It has been a while since we last saw an update, but we’re back!! Held at the Cyberjaya Community Club and Lake Gardens, the Cyberjaya Drift Challenge 2010 was a fitting ending to the Motorsports day held by the landowners, Cyberview Sdn Bhd. Held from 8pm into the wee hours of the morning, the track was well-suited for short wheelbase cars, and in particular, the AE86 chassis, with its tight turns as well as short transition area, most drifters could only max out at 2th gear before initiating into the first rear clipping point. Of course, the judges weren’t being too lenient; our Prince Of Drift and Loyai themselves were dishing out the scores that night!

Enjoy the gallery after the jump!

Congratulations to all the winners, especially Mr.K who was consistent right from the beginning of the event who went on to clinch the title!

We’re back from the track, and after getting sunburnt and fizzed out (no thanks to the long queue waiting for the Pitwalk), we’re back to report on the situation in Sepang! Arriving on the scene early in the morning, we were greeted by ominious dark clouds over the track and wind speeds of up to 30km/h. Manuevering into one of the last parking bays located near the Yokohama drift area, the track was rather devoid of spectators, as the time and weather was perfect reason for waking up at a later time. Unlike yesterday, the booth areas around the mall were now occupied by exhibitors, with Toyota showing off their TRD Vios which is retailing at nearly RM100k, although it is loaded with TRD goodies and a warranty from the factory. More images will be uploaded later, in a seperate post containing the most-wanted images on the planet right now, the GT Queens! For now, enjoy the gallery and highlights we have setup for you after the jump.

Bibendum was caught lepaking around with several members of the fairer sex.

The first practice session for the Super GT cars gave the fans a spectacle to watch, especially with the cool weather. However, when the raindrops started falling down, the cars were having a difficult time staying on the track as most of them were running intermediate tires and others were on full slicks. It didn’t help that the rain was falling down worse than cats and dogs with the soaked track looking more like a shallow wading pool due to the huge amount of water.

The reflection of the cars make for a great image, even if some of them were having difficulties with traction, especially on these high-powered RWD machines. As you will see in the gallery below, some even had short excursions off-track into the grass! The rain was really heavy at this time, and officials closed the track for a good 15 minutes in order to drain the excess water from the surface.

- At this point of time, we were busy capturing images of the GT Queens, so we’ll just fast-forward to the late afternoon races as well as the pit walkabout, shall we? :p -

One of the eventual winners of the Aston Martin Asia Cup. These Baby Vantages were not as fast as the other cars on the track, but they do emit a great sound thanks to the unconstrained V8 power.

During the Pit Walkabout, we could get up close and personal with the mechanics, managers and even drivers. Here’s a GT300 machine getting prepped up during the one hour break.

Max Orido chilling out in front of the pits.

During lunch, we checked out the drifters which were showing off their stuff in the parking lot opposite the track entrance. Two A31 Cefiros were duking it out in a tandem battle, giving the small crowd a good show. Here’s Joe-Han from Drift House in the black car and Din Nismo in the yellow car. This would be one of the earlier events where we get to see Joe-Han’s newly-resurrected Cefiro which is powered by a Nissan V8 engine!

Here’s a gallery where you’ll get to see more Super GT action as well as other pictures taken during the Pit Walkabout. Check back tomorrow for results and stuff!!

dsc05195

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 64

An update from the track for those who were at work and for those who were lazy enough to collect their pre-booked tickets to the Super GT Weather was hot with slight drizzle on the way to SIC, although at the track itself, its the usual Sepang weather which is extremely hot, sunny and windy at the same time. For those who are planning to visit the track tomorrow, bring your sunscreen and a hat! Here’s what happened from 2pm on Friday. Above is last year’s winning car, the Autech/Motul Nissan 350Z. More below!

Visitors to the track will immediately see the Mutiara Motors booth, showcasing their RX8. While the bodykit looks nice and all, visitors are not allowed to touch the cars.

Who wants some Denso Iridium Power lovin? XD

Further into the building, you’ll see the Nissan pavilion which showcases the GT-R and the latest 370Z. The booths are managed by Tan Chong Motors, so this could be a sign that you will be able to purchase these cars with a manufacturer’s warranty soon.

