Kawabata Team Toyo Drift

So, what’s your take on the drift? Fluke? New Drift King? He seems so damn cool about it though, as if nothing had happened! Props to that!

The final round of GRA 2009 is over and we were there for a slice of the action; congratulations to all the winners and have a great time at the upcoming annual dinner! Held from 9am to 6pm at the parking lot beside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, this eventful finish to the Grass Racing Autosports calendar was befitting to such a competition that has seen drivers for all walks of life. Hit the jump below for even more action!

As usual, it started off as a briefing from the GRA head honcho, Ian Khong, 1/3 of the boys from the well-known Khong family. Apart from the usual safety rules and regulations, which were strictly enforced, sponsors for the year 2009 were also given a chance to speak to the drivers.

Besides the sponsors, the GRA ladies were also given a chance to introduce themselves to the predominantly male sport. *please use these photos responsibly*

After the briefing, it was time for a traditional track walk where drivers could check out the layout in detail. We took a panoramic shot of the track, and see if you can spot yourselves! (warning; file is slightly over 1.2MB, this opens in a separate window)

Track Walk Panoramic

Some of the drivers opted to tweak their cars for the event; and Ian was also doing his last-minute scrutinizing rounds.

Prior to the Pro-grass classes, the amateur Grass runs were held, specially for those who did not have overly modified cars with rollcages or rather, ‘stage 2’ and above mods. Also, the field seems to compose of cars with automatic gearboxes. Here are some of them in action!

The track layout of the day. Looks complicated, isn’t it? No? It gave 70% of the drivers (grass and Pro-grass included) DNF runs because they missed a few cones in the last three stages (S3 to S5)!! Its time to head back to the pits! Unlike most drift events where the track was enclosed, GRA has traditionally been dangerous to photographers especially on open tracks where drivers can get lost. Hence we had limited angles to stand at, until we can weasel out an all-go from Ian, here are the rest of the day’s shots! *hehehe*

Our ‘superstar’ Ryuk1d sweating it out, as usual. It was a darn warm day, not as warm as Star Drift the week before, but with double the humidity and half of the wind – everyone was sweating it out!

This Satria had a trumpet stack atop a ITB header. Sounds *almost* like a VTEC!

As you can see from the pic, Mervyn had a mechanical problem of the weird kind; the bumpy surface of the track caused his battery to dislocate and dislodge something on his fueling system O.o a quick retightening of things, and he was off again!

Even the coppers were keeping an eye out on that day. Errant competitors were discouraged from racing on the streets due to police presence, but that did not stop an impromptu drag race between an Evo and a White GT-R (R35) in the early afternoon, putting pressure on the organizers even though they were not part of the event. Tsk tsk tsk……

The marshals fixing the timing sensor after being hit by Mike in his red Evo.

The boys were anxious to have a look at their times, led by non other than Ariff. Here, they crowded the timing van like bees to honey.

Ted Chow reviewing his laptimes. The famed disabled driver in his now-sponsored Kenari was very consistent throughout the day, pulling in low 1:12s and high 1:11s throughout the four runs. *respect* *respect* *respect*

The drifters looking at the Tsusio lineups after the qualifying session……..NOT! There were a sizeable amount of drifters that day, and these famous people represent only half of the sideways community! Overall, they did a commendable job (and well-deserved trophies too!) in GRA, with Yoong bagging the second fastest overall time, only to be beaten by William-Ban-Sama-Dia in his Suzuki Swift!!

Bottles of Munn waiting to be popped open after the prize-giving……

The trophies. No water-carnival this time! Below are the GRA superstars with the GRA grid girls (can they be labeled as such??) posing with their cars after the session…

As usual ‘uncle’ Julian gets the whole curvy lot.

Ian was giving an interview for ESPN methinks, and the girls kept on hogging the limelight from their boss.

Finally, he gets to pose with his ladies!

After the lengthy prize-giving ceremony, the winners were all treated to a sparkling grape juice bath to signify the end of the 2009 GRA series. Here’s to a bigger and better GRA next year!

For those who want to see photographic proof of the timesheets, here they are;

Grass class timesheet

Pro-grass class timesheet

Hehe, a passing shot of a participant in the grass class at last weekend’s GRA 2009 Final Round in Putrajaya. Full report will be up on Thursday, so hold your ponies!

As the second day dawned on the track at A’Famosa Resort, the participants could be heard practicing since the wee hours of the morn, piercing the heavenly silence with 4AGE roars and blowoff valves. Lugging ourselves from the bed and being treated to a sumptuous breakfast at one of the clubhouses, the track was full of participants trying their very best to dial in their cars for the final push towards qualifying.

