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Formula Drift Thailand :7th-8th November 2009
Held at Bangkok’s Wonderworld Park, the inaugural, Goodyear Formula Drift Thailand , was a roaring success , attracting over 7000 spectators during the two day event. This newly built international standard drift track had New Zealand’s Mad Mike and Japan’s Miki Ryuji joining the ranks of an international field made up of Thais, Malaysians ,Singaporeans , Indonesians and a Filipino. The final result had Mad Mike in first , Miki in second and Djan in third.
I personally love going to Thailand. Cheaka and I have business associates there and we are practically there every year. The people there are extremely friendly and polite. The Thais drifters are also no exception. They had impressed me since the hay days of the Malaysian D1 Gran Prix series where we played host to close to a dozen Thai drifters during the final round in Shah Alam. Their drift cars ,set up and equipments were years ahead of us and as expected so were the Thai drift cars that we saw this year. The Thais are really into the sport and take competition very seriously; almost to the point of being mistaken to be unfriendly . Their handwork and dedication to the sport extends to long hours of practice they put into during this competition , even dragging into the wee hours of the morning at the Wonderworld track!!
The results of the Malaysian teams were not as impressive as the last round in Singapore, with the exception of Tengku Djan who got 3rd overall. Michael Gan ( top 32) and Me (top 16) only managed to go so far with Johan and Jane obtaining damages on their cars thus failing to qualify. The Bridgestone Malaysia team had Ivan (top 32) and Tat Wei ( top 16) suffered the same fate as us. It was apparent that the lack of horsepower was the main citeria of our poor performance. With the exception of Tengku Djan and Michael Gan, all of us were running a sub 330 BHP cars. Though sufficient for courses in Malaysia and Singapore, more power is needed for a course such as this . It was basically a short straight that leads to a wide long corner ,where we were required to be hug the the wall throughout the entry and also a huge portion of the first corner. The ideal technique is to intiate the drift via handbraking all to the first rear clipping zone . Power is needed to gain enough velocity on such a short straight which then allows the momentum to slide the car all the way to the rear wall! Rest assured , we will be back next time with more fire power!! 🙂
Upon arrival at the airport on Wednesday…
After wandering aimlessly in the airport, we finally managed to locate our transport . The driver was a friendly bloke with a terrible sense of direction…he once got us lost going to the event place and took almost 3 hours when it was suppose to be a 45min journey . Johan seen here giving a two thumbs rating for the massage chair in the van while Micheal Gan recovers from the experience..
We arrived at the Pullman King Power hotel and met up with Marcus and the Binter crew on the way out to the track. Seen here Micheal Gan is still recovering 
Since we were free that day we decided to tag along with Ivan Lim and Phope and check out Mike Whiddet who had gearbox issues at that time
Phope telling us a typical Thai joke…
It took a while for the Kiwis to get it though …(L-R)Darren, Mike, Mr Cook and Mr Whiddet
We were told that there was a Drift Kart joint nearby , so we decided to check it out!
Never realised before but; I wonder why the person running the place decided to rest his neck on my thumb… ???
Getting the Kart sideways was almost as fun as the real thing..
That night Phope took us out to check out some local grub…spicy
We went through such an ordeal while shipping our car out of Malaysia that we so glad to see the car arriving in one piece in Thailand
Registration…
A few of Thailand’s drift monsters …..
Philipine’s David Feliciano’s drift car decked out in cool Rota rims
A few of the 50 race queens Goodyear had hired for the event …
Rumour has it that there are two males in this photo….I think Pop doesnt know it ( then again , maybe he does:))
The results of getting a bit too close to the rear wall ……
I’m not trying to look cool here but just trying decide where to put my hands…
Eh…where’s Cheaka’s left hand is at????!!
Micheal Gan polishing his photo taking skills
Johan dreaming of having a massage chair of his own…
Maxxis’s Tumz and his girlfriend who will be competiting in the Malaysian Formula Drift.
Drivers briefing
Thats all the photos I have as from then onwards we were to busy drifting …..
Competing in Thailand was a total new experience that proved to be valuable to us. From logistic wise, equipment to team management , everything was put to a straining test where all its flaws and weaknesses were apparent .All these however have been noted and necessary changes have been made alas we are glad to say that we will be more prepared the next time around.
Sepang Drag Battle Rd:4; Goodyear’s 3000bhp dragster , 31st October 2009
The ‘race what you brung’ drag racing session , popularized by the former Batu Tiga circuit’s, hugely popular ‘Saturday Night Fever’, had a huge impact in the motorsport scene but sadly not all was positive.