Some close-ups of the 370Z, which is still rare in this part of the world. Nice stock rims, I would say, although the headlamps are slightly disappointing. Blame that on my taste though.

Okay, not really a road-legal GT-R, but hey, while all other teams were preparing their cars, we spotted this specimen undergoing a tuneup on the track.

Do not cross this particular marshal! He controls right about a gazillion horsepower just by waving a puny sign The GT3 qualifying sessions were held today. Lots of exotic machinery which I can’t afford ever trashing it out and wailing at high revs on the track.

A fine Italian bull makes it way around the track. The V10’s noise is like music to the ears compared to the 911 GT3’s harsh wailing boxer. Speaking of which….    

Yeah, there’s a huge amount of 911s in a the GT3 Asia race.

Manabu Orido’s WedsSport Lexus IS350 in the pits.

An expensive race car, this Mosler is. A brand new machine purchased by Thunder Asia Racing, this is the car’s maiden race, driven by a Singaporean, Melvin Choo and Martin Short from Mosler. The price of the GT3 race car only? GBP225000 with VAT!!! That’s RM1.3 Million without anything else, and while I’m sure that the Nissans are hovering around the same price, they have factory backing (well, most of them anyways).

Yo momma so fat, she needs these rims on her powered wheelchair!!!!

Looks like a typical Japanese backyard. I don’t know why the pools are there, but here’s another one;

No, it was not filled up with engine oil or something. Below are the shots taken during the Formula V6 Asia qualifying. Check out the flame-spitting cars!

And a driver spun out for a while, resulting in a hairy miss at this infamous turn.

Outside the track, a parking area was reserved for Yokohama, who will be setting up a drift circuit tomorrow (Saturday). Keiichi Tsuchiya, Orido and wild man Taniguchi will be there as well, here how it looks!

We also spotted some drifters getting ready for the day’s offerings;

Yeap, Leona, Din Nismo and Lok Sifu were there, chilling out and testing out the track. Expect some hot action tomorrow!! That’s all for now, see you at Sepang, and stay tuned for more updates from the Super GT race when we come back!

We can’t say how much we love drift, the sideways action can rarely be seen in other forms of motorsport today, and like what Keiichi Tsuchiya has said, its the most exciting way around the corner. Learning to control the fine line between gripping and losing it all is tough though, and that’s where Sync Optima’s Drift Academy (or a cooler-sounding SODA) comes in. Manned by the married couple of Malaysian drift, Ariff and Jane, participants learn how to control their cars while applying driving techniques not taught in your average driving school.

Ariff on the extreme left showing out some pointers to his class of 11 would-be drifters

His classes are rather well known, and these three dudes came all the way from Singapore in their manual Civic FD2. One of them has had prior training at the Nusajaya track which was also conducted by Ariff.

Participants were encouranged to bring their own drift cars. This pristine S14 Zenki is owned by one of the participants of SODA. Calvin trying out his newly-transplanted 180SX under Jane’s tutelage. He’s still trying to learn the new dynamics of the car; SODA’s courses allows you to have safe refresher lessons by legal means.

The aforementioned S14 trying to get its tail out in the corner; understeering was rampant throughout the early stages of the training as drivers learnt ways to make the rear break loose. Swallowing cones were common too, although being new to the sport, they generally tried to avoid the poor cones, unlike the more experienced ones Mike Ng, a GRA expert was definitely the star of the day when he became the fastest learner, pulling off high-quality moves within a short timeframe. Being skillful in GRA, drifting was merely a step up the ladder of car control for Mike and his S15. Speaking about car control, look what happened to one of Mike’s tires late during the day – I name it the Tire Flower, something petrolheads present to their girlfriends/wives during Valentine’s.

