Formula One is a very expensive sport, be it to participate or even watch. On the Sepang International Circuit’s official website, the cheapest F1 ticket for sale goes for RM500, and prices inch upwards all the way to a nice round RM2,600 (a month’s pay for most of us mere mortals) for the Diamond package.

The more affordable, and not to mention sensible, option to follow F1, would therefore be from the comforts of home, where your costs would only be the subscription fee of your satellite TV, or your nearby mamak stall, for which you only have to pay for your glass of teh O’ ais.

The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur

Of course, if RM2,600 does not sound like too much money for you, you might want to consider the High Performance Formula 1 package being offered by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. For US$575++/RM2,010++ per night, you get to stay in The Ritz-Carlton’s Executive Deluxe Room with transportation to and from the SIC for all three days included.

Also included in the package is a complimentary hamper containing ‘track-side’ essentials such as sun-block, hat, raincoat, earplugs, and some gourmet sandwiches to be enjoyed along the journey to the circuit. On Saturday evening before the race, guests under this package can also attend a complimentary F1 cocktail at The Lobby Lounge.

High Performance package gets you a stay in Executive Deluxe Room.

The other package offered by The Ritz-Carlton is the Podium package, which according to its press release, is tailored as ‘the ultimate indulgence for Formula 1 fanatics who appreciate the absolute finest life has to offer‘ (our emphasis). The experience starts the moment you walk out of your front door step, as you would be greeted by a personal butler assigned to you for the entire duration of your trip.

From your front doorstep, you will be ferried by limousine to the airport where you would be boarding a Ritz-Carlton private jet, furnished with Ritz-Carlton interiors complete with freshly prepared cuisine and an on-board massage.

Accommodation is a 5,000 sq ft penthouse situated on top of the hotel, with travel to the SIC provided by means of a helicopter with pitlane access included. At the end of every ‘tiring’ day, you then return to the comforts of your penthouse treated to an in-suite massage.

Podium package entitles you to stay in 5,000 sq ft penthouse complete with own swimming pool.

Sounds good? Yours for US$250,000++/RM875,000++. For reservations, please get in touch with The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur.

KON

Pictures: Official Ritz-Carlton release.

Tyrepac co-sponsored the Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia held in MAEPS (Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang) from 19^th to 20^th of December 2009. The event was a roaring success, attracting a crowd turnout in excess of 12,000 people.

Always great to work with ESPN and Goodyear                   Fraction of the 12,000 passionate crowd

The event gathered a total of 54 drivers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Thailand, and Japan. Tyrepac is pleased to have Ivan Lim and Ee Yoong Chern fly the Tyrepac flag as Team Tyrepac drivers.

54 drivers gather for pre-race briefing                             Team Tyrepac Goodyear – driven by Ivan Lim

Team Tyrepac Goodyear – Yoong’s Nissan RB 32                              Sean’s Tyrepac colored Nissan S13

The race was hard fought but eventually, it was again Malaysian Tengku Djan who emerged victorious, with Thailand’s Drift King Kiki taking second spot, and New Zealand’s “Mad” Mike emerging third. It was an action-packed Sunday with the entire grandstand cheering for their home grown hero.

Much adored Formula Drift Malaysia Champion Tengku Djan                                       Kiki’s Nissan S15

Mike’s Mazda RX-7

Festivities were in abundance throughout the two days. Goodyear’s flying blimp was seen pacing the race ground throughout the two days, drummers, autographs sessions, girls, girls and more girls…ah! Tyrepac as usual went about diligently ensuring no tyres were left unchanged for all drivers, but still found time to mingle with the crowd with some games.

Goodyear’s signature blimp                                                   Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara – guest judge

Goodyear drivers gathered for autograph sessions                          Dai dropping by Tyrepac’s booth for autograph signing

Girls, girls everywhere

Tyre pit – operated by Tyrepac                                                Tyrepac game proved to be popular

Judges at work

Amongst some who made Formula Drift possible- Jim Liaw (3^rd from left standing, Co-founder Formula Drift LLC) Ryan Sage (3^rd from right standing, Co-founder Formula Drift LLC) and Marcus Lim (in white standing, MD DriftPac Pte Ltd)

Just ignore what those guys in front are doing.

Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia was truly a well-organized, well-planned, and superbly executed event for the Asian race calendar. Kudos to ESPN event management, Goodyear, members from Formula Drift, Driftpac, Pitcrew, Tyrepac Malaysia, Newera training school, MAEPS, sponsors, volunteers, the great Malaysian crowd, and definitely the drivers.

I am sure, like me, those who did attend this event will be looking forward to the next.