Photo by Irwadi
Cars of various state and form, many of which were souped up daily driven cars were drawn to this loosely formatted racing. A small entrance fee and a helmet would qualify one to participate . With safety being was more of a mutual understanding rather than enforced, only serve to solidify its portrayal of being an underground sport .
Photo by Irwadi
Though these sessions did a great job of pulling the street racers off the streets, it had only manage to produce a handful of serious competitors as the drag racing session only served to be a side show for the circuit racing sessions (CCT) which was held on the same night
Photo by Irwadi
As years went by, with the construction of the FIA approved ,Sepang Internation Circuit, a new drag racing series was born. With sanctioning by motorsport governing bodies ,proper formatted races with strict safety measures and proper timing devices, Sepang Drag Battle series, besides having set the standards of quarte mile racing in Malaysia ,but have also helped to improve the image of drag racing and most importantly , improve the mindset of those involved in the sport.The ‘seriousness’ of this sport have produce more purpose built drag cars which are more faster , more reliable and most importantly, safer. These cars now dominate the numbers of cars participating and we are begining to see the quarter mile times dropping to the single digit region of current record of 8.94 secs held by GT Auto’s Evo 3 !Though the timing may not even raise an eye brow in the international drag scene, an 8 sec run achieved on an untreated ,circuit type surface ,with minimal ( at most) burn out time, is certainly no easy feat. To put it in simpler terms ,traction is something that Malaysian drag races are struggling with ,as these races are being held on a surface not meant for this genre of racing.The main straits of the Sepang International Circuit , where the drag race is being held may be perfect for circuit , but do not produce enough grip for Drag racing.In essences, going any faster than 8 sec might not be possible and may not be very safe either. This is one of the reason why, with the exception of the odd semi tube chassis cars, the presence of high horsepower Dragsters ,which are regarded as the machinery of the highest form of drag racing, have illuded the Malaysian drag scene . A proper drag strip with treated surface and sufficient burnout, staging , race and braking space is needed to accommodate these extremely fast high horsepower cars to be to compete safely. Certainly a chicken and egg situation has existed as one would ask; why do we need a proper drag strip when the cars currently competing now do not necessarily need them and there aren’t any Dragsters in Malaysia ?
Goodyear, with its rich heritage in racing comes in ; inline with its dedication to raise the level of motorsport in this region , Goodyear has taken the initiative to show case its 3000bhp Dragster, from our neighboring country , Thailand and also to introduce Goodyear’s line up of drag tires soon being made available in Malaysia.
A demo run was scheduled during the Sepang Drag Battle that will serve to entertain, educate and most importantly inspire the drag racing enthusiast and also venue owners into venturing into this higher form of drag racing.
Picture from www.autoworld.com.my
The media launch was held at Goodyear Malaysia Berhad headquarters in Shah Alam.
Picture taken from www.zerotohundred.com
(L-R) Goodyear Malaysia MD En Nasution Abdul Rahman , Goodyear ASEAN MD Mr Richard Fleming and Dragster driver Mr Apaspong Premanon during the media launch 
Picture taken from www.motorsportchannel.com
The Dragster’s specification. 11,588 cc V8? I wonder how much one would pay for road tax in Malaysia..3000HP??? wow !!!
The Dragster had broken one of the tubes on it chassis when the car accidentally ran over a speed hump when it performed a burnout during the launch. A broken tube on it chassis , besides affecting the integrity of the Dragster’s structure also will cause the car not to steer straight.
Picture taken from www.zerotohundred.com
If one were to observe a Dragster’s steering wheel, it serves more as a handle for the driver to hold onto rather than to actually steer the car. What more with its skinny front tires, steering inputs are at minimal at the most during a run . So welding the tubes of the broken chassis is not such a straight forward affair as the tubes have to be joined at a precise angle in order for the car to run straight. To achieve this , the Dragsters has to be corner weighted to a certain ratio which takes account chassis , tire and other components flex ,along with other mambo jambos that only the chassis tuner knows about.Thankfully after making a few phone calls, GT Auto were kind enough to lend us their space and facility which includes a set of corner weight machine
As for the welding work, we were able to get Wan Boss ( a renown drifter )who is a welder by profession with exceptional skills ! Wan was kind enough to drop everything he was doing to make it over to get the job done.
The chassis engineer closely guarding the corner weight figures away from others..
Hanging out with Toby (far right) from GT Auto
We got to Sepang early that day , in time to see the drag course being set up!!
Jane doubled as Goodyear’s race queen earlier during the day..