Onwards to the drifting action brought to you by Feinto-D! Loyai was on-hand to manage the session, and the field was packed to the brim, thanks to a really affordable entry price of RM30. We counted over 45 cars, and then lost count as there were just too many of them! Wanbra was also seen lepaking at the area although the poor chap could not join in the fun; the new machine is not ready. After being missing in action for a few months, old-timer Lok Sifu returns with even more speed and angle. Going flat-out through the first corner, he definitely has more balls than most drifters on the field that day! Jane having a go at the track. Fast mummy’s car is fast and her wastegate is LOUD! A cool drift-spec E30 showing off what conti cars are able to achieve in a field full of Toyotas. You can put one car down, but you’ll never put it out of commission! Fast and Furious TE approaching a corner with minimal drift to slingshot the car around the apex. Standing less than 12feet away from cars like this is a exhilirating, but dangerous experience.

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime already and we all headed to the stalls nearby to fill our starving stomachs. When we were waiting for our sustenance (super-wet fried kway teow -.-), Ariff made his way to the drift track and made some exhibition runs. Sorry, no pictures of him going round; our stomachs were more important at that time!! =D =D Barry, as taken by Kou Lou.

The following images were taken at the mini K-car display, sporting most Perodua models, a Jazz and a Gen.2. The Kenari converted to L900 in the middle is running on 17″ rims, and although the dude has a turbocharged engine, it’s kinda disjarring to see such big rims on a K-car. not to mention the wierd offset of the rims. We returned back to the track after lunch, and it was H-O-T!!!! Even with two layers of sunblock (SPF120 mind you), I was still burnt at the end of the day. Such heat also meant that you do not need to go to the loo; all water intake instantly converts to sweat.

UNDA UNDA UNDA UNDA UNDA! Cone Killer caught red-handed. Jody Lim a.k.a Mason expertly drifted in front of the other car who have spun out in front of him. They better dont kiss in this situation! I didn’t know My TV3 had a drift team. If they were, you’d be expecting the TV3 colors, no? A rare RX7-FC3S soft-top takes to the track, with minimal angle. The driver, part of the KST posse should look at how Drifter Jack does it in his own RX7. A familiar 180SX made an appearance with okay drifts. Events like these will definitely attract people who want to practice their drifting in a legal and safe place. Who says VIP can’t drift? This Mark II does good power over moves, but we have yet to see it going sideways at a larger angle. A sign of things to come; three cars (out of a total of eight!!!) doing a tandem drift. As a person who fears for his life, I left the confines of the track soon after. These guys were becoming too brave to maintain a safety blanket for those on the track while we photographers are not able to keep track of all the cars at one time while shooting. A street-tuned A31 practicing on the track. This clean KE70 came shod with uber-clean Longchamp wheels. What’s the scoop on the hood for? A Nissan progenitor turned drift-machine appeared in our viewfinder. He had problems with understeer the whole day. Tire choice, perhaps? Drifters with clean cars are a rare bunch, and drifters with clean cars, good paintjobs and complete bodykits are even rarer. That is one of the reasons why I like this AE86. Kou Lou getting some action. The team is getting better and better over time, although they have yet to shift up in 3rd Massive angle from the Blacklist KE70. We just noticed that Jai’s Bluebird now has two CAI ram pipes, as evidenced by the two anodized bellmouths on the bumper. These guys were having fun smoking while drifting. Dudes, tire smoke is already cancerous as it is!! LOL Yet another clean Hachi hatch, this time with no bumper for additional cooling!

A nicely-appointed A31 with R32 front. Mr.Nismo’s pride and joy, in M.N.P. II paintjob (or something that looks like it). A genuine GTR33 Endless 6-Pot with AVS rims on Pirelli P-Zero Rosso. Mmmmmm I’m surprised with the choice of rubbers though. mawaru mawaru goes the 180SX…… Another street-tuned car which does pretty good drifts despite having a severe lack of camber. Another drifter who was having so-so runs on Sunday was Mervyn, who had hardened tires, hence lower grip levels. His car is still the smoking champion though, and its hard to find another drifter which makes more smoke than him. Perdana V6 or A31 with R32 head? People can be easily confused by this combination, especially at this angle! Jody exibiting moderate amounts of smoke from his KE70. To do that on a 4AGE powered car is not easy; a stock engine simply does not have the power required, although his car’s definitely not stock! An unknown drifter tsuiso-ing with Lok Sifu. Looking at the lines, you already know that the trailing car has an advantage over the leader. Jai trailing the two Toyotas earlier; he is able to get that much of speed and angle thanks to a monster engine. The wastegate is pretty loud too, having an atmospheric downpipe, you can hear the exact moment he slams on the throttle. Jen Shen and Barry having a fun time collecting the cones from the SODA area; kids, do not ever try this at home, and TAR students, if you want to ride on the hood of a car, make sure the driver is driving at 10km/h! p.s. a flat hood works better than a MyVI’s curved one too! Stay tune for more images and outtakes, I know you DCM members are patiently waiting for your cars too! =D

Burn Lancer having a great time tsuiso-ing with Jai in the Bluebird.