These two were really early that day. The sun was still lazily rising in the sky yet the tires on these 86es were hotter than the bitumen on the parking lot.

You would think that it harbors a turbocharged 1.6, yet looks can be deceiving.

Check that out; a 13B rotary resides in the engine bay!

These two guys were trying out the perfect lines for all clipping points throughout the morning during the unofficial practice.

Tires are very important in a drift race; Team Goodyear usually needs about 14 pairs per car for two days of drifting, and that is cutting it close due to the amount of laps one needs for practicing. Look at how even the wear is on these Revspec rubbers!

Despite the rivalry amongst the drivers, there is a good level of camaraderie amongst the regular faces. Even in the face of stiff competition, they shared more than a few laughs during the qualifying briefings. Even if the rules varies from track to track and the various organizers out there, the premise is simple; go as close you can to the clipping points with the most angle and speed that you can muster – with throttle commitment!

Official Practice/Qualifying

These images above were taken from the judge’s podium which is the perfect place to view the participants’ lines during the crucial first corner. As you can see, not many are able to complete the rather unexpected long straight and subsequent right-hander curve. Most drivers would simply straighten out at the rear clipping point if too much angle was applied during the initiation point. Unless you had the power, one would have to clutch kick or pull the handbrake slightly after the point to continue drifting.

The four images above were taken from the most dangerous point on the track – the rear clipping point. Not only associated with the highest speeds, drivers tend to go beyond the edge of their capabilities, ending in a wipeout through the tires or even hitting one of the palm oil trees behind the wall. I would feel safer if the wall was some concrete barrier like Formula D or D1 Grand Prix, but that poses even more risks for the drivers as one can total his or her car.

These three images on the other hand, was taken from a relatively ‘safe’ portion of the track, unless some guy oversteers into the apex or something. The Soon Jaya 180SX was caught a split-second after his bumper made contact with one of the track markers.

Ariff and Joe-Han making jokes on the PA system. Yes, they had nothing better to do.

Ah Heng’s Yokohama Advan – sponsored AE86 is therefore named the cone-killer of the year – this unfortunate subject was dragged from the first clipping point until the rear clipping point! It is also a testament to his driving skills, keeping it squarely in the middle in front of the car, even during transitioning!

Ivan Lau doing the opposite of what champions would normally do. He was practically snoozing away during the lunch break!

The boys catching up on some cheap deals found in the back issues of On The Road magazine. Cute!

Tsusio/Best 16

The Tsusio briefing was as slightly more serious affair until Ivan brought up the PIT maneuver question!!

1st round off was Micheal Gan vs. Ivan Lau. The nimble Hachiroku kept up with 1JZ power as if it had tied itself to the Goodyear car.

Team Bridgestone members waiting for Tengku Djan’s outing during the Tsuiso. It was too hot to be standing out on the track, therefore we missed most of the Tsusio runs; can someone sponsor us a cool suit for future events? To add to the kicker, the long-range zoom was misbehaving too, so there ya go, sorry.

Ariff vs. Mr.K. The naughty boys played with some car to car contact!

Along and Loyai during their battle.

T.Djan and Ariff in a closely-fought battle which was really a nail-biting finish!

Along beating Ariff to the finals.

Along and Ivan in the finals. No guesses to who won the event this time around; the Hachi was that consistent.

Prizegiving

Ivan celebrating at the end. Sleeping paid off REAL well for this chap!

The winning cars; Along’s ride looks deceptively stock; can you tell whether it has a rollcage or not?

The prizes!!

Let me explain; at Star Drift, the prize-giving ceremony is like a mini-Songkran festival; winners will get a drenching, whether they liked it or not, so winners, now you know who sprayed what at you, refer back to this page for revenge! Looking at the pictures, Jane had the most fun though, despite being sick with flu.

The day ended on a high note for our helpful temporary pit crew from Tampin who were given free drift rides from Ariff.

With that, Star Drift 2009 was over, congratulations to Ivan and Team Bridgestone for running away with the championship, and here’s hopes to meeting again in Melaka next year! Mycarslowbai.com would also like to thank Team Goodyear for their hospitality throughout the weekend and also Ryuk1d who helped with the transport. See you guys this Sunday at the GRA Autocross 2009 finals!

It has been quite a while since we’ve been to any drifting events, and for a breather, we took a trip down to the Star Drift Challenge in sunny Melaka for the final round of the series this year. Starting from an early morning dash on the NSE on Saturday morning, we stayed till the very end on Sunday too, and here’s what conspired on the first day of the final round of Star Drift 2009!

