College student ?? April Yap is the maiden Miss SIC; winning herself the title of Sepang International Circuit international ambassador for the year including representing the Malaysian Circuit at the Super GT International Series in Fuji in September.

A part-time model, April beat 11 other finalists at the concluding round of Miss SIC Search that was held at MoS at Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa. Privileged with a stunning vital body stats of 32/34/35, the 22-year old lass also took home Miss SIC Curvy title.

Patricia Phang was first runner-up while Elaine Tang took third place in the pageant which was held in conjunction with the Super GT International Series Malaysia 2009, which was held at the circuit from June 19 to 21. Caroline Sim was named as Miss SIC Personality while the Miss SIC Intelligent went to Melissa Neoh.

As Miss SIC, April will be the face of Sepang International Circuit; supporting the circuit in the promotion of all events organized by the circuit for the next one year as well as promotional events locally and internationally until her successor is crowned in 2010.

April, who stands 5ft 6in and weighs 48kg, said she was honoured to represent SIC and Malaysia and was looking forward to her trip to Suzuka to help promote the circuit and holiday destinations in Malaysia to the Japanese people.

“I hope to learn Japanese as soon as possible before my trip to the race in Suzuka. Few people in Japan speak English, so it is important that I know as much as possible of the Japanese language,” said the Kuala Lumpur-born April.

Entering the competition with a series of pageant titles under her belt, April was clearly the crowd favourite at MoS that night as she wowed the guests and panel of learned judges that included representatives from MoS, FHM Magazine, Top Gear, Quattro Club, Oxygen Magazine, Hypertune Magazine, Hitz.fm, StarRFM and the Japan GT Association.

With Super GT as the competition theme, the contestants performed various poses as GT Queens with the visiting Queens Shana and Nana providing the tips and guidance. They were also tested on their knowledge on the Super GT series as well as motorsports on the whole.

Commenting on the programme, SIC Chief Marketing Officer Hannah Yong said that she was happy with the response; adding that it would definitely feature as a key event in the circuit’s promotional programmes for next year’s Super GT race.

“We had two preliminary rounds this year – one in KL and one in Sunway. Naturally, we aim to have more preliminary rounds for next year including in Penang, Johor Bahru and Melaka. We aim to develop this programme further and maybe even have the final round at the circuit during the event. These are the things that we would be exploring for next year,” said Hannah, who is the project manager for the Super GT International Series 2009.

“Of course, we would also be looking for more partners next year to make 2010 a grand affair,” she said. Miss SIC Search 2009 was partnered by MoS, Sunway, Quattro Club, Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa, Je t’aime and Aery Jo.

The search began on May 16 with the introductory round of Miss SIC Search where a total of 25 contestants participating on that night showing their catwalk skills. The event was held at the Curve, The Laundry Bar. There was no elimination for that round as the contestants were only required to introduce themselves to the public.  

The 1st round was held at MoS (Ministry of Sound), Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa on the 23rd of May. This round the contestants had to demonstrate their catwalk skills and also answer some questions about themselves to see their communication ability. At the end of the night 8 girls were chosen to go for the final round.
 
The 2nd round was held at Quattro, Autumn Club, Avenue K on the 6th of June. This round was also the same as the first round where they parade their evening attire and did some catwalk and also the questions and answer session. Their questions involved some motorsports topic and also SIC related.

The final round was held again at MoS, Sunway on the 19 of June. The final round there was a total of 12 contestants. The girls paraded 3 different outfits that night. 1 of it being motorsports attire, swim wear and the last one was t he elegant dress. The girls each had to answer 2 questions which were motorsports oriented questions. The contestants were also taught how to pose “Japanese like” by the two GT Queens, Shana and Nana before they went on to do their catwalks. The GT Queens also performed on that night. There was also a performance the band “Dragon Red”.

By the end of the night after the judges has deliberate the scores, SIC CEO, Mr. Razlan Razali presented the girls their sash, flowers and crown.