Team Nexuscraft Kookaburra Racing @ the Sepang 1000 KM.

The smallest budget, the least in professional equipment, an underpowered car and parts from the chop shop. Even the Team Principal and Title Sponsor had to do away from the comforts of air conditioning to help out in the pit and the pit wall. That is Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing. However, this team is never short nor found wanting in terms of team spirit, dedication and determination. True grit mixed with positivism and fighting spirit and add in a good dash of fun and you have Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing. The elements within this race team touched my heart and stirred my soul, which led me to believe that this is the team that could do it. 

It wasn't easy, but then again it was never easy to begin with. With minimal resources and a only handful but extremely dedicated sponsors amidst a drama and theatrical filled 2 days of both the qualifying session and race for Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing at the Sepang 1000 Endurance race, the team qualified 33rd, overcame all the odds and adversities to finish the race from last place to a nail biting, tense and grueling 20th position out of 56 cars on the starting grid.

In the early stages of the race, they were running very strongly in the top half of the field climbing to about 16th overall and overtaking some of the Class 1 cars (1800 CC) in the process. Drivers Kenny (Zoggee) Hwang and Julian Ng drove a very spirited drive maintaining their track position. Stephen Kok the 3rd driver went out for his stint overtaking some cars in the process and maintaining very good lap times and that is when disaster struck. The car coasted to a halt at Turn 8 due to a battery failure. He ran back to the pits, as the pit crew and other drivers did what they could to resolve the issue and Stevo ran back to the track along with a mechanic to assist him in getting the car started once more. Car 39 roared to life and zoomed back into the pits where the mechanics worked at lightning speed to change, of all things, a used battery and some fuses. It wasn't going to last, but it was good enough to get the car in contention again.

Team Principal, Jeff Ewe ordered a driver change and Zoggee went in. They got the car started and Zooming Zoggee drove flat out and flew past the competition while coming in from last place. Pushing the car to the limit while the crew went out to buy another battery, Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing showed true determination and fighting the good fight and when Zoggee pitted for the pit crew to change the battery and hand the car over to Julian, Jules went on to do a sensational job of keeping the car intact and overtaking a few more cars in the process while having very consistent lap times. On to Stephen next and once more misfortune struck and Steve was having severe vibration and handling issues with the car. All radio and communication devices were down and Stevo had to bring the car in as an emergency pit stop. It was found the the screws at the left front wheel hub was worn out and broken. A quick fix from the pit crews ensued as they checked for other issues with the car. Superb Stevo got in and proceeded to drive flat out to secure as much ground as he could. 

In the closing stages, Zoggee took over and did fantastic and consistent lap times of around 2.45 ~ 2.46 and was in strong contention with the other cars and hunting and picking each of them. Coming into the final 15 laps, Zoggee's time was up and Julian took over. A strong finish was just in sight and all Julian had to do was to maintain track position as Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing was looking to finish a strong 22nd place. Julian was consistently quick while nursing the car to secure the race finish. In the tense final 5 laps, everyone in Pit No. 15 was in a state of trepidation as it was just the final hurdle that Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing had to overcome. In the final lap Team Principal, Jeff Ewe waved his cap at the Jiffy Julian who was making it across the start finish line. Sepang 1000 2010 was a race of attrition and Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing made it with a 20th placing overall. An amazing race with amazing results from a team who made their way up from the brink of retirement to becoming trackday heroes.  

In my eyes, Team NexusCraft Kookaburra Racing is every bit a winner as the guys at the top step of the podium. They overcame adverse conditions and not only persevered but fought their hardest till the very end. They may not have the best of everything, in fact they had very little to work with, but they made the best out of everything that they had. For everything that these guys are, Spyder-Net.com presents them with top honors for teamwork, determination, true grit, fighting spirit and everything else that comes in between.