There was a sigh of relief when the Dragster arrived at the venue safely in one piece
The Dragster generated huge interest among the spectator , whom many have never seen a real Dragster in the flesh!!!
Richard Fleming and Apaspong about to inspect the track
Aloycious in his super fast semi tube chassis CRX shared the pit with the dragster
Check out Roland Ooi ( left in green T shirt) looking envious as I pose with the Sunoco girls …heeheehehe
Without a proper burn out , hence racing with tires below the correct operating tempreture, the Goodyear Dragster driven by Apaspong Premanon only managed a 10.4 sec. An average time in Malaysian Drag standards but bear in mind, this 400m time was achieved with the car lifting off throttle at the 200 meter mark, as the Dragster’s begin to go squirrely thus forcing the driver to coast to the finishing line from there on!!!One could only imagine what timing could the dragster achieve if it had a good burnout and a slightly stickier surface to race on!
With Malaysian now having witness the demo run of this awesome machinary courtesy of Goodyear, it is now up to us to make a collective effort towards the construction of a proper drag strip in order for this sport to grow further .
To learn more about Drag racing click HERE
Grass Racing Autosports Championship Finale ,Putrajaya 18th Oct 2009
Fresh from the Stardrift Finals , Jane , Jensen and I made our way to another finals , this time the GRA’s Round 4. Held at the huge parking lot besides the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, this event had a record number of participants of over 6o people!!!. .
Though not impossible , I knew it was difficult for me to be able to get into the top 3, on the overall standing having missed a round in this 4 round series. However , with me doing two ‘wrong courses ‘ along with a corrected run ( where I redid a section where I made a mistake while the time is still running) and a safe run had me plummeting down the score board ,out of contention.
With that being said; Jane and Jenshen killed it at Putrajaya with Jane winning best female and bagging a placing in the Novice OD for 2009 and Jenshen for placing 2nd in Novice OD for this round and 4th for OD overall
Yoong proved to be unstoppable again by posting 2nd fastest time of the day. He settled with 2nd behind Andy Kow in the final overall scores but who know what the outcome will be if he had not missed the 2nd round .
Two drifters made their appearence with in this event too, Derek Lim and Mervyn ‘Nangka Murah’ Mohd with Mervyn placing 1st for novice OD ( i think :)) for this round!!
Anyway, here are some pics from that day
Stardrift Challenge 2009 Final round 10th-11th Oct 2009 Malacca
Due to the clashing of dates, Jane and I was forced to miss two rounds of the Stardifts challenge series . Being a 3 round series, we made it a point to not miss this final round. We were totally drained from the Singapore event the week before, with Jane was recovering from a flu while I was showing early signs of ,contracting it from her 😛 . However , we soon found out that the state of our health were not the only hurdle that we will be experiencing that weekend!
DAY 1:Practice
We arrived at the venue early Saturday morning only to find that the trailer transporting our car was late .So we promptly set our pit up and just basically hung out till almost mid afternoon when it finally arrived .
The course was set up similar to the last round which gives an advantage to those who attended it but nevertheless we got around familiarizing it quickly. I had noticed that my runs were other plague with shifting gremlins. On almost every run, I had trouble either up shifting or down shifting. Being intermittent and not happening on a specific gear , this problem was initially thought to be a clutch problem which had Leong adjusting it almost after every run. This carried on to the point that I wasn’t able to shift and I knew that it was the gearbox instead
My practice runs were plague by shifting issue; either when shifting up or down.
Jane runs were good but lack consistency.
Jenshen was enjoying his newly acquire power from his freshly transplanted 4agze supercharged engine as he was able to do quiet a few good runs
.
. Our fears was confirmed when we found metal fillings in our transmission oil when we drained it.
So a quick call to our friend Joe Han of Drift House had him locating one gearbox for us but delivery could only be made later in the evening.
(L-R) Jenshen, Leong and Man; Waiting for the parts to arrive.Leong seen here in his element :p
Soon after Jane also had to put her practice to a halt as a faulty alternator was causing her fuses in her car to blow.
Late evening ,and we are still waiting. Jane seen here feeling the effect of her flu
Due to the lack of lightings , the place almost pitch black at night so ,the oil from the broken transmission was used to fuel the lamps we made ...
which gave decent lighting…don’t you think?
Jane’s car waiting for her alternator transplant..
so’s mine
Our ever so resourceful and multitasking Kevin from www.mycarslowbai.com seen here lending a hand with the jack while having dinner
The wonderful people from Tampin who came over with much needed lighting and also to assist with the gearbox transplant which DriftHouse’s Joe Han had just delivered.
