His performance quickly earned him sponsored drives and soon, he became a household name associated with his sponsors such as Code 10 and later MBA Insurance where he worked from the ‘70s right through to the time the company was bought up in the late ‘90s.

William was twice a Malaysian Rally Champion before retiring from competition in 1997 when he was appointed CEO of MBA. Now after a 10-year hiatus, William Mei is back to his winning ways. Just what made him come out of retirement?

“When I retired from work, I found more time on my hands and since I was getting nowhere with my golf, I guess I didn’t need too much encouragement from the rally organiser Ron Teoh to convince me to give 4x4 rallying a try.

“I was supposed to have started my first event in a borrowed Mitsubishi Storm but the car had so many problems, we didn’t even manage to finish a single stage. The next event, I rented a Pajero but that too proved problematic. Then Ron arranged for an Isuzu D-Max for me and I must say it really took me by surprise.

“The thing that impressed me when I first drove the D-Max was that I could not believe a pick-up truck could be so quick. Here I was imagining that it would have a utilitarian feel, a bouncy ride that would shake my bones and a vague steering feel. But the D-Max was nothing like that. It was truly a competent and powerful vehicle and I felt comfortable immediately driving it,” added William between puffs of his Lucky Strike, a habit he has retained for as long as he has been racing.

What has been his secret to maintaining such a long winning history? “Being in the right car and driving to the best of your ability. It is important to get the right car for the job and in many ways, I have been lucky to have been driving competitive race and rally cars in my career and they have given me the results through the years,” he said.

“The D-Max, for example, is a truly amazing vehicle. We ran car in the standard production vehicle category yet its power and durability was capable of winning the championship against some highly-modified competition,” he added.

His sentiments were echoed by Jagdev Singh, co-driver and long-time navigator of former world rally champion Karamjit Singh. “In all the years of rallying, I have never experienced a vehicle as tough and durable as the D-Max. The kind of punishment we put the car through in some of the rough stages would have reduced most vehicles to a pile of junk. Yet the Isuzu D-Max took it all in its stride and continued to show winning pace. It is a really remarkable vehicle,” said Jagdev.

According to Wan Zaqi Zacary, Assistant Manager, Product Planning and Marketing of Isuzu Malaysia, the secret to the Isuzu D-Max’s success has been largely due to its heritage in truck engineering.

“Isuzu understands the business of making vehicles that give customers more than they expect in terms of reliability and durability and this championship win is testimony of it. As the leaders in diesel engine technology too, Isuzu has made engines such as the 3-litre Super Commonrail engine that William powered to the championship win. It is the same engine that thousands of satisfied customers praise for its legendary fuel efficiency. That’s the Isuzu advantage our customers enjoy,” he said.