Ler Hwee Tiong

Tengku Djan – The Man on the Rise

I asked a friend of mine, with the best drifters from all over Asia competing in Formula Drift 2009, is Tengku Djan up for it? He quickly responded by saying that Djan has the credentials and what it takes to dominate it. A confident reply, but I was skeptical because I hardly knew Djan as much as I know Fernando Alonso. As an engineer by profession, I always had this need to see and observe something before making a leap of faith.

Tengku Djan is a household name in the drifting scene of Malaysia. I’m not making up a fact here as any motorsports fan in Malaysia can testify to it. But, what is it about Tengku Djan that makes him the best and very popular?  Well, I was experiencing it first hand at the recent Formula Drift event held at MAEPS Serdang.

To begin with, I must humbly admit that I have never seen Tengku Djan in action before. First time I saw him in person was at the Sepang A1 GP Team Malaysia Press Conference Session. He was a calm and confident man. Djan exudes the pedigree of an intelligent driver with solid background in technical matters as good as any engineer operating within a racing team. Well, that was my first impression on Djan a year ago. Formula Drift 2009 was my first chance to confirm my impression on Djan.

Mad Mike is the Crowd Entertainer

Saturday morning at the venue, the crowd was clearly concentrated in two places, Mad Mike’s and Djan’s pit. Mad Mike got slightly more crowd attention than our local hero, thanks to his out of the world Redbull Mazda RX-7. Ryuji Miki, former D1GP 2004 champion, however, was a bit alien to the Malaysian fans. Perhaps the location of his pit garage near to Mad Mike’s was not helping. His car, despite being one of the better-looking ones in the competition, was totally overshadowed by Mad Mike’s stunning RX-7. I have seen a lot of drift cars, but nothing could prepare me for the madness of that RX-7. No matter where you stand, it looks overwhelming. You need time to immerse back into reality after that.

One of the standout features of the event is the insane revving sound of Mike’s heavily modified 4-rotor engine. It is not a turbo, a blip on the gas one would clearly recognize the high pitched F1-like sound of a naturally aspirated engine. It’s music to the ears. As the harmony notes glimmer, excitement is evident in the eyes of all the fans around. Further adding spice to it, Mad Mike never failed to entertain the crowd with his antics, revving all the way from the pit garage to lineup for the queue to run. As he blips, the crowds roar. It was an amazing atmosphere. I grinned all the way until I took a perfect spot to get the best angle on the action.

Tengku Djan, Ryuji Miki and Mad Mike at comfort immediately

There is one thing the trio shared in common, adaptability on a new track. Out of 54 drivers that took part in the practice, only the three of them nailed it the first time,  consistently attacking the clipping points aggressively while maintaining speed, angle and line. It was a sight to behold. In all the runs, Djan was perhaps the most impressive. He started to get the car sideways very early on at high speed and applied opposite lock, sliding his car towards the barrier. In the nick of time, he smoothly glides the car around the bend and smokes his way beautifully, nearly scratching his rear bumper at the divider. He does this every time consistently, which I started to notice and was left talking about him with a friend for the entire day. It was Djan the fans loved, it was for this reason people came in large numbers to support him and give him the motivation he needs to succeed with flying colors. Even the rain didn’t flinch him one bit, as it did with some of his competitors. His first run in the rain was more than enough to show why he is the master. The commentator was impressed. The entry speed in the rain on his first run was surreal.

Tengku Djan fires clear warning as Mad Mike fail to impress

The difference between a race driver and a test driver is the ability to put in performance where it mattered most.  When conditions are tricky, a test driver attempts to recalculates his next course of action by having the knowledge of the track first hand. Hence in the Qualifying round, many adopted a conservative first run attempting to gather information before having the final banzai at the next attempt. Djan and Mike hadn’t adopted this philosophy but while Djan scored first with the highest points ever for Formula D Asia Qualifying, Mad Mike falters, leaving him with a possibility of duel with D1GP Champion Ryuji Miki who, for his own high standards, seems not contented in his car. But all credit to Mike as he is actually an exceptionally good drifter, but maybe he was too robust overriding the limit a couple of times pushing himself in the unexpected region of error. He was pushing the envelope and I appreciate that a lot from a driver. I’m sure most of the fans would agree with me on this one.

Mad Mike smokes Ryuji Miki, looking predestined to meet Djan in the Final

As we approached the final on Sunday, the crowd had reached full capacity. The tandem battle for the last 8 was all set and the rain started to pour although only for a while. The top trio were all there, but Djan’s fans are all calm knowing that he will only meet one of the duo on his way. I was watching from afar. Crowd was making huge noise in support for Mad Mike. The prospect of Djan and Mad Mike in the final is setting the crowd on inferno.