The action actually started on Friday night where we were waiting to load some cars on two transporters which brought the race cars to A’Famosa Resort, the venue for the event. Being bored while waiting, Ariff drew some cute cartoon characters on Ryuk1d’s AE86.

Arriving at A’Famosa VERY early in the morning, only to find Ngan and a few others which were finalizing the track layout, we proceeded to hang around until the transporters arrived. As soon as the tent and tools were unloaded onto the pitlane, the early birds tested out the track layout and sent out feelers for the best lines.

Mama drifter sliding through one of the corners on Saturday morning.

Besides us, the second to arrive were the Under5ive crew with Rhenadi, the familiar face from Indonesia. His blue S13 is a common sight at local drift events, and he himself has progressed from a podium-clinching Novice in last year’s Malaysian Drift Challenge to a competitive driver in the Ace category during this event.

Some other shots of the early morning arrivals;

By lunchtime, it was apparent that most of the drifters had arrived, including some superstars such as Rudy Norman and his brother Johan, Loyai as well as Team Bridgestone with Tengku Djan and Ivan Lau. We took a quick pit walk during the lunch hour to size up the competitors for the day. With a total of 42 competitors, the final round of Star Drift was rather small in comparison to other editions, but with such figures, the organizers will not have any trouble with time.

A marshal taking a short nap during lunch hour; it was definitely a hot day although we don’t know how used RE001s could be that comfortable.

Nursing a flu, Cheaka took her time off to recharge while the rest of the pit crew were stuck with a blown transmission on Skagee’s car. A replacement is on the way, and all they could do now was wait.

More custom graphics courtesy of Ariff.

A lovely color choice on one of the cleanest AE86s in the drift circuit. It’s a wonder how he manages to keep the car that clean and good looking since the potential for scuffles during tsusio is darn high!

Loyai changing his own tires…..with a sinister expression AHAHHAHAHA. Nice dished rims though!

The FX Open car arrives on its own transporter, accompanied by one of the GT-R’ed shod 350z.

Even with that many NOS bottles, it is never enough for a 2-day event!

Sean Khoo’s Kumho 13 car sitting in the pits…..

…beside Mr Nismo’s own R32 which had developed power problems due to some gremlins somewhere. He did take it out for a couple of spins before finishing up the judging rules though.

Malaysia’s drifting scene poster boys in their tents. The Bridgestone team is the closest to a Malaysian Project-D complete with purpose-built racecars and a large support crew. The final person in the trifecta, Tan Tat Wei could not make it due to a problem with his machine, leaving only T.Djan and Ivan to defend the championship.

A pristine-looking Skyline parked alongside Lok Sifu’s daily driver. IMHO, it’s too white, showing that either the owner: a) cleans it on a daily basis, b) has gone to a car spa before coming over to Melaka or c) keeps it as a showcar!

A gaggle of cars from an institute that we have not heard of. Promechanix’s the name, and these cars look suspiciously stock on the outside.

More people were arriving during lunchtime, including one turbocharged, widebody, killer-looking KE70. Check out the offset on the front rims!!

A rear shot of Team Goodyear’s Michael Gan’s Toyota-powered, ER34-looking Cefiro. Yes, it’s a true-blue ceffy and it sure as hell doesn’t look like one!

The Prince of Drift taking to the track after lunch. He drifts like he was doing it since conception; he definitely holds a presence on the track, and whenever he makes his runs, the rest will stay and watch, probably to learn a few tricks too!

After lunch, the madness ensues; look at the guys tsusio-ing. It feels like Bukit Jalil!

I’d like to call him the Team Toyo Falken Soon Jaya driver; even his number plate is customized.

More hilarity from the AE86 gang. It looks fun out there when you get to rev at full throttle in the corners.

Loyai and Rhe in a tandem drift; a few months before this, you would not even think that the young kid could manage to keep up with old-timers like Loyai, but he did manage to put on some pressure.

More AE86 fun!

Rudy in his 400+bhp Silvia S15. He definitely has all the power he needs; controlling it would be a major issue instead of dumping the clutch. He has so much power, he only has to blip the throttle to keep the rear sliding!

Rocker Loh negotiating the rear clipping point on the R-shaped track.

Ivan Lau doin’ his thang. He definitely makes the most smoke in an AE86; such is expected of a car that is equipped with N2O and runs on race fuel! I’m liking the clean graphics on his car though, its neat and classy without being too ostentatious.

That’s a huge intercooler on the AE70*!

