Motorsports: Read spells out Rally for EZY Racing's Zuhair

Sajaad Zuhair and Malcolm Read live on opposite sides of the globe. 

Zuhair, a Sri Lankan who has a penchant for motor-racing and Read, as his name says it, is a well established Rally co-driver or, in other words, a navigator. 

The two met for the first time, barely a day before the team they represent, EZY Racing, geared up for Rally Sri Lanka 2016 in Ampara, a speed rally organised by the Southern Motor Sports Club. 

The rally named 'Rumbling Wonder of Digamadulla' was Sri Lanka's very first rally conducted to international standards, which was definitely a step forward for the country's motor racing. 

Perhaps, EZY Racing had the honour of obtaining an internationally experienced co-driver, after Sean Gregory of Malaysia, who is also a member of the same racing team. 

But Read was more elaborative in how the whole thing works at a rally. 

"It's all about communication between driver and co-driver. As the co-driver, I read out the map to my driver who has to grab it within seconds to make the correct move. That's why communication a very important fact in speed rally racing," said Read, an experienced campaigner at Asian and Oceanic rallies. 

Though English may come handy for two individuals who have never met before, Read said, rally drivers have codes which may come as figures or names of easy-to-gather objects. 

This was evident in the chat Zuhair and Read had after their first meeting. 

"I, as the co-driver, read the map which is well known among drivers as 'pace notes'. In short, it says of bends, directions, turns and the speed the car should take. What and how it is read is a matter between the driver and the navigator, and there are common and standard codes and ways of using it also." 

"Speed rallying is about reaching a stage with minimal mistakes within the least time. You cannot afford any mishaps, which can be costly at times. Unless you experience technical problems, it's in the hands of the driver and the navigator to steer the machine from one point to the other," Read added. 

On the other hand, having Read as his co-driver was a blessing for Zuhair, who interestingly, made his debut in rally racing at Ampara. 

Zuhair, who was driving the 4WD category for the first time this season, while also making his maiden appearance in a rally, emulated what his international teammate Mike Young achieved on his debut, by stunning the rally racing fraternity by announcing his arrival with some spectacular stage wins. 

The EZY Racer on his rally debut, starting at the disadvantageous car number one slot, went on to steal the limelight by leading the rally after 6 stages on the first day, before chronic mechanical failure of the Mitsubishi Evolution ER9 forced him and Read to battle along the fastest and longest sections in 2WD mode. 

"It’s quite pleasing to be able to fight for the rally victory on my first ever rally on gravel. Having Malcolm (Read) next to me as my co-driver was a real blessing," said Zuhair. 

The 18-stage rally held in 6 sectors comprising 3 special stages per sector over the two days, was definitely one of best rallies held in Sri Lanka, and forced the drivers to bring out the best in them. Read, who also co-drives EZY Racing's international driver Mike Young, used his experience to guide Zuhair through the rally by providing composure and impeccable pace notes. 

Their first outing may have ended up bitterly due to constant technical failures, as the final official standings of the rally is yet to be determined. 

However, Sri Lanka experienced the most in speed rally racing, which the organisers hope to include the Ampara event into the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in the coming year. 

If successful, Ampara will be one of the stages alongside Malaysia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and India, and will open the doors for Sri Lankan racing teams to test their skills against international combinations. 

Read probably gave Zuhair a firsthand taste at how it is performed at that level, and the rest of the 23 teams at Ampara the challenge in advance.