First of all, when you’re only 20 and 18 years old like Kenneth Koh and his co-driver Nicole Gill, even little things like popping the customary champagne bottle can be a problem.
The first-time MRC campaigners stunned the field of much older drivers by finishing third during the recent Malacca leg of the championship, and it was only their third race together.
So, when it was time to accept their trophy and pop the bubbly, they were pretty clueless.
“I actually cut my finger on the wire, you know, the thing that holds the cork down?” said Nicole sheepishly. “It was my first time opening a champagne bottle!”
Kenneth added: “They also told us we had to stand on top of our car to receive our trophy, but we were so worried about damaging the car! But some of the drivers said we had to do it because it’s a tradition.”
Kenneth Koh, 20, and Nicole Gill, 18, celebrating their podium finish after clocking the third best time at the Malacca leg of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC).
Evidently, it’s been a rapid rise up the rally racing ranks for the two youngsters. And they’ve achieved it despite competing against considerably older and far more experienced drivers in the MRC.
With just one round left in their debut season, they are currently sixth (out of 40 competitors or so) in the MRC overall points standing, and top of the junior category.
“After the last race, one of the other drivers came to congratulate me, and he said he had been rally racing for 10 years, but still hasn’t had a podium yet, so it was something we were very happy about,” said Kenneth, reflecting on their success so far.
Rally driver Kenneth Koh (L), 20, and his co-driver Nicole Gill, 18, made history when they became the youngest ever podium finishers in a Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) race.
Kenneth has been working hard towards being a rally racer his whole life, so their success seems almost expected.
He has been competing in smaller rally races ever since he got his driver’s license, encouraged by his rally-crazy father. A series of impressive results including a second place finish in his first ever rally at the age of 17 – eventually opened up the door for him to drive in the MRC.
For Nicole, a college student, rally racing was just something she enjoyed watching before Kenneth approached her to be his co-driver.
Ending up on the podium in just her third attempt at co-driving was a big surprise.
“I couldn’t believe it at first when I found out we made the podium. It was only when I was standing on the car, lifting the trophy that I thought, ‘this is really happening’,” she said.
Apart from being talented, Kenneth and Nicole have another secret to their success – having fun.
“We just have fun. We don’t feel any stress, any pressure,” Nicole said. “I think it annoys some of the other teams, because we’re always laughing and smiling, while they’re all a bit more serious.”
Rally races are done on rugged outdoor tracks, and Nicole’s job is to read out notes on all the twists and turns coming up on the track, so Kenneth can keep driving, knowing what’s up ahead.
It’s something that requires a lot of trust between a driver and his co-driver, because if Nicole messes up, Kenneth could end up shooting his car straight off the road and do some serious damage.
Kenneth Koh (L), 20, was the youngest in the field of 35 drivers, and his co-driver Nicole Anne Perreau Gill, 18, was taking part in her first ever race; yet the dynamic duo somehow managed to finish fifth in the first round of the Malaysian Rally Championship last weekend.
The two have known each other for years with their parents being regulars on the local rally scene.
Kenneth and his father struggled for a long time to help Kenneth carve out a professional rally career.
Being able to race in the MRC alone was a huge achievement, as they’ve had to go around looking for sponsors all this while to make sure Kenneth had a car and a team to race with.
Thanks to sponsors like Proton and Cusco, Kenneth was able to start his own team for MRC, Kenneth Koh Racing.
And that’s when he decided to ask Nicole if she wanted to co-drive for him.
“Even now, sometimes we don’t have enough cash flow for the races,” said Kenneth. “We’ve had to dig into our own savings just to make sure we could race.
“Without my dad, we would have been out of the MRC by now. He would help me ask his friends for sponsorship, even if it’s RM500-RM600 … just to keep me racing.”
Young rally duo Kenneth Koh and Nicole Gill flying through the Malacca leg of the Malaysian Rally Championship en route to a podium finish.
But now, the team hopes their performances in the MRC will help get the sponsorship required to fulfill Kenneth’s dream of representing Malaysia in the regional Asia Pacific Rally Championship, and one day, rally racing’s biggest stage – the World Rally Championship.
And when that happens, Kenneth is keeping his fingers crossed that Nicole will still be able to co-drive for him.
“She’ll have to take at least a week off from college for each race,” said Kenneth. “But I hope she can make it. People have been telling me I’ll need a more experienced co-driver for the Asia Pacific rally, but I think Nicole and I can learn and grow together.”
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