The second part of our coverage on last week’s event; yes I know, my car and me are slow XD. This time around, the practice runs are much more serious; after the display of tsuiso by the two experienced drifters, everyone wanted to do a group tsuiso in every run!! LOL. Things got so serious till one of the Cefiro A31 drivers even blew a tire as he hammered down the throttle to recover from understeer. More shots below!

Jai’s Bluebird really has the power to pull through the turns at lower than average speeds.

This guy is a regular at Williams, and looking at the condition of his car, it has definitely seen better days =P

Another Hachi coupe takes to the track in classic 86 fashion.

Its funny how this guy is the only one to have a wing on his KE =P

From the looks of it, the TE71 can be a great sharknose conversion car!

You know you have control over your car when you can leave one hand on the wheel like this dude!

DCM’s DRIFTHING making two passes. OH HAI!!!!! LOL

Check out the angle on that steering rack! It makes forklifts spin around in fits of jealousy!

Here’s Burn running away from the ‘competition’ in tsuiso mode, again. The guy’s Lancer is so famous, it does its own number plate masking! XD

A true Malaysian cowboy drifts into the sunset…….

These two fellas met in a spin-out accident a run after this shot was taken. Luckily no-one was hurt, and injury was only superficial.

Who says you can’t drift stock cars? Here’s an example!

Jai and Burn at it again.

I don’t know bout you, but the wheels on this S14 isn’t too appealing. Maybe its too VIP-influenced.

Ryuk1d catching a couple of cones in succession. Showoff =P

The aftermath of the aforementioned accident. I bet it’ll buff off just nicely with some ScratchX.

DinNismo’s unique car makes an appearance.

Tire changes are needed if you often slam the gas down on a turbocharged car. Even more so when you have no regards to what tires you’re running and coupled with an abrasive surface such as Bukit Jalil’s carpark!

Wonderful to look at, not so wonderful if you’ve got pieces of glass in your eye. =/

We didn’t see this pink monster drifting that day, but events happen so regularly, we’ll soon get a chance…. soon! That wraps up the event on Sunday, see you around at any car show or driving event in the near future!

Officials from DBKL, an Indian youth organization and the organizing office at the closing of the event.

In other words; its a drift event! =D Then again, we were accompanied by several mat rempits professional stunt bike riders and mini bikes other than the cars themselves. Organized by DBKL as an effort to promote safety and provide a legal event for people with creative control over their machines, the event lasted for over two days, attracting a eclectic crowd of novices and professional drifters alike. Here’s what happened on Sunday….

Here are some of the stunt motorcycle riders which took part in Saturday’s stuntfest. Travis Pastrana and the Nitro Circus they were not, but pulling off stunt moves on a two-wheeler is harder than you might think, especially for some who just started it as a hobby and a way to release stress.

They were not wax princesses, but it was HOT on Sunday. You’ll never know how hot an open tarmac space can be till you’ve tried standing in the middle of it! =P As you can see, a couple of familiar drifter faces can be seen in the picture; all of them waiting for the speeches to start so that they can actually continue their sideways fiesta.

Some say that you’ll never improve unless you crash out. This AE86 is a personification of that sagely advice, having seen some full-throttle crashes and loads of bodywork repair.

Another way of getting some practice is to drift in the rat holes of the country, as personified on Wanboss’ car, the various Lorong Tikus!! Now, on to the action! The track was laid out in an advanced ‘R’ shape which required drifters to attack the first corner as fast as they can, bring the car about to a drift around a U-turn, gather momentum again for the second left hander big turn and finally through an improvised ‘S’ curve.

