver Tomohiro Oitate & veteran Borneo Safari campaigner Kenichi Onnishi took third overall in the international category.

There were many other awards given out but Sarah Burgess of Australia was rightly recognised for winning the environmental awards for the amount of trash she picked up everyday from the campsite. This speaks volumes about our off roaders and how they treat the environment. We'll have to ask them to throw all trash in their cars and we'll see how they react.

Nothing ever ends without a song and dance and so the Keningau boys gave a song about off road competition to the tune of 'last kiss'.. .the song is so popular that the Japanese could join the boys and sing it too...

'Sayonara' till the next Borneo Safari.. and yes, the Japanese will be back and so will we. This picture sums up the spisit of the Borneo Safari... everyone gets to know each other and they become friends. There is little uneasiness between competitors, participants and officials.