Cheaka and I were invited by Goodyear Singapore to participate in their Formula Drift Singapore road show held at the Shaw Towers on Orchard road on the 13th June 2009. Since they wanted to use Cheaka’s 180sx for their ‘Design the Formula Drift car decal’  competition , I decided to bring the panda AE86 along as a precaution, as the 180sx was still in amidst of running in its’  freshly built engine. . We drove down a day earlier ,which went smoothly, till we reached  the 2nd Link exit when  suddenly I heard a loud clank followed by what sounds like something bouncing off beneath the petrol tank and off the back of the AE86. The car then  started to make loud metallic noises whenever it went over bumps at the rear which I casually  thought was  just the exhaust hitting the under carriage due to a broken or loose  mounting. However the car felt unsettled every time I turned which indicated something much more serious. We promptly  stop by the road to take a closer look but couldn’t seem to  find the cause ( the fact that it was raining didn’t make it easier). So we decided to drive at ‘limp mode’ all the way through the border  and into Singapore. Thankfully we arrived safely to the hotel; The nice people at Goodyear Singapore had put us   up in the arty yet comfy Hotel RE which so happens to be the official hotel for the Singapore’s Formula Drift leg this July 4th 2009

Early next morning, we were greeted by, a sleepy looking, Ivan Lim and his  buddy ,Ben, They both led us to the Shaw Towers where the crew were busily in admist of set up.

Located right on the sidewalk in front of Shaw Towers off Orchard Road

Cheaka finds the right spot to park her car..

Adam(black tank top) ,who is also a drifter,was commission to do all the stickers and  Jason from Pit Crew ( with T shirt )

Marcus from Binter, the person responsible for bringing  Formula Drift into this region

Since it was still early and we were only suppose to be there at 12pm. We decided to grab a quick bite for breakfast at a Mamak restaurant

We then proceeded to Ben’s place while waiting for Ivan to freshen up a few houses down the road

Ben showing us his uber high tech multiple screened gaming console in his bedroom..He has tons of gaming memorabilia which includes a life sized Final Fantasy sword!! This dude will be getting a drift Supra shipped to Singapore pretty soon!

When we arrived back at Shaw Towers at noon the place was already set up with all the cars nicely positioned and the display booth and buntings erected . The following are some of the photos of the activities that took place that day

Tommy getting a member of the public to fill out a questionnaire , with Regina ( white skirt) in the background

Tommy working his charms again

Ian, Ivan and Ben showing me the different examples of the typical Singaporean postures while lepaking on Orchard road

Nick, the MC of the day, interviewing Cheaka and I

Ivan with his female fan

Ivan with more of his female fans

Contestants for the Design the car decal competition..

They had 20 minutes to cut out a design out of the  colored sticker sheets given

One side per team

A crowd started to gather..

I was given the daunting task of judging the contest as both sides were equally as good

Winners of the first competition that day..

Ivan’s fans all the way from Thailand…I asked to be included in the picture 😛

The second group of contestants busy at work

The whole roadshow crew which consist of Binter, Pit Crew and Goodyear Singapore

When we got back to the hotel, I took a good look underneath the car and was shocked to find that the bolt the held the rear suspension strut to the axle  had came off and was just hanging there!! We tried going around the shops to find a replacement bolt and bushing but were to no avail. Thankfully, the ever resourceful Ivan had tons of bolts and bushing at this house  and was able to find one that fits. He even laid down on the road to help me fix it..For that I really owe him big time!!!.. thanks buddy!!

Soon after, Winston, a former drift student of ours came over with his extremely cool Porsche to hang out at the hotel parking lot

I really want one of those!!

Lepaking…

...while Ben starts  ‘Jay Chowing’

The night ended with supper at the Newton Circus food court  before the leaving the next day.