Even with a hood on the lens,  a lens flare was captured in the left headlight of this uber-clean Starlet that belongs to Mike. Pretty fast guy, and he’s quick to react to changes in the course, like Barry spinning out of him =P

One of the many privateer KE-70s which took part in the event.

Nani going extremely sideways while kicking up a storm! Check out his steering angle; parking should be easy on this car =P

Here he goes again; the 4AGE 20v powered car makes a sweet sound at full throttle!

Drifting faster than the speed of sound? We wish, but Ryuk1d’s car needs more power from his 25-year-old stock engine. Shows how competitive old 4AGE engines are; even when they’re about to give up on their lives, trashing them on a weekly basis is not a big deal.

Wanboss doing his thang. Supercharged, super lightened with super steering angle, this car is very competitive despite its age.

I love taking pictures of this particular KE. It has all the elements of my perfect-looking car = boxy, quad round headlights and deep-dish rims. *drool* It’s driver’s skill has been improving tremendously too, especially since last year.

Here’s another shot of the same car;

and another…..

and another…

and another one =P. From the images, you can see that his speed is pretty much constant, although his lines still vary from time to time. Keep it up, bro!

A novice KE trying to get sideways. Note the bodyroll, which makes the car less responsive while cornering.

Barry’s iconic orange KE. Nary a scratch or dent on it, thanks to a conservative driving style that’s changing by the event =D Lovin’ that clean look – debadging, smaller side mirrors, lack of chrome strips (although the windscreen can’t be helped) makes this a good-looking car.

Another Hachiroku Hatch taking a corner at high speed. Hatches are getting popular these days, then again, people still mistake them for a 2-door Proton Saga (C21) or even a KE70!!!! The horrors! And no, its not an 85 Levin! XD

Mason Lim’s superbly awesome baby blue KE70 with custom projector headlights and the works inside makes a pass. Look at the reflection on its chrome bumper; this car is really well done, down to the details!

Yeah, the Crazy Datsun’s back.

Hey, is that a steelie on the front? This is the end of Part 1, stay tuned for Part 2!

I guess the title says it all!! Let’s head straight onto the action in the final part of the UITM AutoMech Drift event! Less comments, more impactful pictures below!

These images above were taken right about 9am, when the drifters were trying out the track after it was freshly laid by Ariff.

Check out Ariff’s drifting action through the three big corners!

/>

During the drift event, there was a closing ceremony that was held by the students of UITM’s Mechanical Engineering faculty, featuring some of the faculty’s heads of department and top lecturers. After the usual Malaysian ceremony proper had ended (speeches, prayers and ceremonious grandeur), five handpicked drifters were chosen to represent the drift scene as VIP taxis. Here’s some of the pictures taken at the closing show!

The cars and their somewhat matching helmets. Interesting, no?

The guy that made it all happen.

Yet another matching helmet and ride.

Reflections of cars that goes sideways!!!

A guest of honor delivering his speech at the closing ceremony.

Mervyn doing an impressive burnout while waiting for the VIPs to board their rides…

Ready…set….GO!!!

Ariff spinning his wheels for an instant warmup.

And away they go! Five cars drifting at the same time on the circuit; five expert drivers, tons of smoke!!!

Check out the amount of smoke in this shot; the turbo-powered cars have not even started yet!

An example of a high-powered car sliding through the corners, burning its tires and what-nots =D

Yeah, the mosquito fogging service is in full force by now.

Cheaka with a very excited passenger!

 Meryvn does a doughnut with his door open – by this time, the skies had opened up and droplets of 10sen rain was already falling onto the track!

Ariff gets ready for a second lap – and nearly crashes into his wife at the end of the straight!

Check out those droplets! Stay tuned for the thrid and final part of the UITM report, coming soon this week!

7am; MCSB ambled on to the workshop and was greeted by the sight of two REALLY stealthy cars, can you spot them in the picture? UITM’s AutoMech drift event was a couple of hours away, and these cars were ready to be unleashed onto the track. After awaiting for the main man Skagee who arrived a couple of minutes later on to collect his rides, we left for the UITM campus which hosted the drift event at its Padang Kawat.