Things got finally done by 11pm . As it was dark , I only manage a couple of straight line runs to test the gearbox. We soon packed up and called it a day.
DAY 2 :Competition
We got to the track early the very next day and got around practicing..
The ‘new’ gearbox worked perfectly and I managed to get a few solid practice runs
Jane was also drifting without any mechanical problems too
Pre qualifying briefing…seen here , Ivan Lau (pony tail, in white), feeling the effects of the night before’s “Party Like a Rockstar” sesssion in the neighbouring state 🙂
Qualifying was a straight forward affair. I only managed to get in, middle of the pack, which I was a bit disappointed with but after what we had gone through I should count my blessings. Jane , however once again narrowly missed top 16 again!!! She shared the same points as the 16th qualifier (Goodyear’s Michael Gan) but her lower second run points gave the advantage to him.Anyway with her flu and all I think she did a terrific job. Jenshen rocked during practice but qualifying jitters rob him of a good run.Lack of experience is the main culprit which will be easily solved given time
TOP 16
Top 16 run was against Mr K from Seremban. I have never gone against him but based on my observations, on his performance in past competitions and also on ones that I had judged, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.Our runs were really aggressive. While I was leading,there were bit more of body contact than what I am comfortable with .So I made sure I ‘performed’ just as well when it was my turn to follow 🙂 The judges voted in my favour
TOP 8
Going against Tengku Djan is something I’ve always dreaded. I have only gone against him twice , with the last during Formula Drift Singapore ,which he dropped me faster than a bad habit 🙂 Determined to put up a fight,we managed to go through two ‘one more times’
Some how I managed to narrowly win from Djan and advance to top 4
Top 4
To my horror, we ran out of tires!!! My run is coming up next and the only decent pair of tires left was Jane’s used tires that was on her car. I knew it wasn’t enough to go to the finals with but getting through Top 4 was our 1st priority at the moment 🙂 .
My run with privateer Along Rempit had to go through a ‘One more time’ which resulted a win a to him.
Due to a single point difference in my qualifying score the final place on the podium was awarded to Vincent’ terbalik’ Lim. with me in forth
Sharing my 4th placed ‘shower’ with organiser Ngan..
I was happy that we made it this far as a team ,even with all the odds going against us ,but one thing I was really happy about was , my buddy Ivan Lau winning this round thus grabbing the championship for this year. Ivan had a string of bad luck throughout the year and badly needed a boost of confidence. This win certainly helped as Ivan is back to his over confident cocky self !!! 🙂
Of course my thanks also goes to the Tampin locals who were there when we needed them. I hope to give you guys more taxi rides in the future!!
SUZUKI Driver Experience 2009 Changi EC Singapore 3rd-4th October 2009
Supported by Goodyear Singapore, the Suzuki Drivers Experience 2009 had given Jane and I the opportunity to work along side the famous Kevin ‘4WD can’t drift’ Flynn of Drivers Dynamic. With CK and Singapore’s drift superstar, Ivan Lim , the organisers, Pit Crew had assembled a total of over 90 enthusiastic Suzuki Swift and Swift Sports owners to push their cars to its limit , on this two day event!
With techniques such as ; lane changes, ABS braking , slalom and many others , many participants had gained a better understanding of their vehicles and ,most importantly ,acquired skills that makes them better drivers.
Here are the few pics we managed to take during the event…
Instructor’s briefing
Course set up
One of the head honchos of Pit Crew , Kumar, exemplifying the term ‘working smart ‘
The infamous trousers-tearing-slip n slide- golf kart…;)
Nick , the voice of Pit Crew, with Jane
Jason, the other boss of Pit Crew , shows us that the loves his women big
The participants were divided to groups of ten, Kevin here briefing the students before conducting on the slip and slide course
It’s safe to say that yellow is really popular among Swift owners
Beside the Suzuki Driver Experience, we were also there to a photoshoot for an up coming Mitsubishi Stunt Driving course to be held mid next month. One of the attractions of the course is ramp to ramp jumping where participants are taught how to jump a Colt version R!!
It is important that construction of the ramp follows closely to the plan specifications
Jane attempting to clear the gap by foot , while Bernard having difficulty getting lift off 🙂
Kevin reminding me , over and over again that 4wd can’t be drifted…we’ll see hehehehehe
A Colt version R with Two Lancers which incidentally one is 4WD…I can’t wait 🙂
No , those aren’t FIA Chuck Taylors I’m wearing….accidently left my racing shoes while packing