*AE86 Levin front on KE70 chassis

Here are more people from several parts of the track; amateur photographers beware; cars can fly from all directions, so keep your ears peeled, even while looking through the lens!

Mechanical troubles for Team Goodyear!!

Earlier in the day, three of the four Team Goodyear cars were plagued with mechanical problems; Jane’s car had an electrical problem which killed all of her meters, Ariff’s S13 had a busted gearbox and Michael’s machine blew a hose for the oil pressure sensor. The easiest problem to fix was Michael’s. Swapping the outlet for a nut and replacing the lost engine oil, he was up and running as soon as his mechanic returned from Tampin with a properly-sized nut.

His car was bleeding all right! As a consolation, he got fresh engine oil in return.

Ariff’s gearbox was out by 5pm, and we were waiting for a replacement from KL before we could do anything else for the day.

In the meantime, its great to break out some KFC and have dinner! Leong was exhausted and decided to take a short nap….until I flashed him in the face!

Help arrives! thanks to the efforts of Drift House’s Joe-Han, a replacement S14 gearbox and an alternator was delivered in record time.

With some help from the Tampin local mechanics, the problem was quickly sized up.

Working to get the 180SX back on its tires in the meantime, the new alternator was installed.

A great way to pass time’; checking out the reflective print on the Goodyear Racing tees!

By 11.45pm, Jane’s car had no more electrical issues and the gearbox was installed. Not bad for a 2-man team which started working from 8pm! It was a great experience knowing how the guys from What could pull off a Prodrive-like achievement even without additional manpower and specialized parts which can be installed in seconds. The report for the second and final day will be published the day after, so stay tuned!

Where?

Dato’ Sagor Track in Kampung Gajah, Perak

When?

10/10/09

What time?

9am to 6pm (full day)

How much?

RM130/Car

What will you get?

• Full access to the track within those hours
• free flow of drink for the drivers
• optional overnight stay in Teluk Intan (additional charges applies).

What will you need?

• Shoes
• valid driving license
• sportsmanship

Registration closes 25/09/09, so hurry! Contact details are below, or drop a comment in the comment box! =

Contact

Well, it has been a while since the last post, and due to time/event constraints here’s a refreshing new update; the chili-red Honda City you see here belongs to a certain person who has put a great deal of attention to his car, even if it costs a bomb in these financially unstable times. The 3rd-generation City has been given a new bodykit, some shoes, and a minor performance bump which shows that not all family sedans are boring. Not forgetting that unbelievably red paint which caused a havoc on our white balance sensors! Check out more images after the jump.

Customized bumper probably weighs a ton, but even with its borrowed styling (guess the car), it does help channel air to the brakes and such. No fake holes here; its all functional.

You can probably guess the additional width set by the custom kit by now. The fenders have gaps to lower pressures in the wheel well at higher speeds.

The rear does look like a continental from this angle. A custom diffuser and integrated spoiler fleshes out the ‘aero’ look without being too tacky for this kind of car. Even with the awkward design of the stock City’s boot, the end result speaks for itself in the flesh.

It’s not just all show and no go; several performance parts are installed to help move all that fiber. One of them is this Trust titanium muffler. As you can probably see from the scratches and dirt on the diffuser and tip, this car is driven hard, despite its relative age!

To top it all off, 18″ rims with rather fat lips are topped off with performance tires. The braking department is also improved with the addition of a 4-pot “Brembo” system – definitely a huge jump in braking potential compared to the stock system!

Want to emulate his style or flesh out what you have in mind for your own car? There’s always this URL to go to, and by the looks of their custom creations, you’ll definitely stand out from the crowd.

A particular Mr. Iulian Bumbu, a graduate of a design course at SPD in Milan has singlehandedly designed this sharp-looking BMW coupe, a vision of how the next generation sports coupe would look like. Named the BMW S.X Concept, it is based on the 6 Series, a far cry from the portly-looking current M6, with its aggressive front styling. Even though the rear would look more at home on an Aston Martin, it certainly looks the part of a BMW, incorporating Bangle’s flame styling along its sides while giving it haunches which suggests massive power underneath the expansive hood. The side profile looks similar to the 8C Competizione, and short overhangs both front and rear would mean either a wider wheelbase, or slightly smaller car than the current generation, if it ever reaches production status!!

[diseno-art.com]

I read it on Jalopnik, and this is so cool, I just needed to share this with you guys. A jet-powered truck. How cool can that be? Beats your musclecar anytime, just don’t try to race me in the mountains. That would be disastrous.

There’s a video of it too!
Jet Truck

More details @ Jalopnik.