THE JOHOR royal family’s youngest prince, Tunku Putera Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim, escaped from a high-speed car crash unscathed during the qualifying stage of the GT World Challenge Australia yesterday (Nov 12).
As he was coming through the McPhillamy Park section of the track at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, at over 200km/h, Tunku Abu Bakar, 21, slid off into the gravel and hit the tyre barriers before his Mercedes Benz GT3 turned over.
Much to the relief of everyone present, he emerged from the car unscathed, flashing a peace sign to the crowd and signalling he was okay, before walking away with medical and track personnel.
Due to car damage sustained in the accident, Tunku Abu Bakar and his teammate Jamie Whincup were forced to withdraw from today’s three-hour endurance race.
In a statement, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar expressed his relief and gave his youngest son some words of encouragement.
“I am thankful Tunku Putera came out unhurt,” he said. “Shaken, sure, but he’s okay.”
“I told him to not be disheartened, keep going and make Johor proud,” he added. “He could have qualified third, and that’s his first time racing there.”
Meanwhile, Tunku Abu Bakar’s elder brother, Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman, and his teammate Broc Feeney won the JMR Triple Eight Race Engineering challenge today.
Starting from second on the grid, 29-year-old Tunku Abdul Rahman, a professional race car driver, got the race off to a good start in wet conditions, driving well throughout his stints in the three-hour-long race.
Well-worked race strategies, improving weather conditions, a dominant race car and impeccable driving from both drivers all contributed to a healthy 11-second lead as Feeney took the chequered flag at the end of the race.
Watching on in support of the team were Tunku Abu Bakar, Whincup, Tunku Temenggong Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar and Tunku Puteri Johor Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah’s husband, Datuk Dennis Muhammad Abdullah.
Notably absent was Tunku Makhota Johor (Johor crown prince) Tunku Ismail Idris. – Nov 13, 2022
All photos are credited to Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s Facebook page