This was the crowd that assembled circa 8.30am at the field. When we reached the area, the track was still in its infant stages as tires were rolling in every direction as course markers!

Drifters at the briefing held by Loyai from Feinto-D and Ariff.

Registration after the briefing; early birds only paid RM50 while on-the-spot registrations cost RM70. Affordable? You betcha!

Somehow the KE70 matches its backdrop. What’s with the Trueno emblem? I don’t know

This well-maintained ride wasn’t drifting during the event. What a shame if it was involved in a crash, this classic machine! Is it an A20 Celica?

Yeap, just a reminder of where we are………

We’ll see more of this car in a bit.

Nice glowing Watanabe rims you’ve got there! Then again, the offset isn’t aggressive enough!

One of the kings of style, Mervyn ‘Nakamura’ arrives in his Federal-sponsored A31.

We didn’t see her drifting in late 2008, but she’s back in this year’s very first event!

Kesesakan berlaku di pit lane, diantara sebab-sebabnya termasuklah jumlah peserta yang banyak!!!111

Ariff does a burnout on some Firestone Wide Ovals.

This participant came all the way from Johor on a flatbed! Respect!!

Hmmm, an accident during practice? Looks real bad, but its still mechanically sound!

Jai’s car looks the part in its new reincarnation, but what does he use as tires?

Tralalalalala, you touch my ling ling long!! LOL!!

Leona met some new fans last weekend, too.

“Ish iiiish, cantiknyer kete Mervyn!”

Barry the ‘noob’ (LOL) giving the thumbs up after getting a hang of the track!

Xpert 2???? what sort of category is that?

Drifters are a funny bunch = the lowly ‘mechanic under the tree’ shop even gets a mention!

More newbies lining up for the start line.

This 2-door E30 is not only turbocharged, it sports M-sport 18” rollers, too!

The hawk keeps a watchful eye on upcoming participants…

…..especially when they have Bosozoku influences!

Not forgetting the straight-pipe boys.

As Cheaka told me that day; drift days can be a family outing!

The most amount of zero-offset rims in attendance in Malaysia!

Many drifters needed this lengchai’s help during the event; bravo Leong!

Burn Lancer’s ride gets a new makeover, too!

And his other friend drives this slick zenki S14.

Top Secret style GTT. Check out the paintjob. Superb!

Johan’s Drift House was duly represented by a number of drifters in attendance.

Why is this KE70 bleeding?

Shit happens yo, remember the car in the images above? It turned out that the owner had just arrived and on its first lap, collided with the KE70, making quite a mess on the track. Ouch.

On the other hand, a fully-done up 86’s engine bay looks gorgeous, especially with open, toothed cams!

Boy, Skagee sure likes his burnouts!

The A31 was designed as a more luxurious R32. Here’s where it culminates; an A31 with the R32 front.

Cheaka posing for a media photographer who was covering the event. That’s a cool Motorcross helmet!

What a great-looking Starlet KP61. Somehow drift cars should look dirty after going sideways all day, but this baby still retains the shine and cleanliness. He must have used Sonax!

Amboi, amboi, still got time to read the papers when cars are going sideways behind you? This guy’s got balls! (J/k, it was during an intermission, but still)

Leong, the man of many tricks! Mechanic, aquarist, and cameraman!

Hey, that Satria looks familiar! And why is he on a drift track?

Oh, its Wanbra and his RWD knight! Superstars from Impak Maksima KL Drift 2!

More proof that drifters have a (sometimes) wicked sense of humor.

Another superstar drifter attended the event as well.

The only Laurel C33 in the Malaysian drift scene; Johan’s ride!

Okay, we’ve been missing him for MONTHS!

One of the many privateer drifters that took part!

Wangan Midnight fans would know that this would be a Z31 300ZX….

Even tire barriers are capable of doing this to your bumper…check out our next post….tomorrow!!! XD

The local drift scene, right here!

We’re back after quite the long break to bring you extensive coverage on the latest (and final) round of the Malaysian Drift Challenge 2008 that was held again at the Plus Elite Speedway, or fondly known as the MORAC track in USJ. The playing field was much smaller this time around, although what transpired to be one of the most exciting showdowns this year was even more sweetened by the fact that Team Bridgestone retained their strong grip on the championship leaderboard. More on that later, after the jump, as we’ve got some exciting images lined up for you!

The day started off quite early and the track was deviod of people; it was hot and there wasn’t any breeze, so that might be the case, but oh well, we kept on our shooting assignment with lots of hydration and sunblock!

AE86 locking up his tires

Zul from Ipoh (in the Falken AE86) duking it out in a mock Tsuiso run

Tons of smoke as usual from Mervyn 'Nakamura' and his 595-shod wheels

The first accident of the day - snap oversteer isn't fun at 90km/h!

The green Godzilla from Puchong laying down some lines!!!

Opposite locks - both of them!!

This dude came all the way from Melacca, but eventually did not take part!!

Same AE86 having another accident - at the same spot. OUCH

A glamour shot of the Goodyear Laurel C33

HENSEMNYER ABANG NIE!!!

The third accident for the day - judges were saying that he could not control the car right as its a huge upgrade from the previous NA ride...

"Hot Mama" Jane through the hairpin

A Bluebird SSS!!! Now with SR20DET powah!

'Bang, sini tak leh tunggu bang'

A stock-looking S15 straightening and understeering into the hairpin

Massive angles all round!

One of the Maju Jaya boys in the Novice category

Not much angle yet.......

Check out the stance on this old school machine

Now, by the time we were almost breaking for the Novice qualifying sessions, the shocking truth was unveiled; almost no-one wanted to take part save for four brave souls. It was a decidedly somber affair as most of the Novice participants were not familiar with the track, and with its reputation as an AE86 killer circuit, it appeared as though they were caring more for the well being of their cars.

Anyways, there was no tsuiso for the Novice category as well, which meant that the veterans could start their battles earlier. Here are some of the pros in action;

Don't call this a rust bucket, it handles way better than your average car on the track!

Tan Tai Wei powering out of the hairpin thanks to TORQ N2O

Fellow Bridgestone team-mate and defending champion Ivan Lau did not have a good outing, missing a gear in his second qualifying run. Check out the tread on those RE001's

Team Goodyear Laurel C33 at it again....burning rubber is its pasttime, and check out the ghetto metal bumper!

The only drifting Diamond Star has a new gunmetal paintjob!

This time, its burning Federals we're looking at!!

Front wheel lockup on an overeager approach

Wanbra multitasking there!

Didn't we say that this was an AE86 killer track? The final big crash of the day by Danny Loong in his condom-powered Hachi

He did compete later on though, so don't say those rubbers didn't help!

When the initial prelims were over, we headed over to the pits to check out the other competitors (those who joined, and those who did not).

The Laurel with some fans

More closeups of the 'rust bucket' KE70

Sekaki - Toyotas and on Bridgestone RE001's

This AE86 came all the way from Melaka too!

After lunch came the Tsuiso battles; the top 16 drifters were gathered and a driver’s briefing was held to remind them of the rules of engagement. Among the rules were that drivers are allowed to overtake on the course, leading the way for some exciting action then!

These two were bumper-to-bumper all the way, thanks to the powerful turbocharged engine in the car that was trailing Zul

I like the apparent closeness of this shot

Check out the sunglasses crew on the crest

Whoopsie Daisy!

Tan Tat Wei on his way to the top of the championship

Tan Tai Wei awaits his turn as Mervyn does some repairs after bumping into Goodyear's Johan

Ivan looking VERY relaxed

A classic battle between the two tire companies...where's Team Toyo?

Ouch!

Tan Tai Wei applying pressure on his semi-final opponent, with Jane in the foreground!

Johan doing some final repairs while waiting for Mervyn's car to be fixed

Another VERY close battle between an AE86 Coupe and AE86 Hatchback

A parting shot of the crowd

That’s all from us folks, too bad our battery died during the time Mervyn was fixing up his loosened BOV, but next time, we’ll be back with more full event reports. Congrats to Tan Tat Wei and Team Bridgestone as well as Zul from Ipoh for retaining their respective spots in the championship! For more images of the event, check out our Photobucket Album. Don’t miss our initial impressions on the new Honda City coming out this week too!