Mad Mike and Ryuji Miki – “One More Time!!” The commentator announced as the crowd cheered. They just love that insane sound of the 4-rotor. Mad Mike on his second run smokes Ryuji Miki and the battle was all set to the final. Ivan Lau almost got the better of Mad Mike due to his robustness in the first run battle for last 4.  But Ivan himself made a blunder on the second run and Mad Mike overtook him to take the win. The crowd was for “One More Time”, but the judges were against them.

Mad Mike then stumbled at the hands of Kiki. I was quite surprised that he made the same mistake as he did in the battle with Ivan Lau. He touched the side of Kiki’s car at the final clipping point. It was very close, and if he had backed off a bit, my dream final would have materialized. Nevertheless, one thing the crowd liked for sure was Mike’s lines and aggressive throttle control. It was his style alone and it was mesmerizing. I’m going to miss that madness of the 4-rotor engine.

Tengku Djan crowned Master of Arts in Sideways Driving.

Djan, as I witnessed, was a league of his own here. He has consistency, calmness, exposure, technique, control, and adaptation. You name it, Djan has all the qualities a champion needs. I remember being at the Malaysian F1 GP watching the likes of Schumacher. On TV, all drivers seem to possess similar abilities. However, in person, you tend to notice more of the different and sublime consistencies and qualities that separate the various drivers.

Djan was Schumacher-like quality at MAEPS. When he led a tandem, no one could get close. When he tailed, no one could smoke him away. Fantastically, it was true from the last 32 to the final two. Kiki has to be applauded for getting quite close to Djan. But Djan stuck to Kiki’s car like a hungry leech left on an empty Sahara desert making its way back to its nature.

Djan deserves the crown. He is worthy of his name. Djan, if you are reading this, I’m a believer now in the drifting scene and in the name. To all motorsports fans in Malaysia, if you have not experienced drift before do not get skeptical too early. Seeing is believing.

MUAZ ZAKARIA

See also:
- LIVE UPDATES: Formula Drift 2009
- Rain no hindrance to Formula Drift Qualifying Rounds
- Tengku Djan takes Formula Drift Malaysia 2009 crown

Talk about it:
- Live Updates: Formula Drift 2009

Recently, Naza threw a year end party for its customers at the Auto Mall in Petaling Jaya, inviting 46 beauties from the Miss Tourism International 2009 to grace the occasion. I can write a thousand word story and tell you all about it, but I suspect you’re more interested to SEE what went on. So, here goes…

(Click on thumbnail for larger pictures)

KON

Malaysian rally ace Karamjit Singh reasserted his status as the country’s top rally driver by winning the Overall Championship of the 2009 season Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC). Partnering Jagdev Singh, who also bagged the Championship Co-Driver award, the Flying Singh held off a stiff  challenge from Saladin Mazlan of Felda Rally Team to win the fifth and final round of the season, allowing him to bag the Overall Champion, Championship Driver, 4WD category, and P12 category titles.

Karamjit clocked a time of 1:27:58.4, finishing 1:20.9 ahead of Saladin. After the win, Karamjit paid tribute to Saladin for pushing him all the way, saying,“I am very happy to have won. Saladin gave us a good fight and kept us on our toes. We were going flat out to win. It is very enjoyable to be back to rallying at 100%.”

Karamjit’s team, GSR Pennzoil Racing Team, clinched the Team category trophy, as team manager Gunaseelan Rajoo finished third on the day and also in the Overall Championship. In his categories, Guna was second behind Karamjit in both 4WD and P12.

Speaking after the race, Guna indicated his delight in the Pennzoil team’s performane, and is looking forward to enter a new car and driver in next season’s championship. He said, “We have a new Mitsubishi Evo 10 and we are talking to some international drivers.  I am hoping to semi-retire and just compete in some rallies.”

Meanwhile, Karamjit has no plans to ease off either. His appetite for victory remains hungry as ever, as he noted, “This is my eleventh championship win and I hope to win another five or six times before I retire.”

Saladin, who went all-out for a win only to be dogged by mechanical problems, was understandably disappointed, but still sportingly acknowledged Karamjit’s victory. “I don’t like to give excuses for not winning,” said Saladin.  “Karam won fair and square.  But we will come out stronger next year.”

In the final standings, Saladin and his co-driver Arish Qutb finished second in the overall championship but third in the 4WD and P12 categories.

The P10 and Junior category trophies went to Faidzal Alang. Completing his first full season in rallying, Faidzal is tied for first place in the 2WD category with Hong Kong driver Clayton Check, winner of the P11 category.

Full results for the fifth Round of the MRC and the final standings for the 2009 Season can be found at www.malaysianrally.com

KON

Lohitt Urs of India, driving an Isuzu D-Max, recorded his second win in the AAM Malaysian 4×4 Rally Championship over the weekend. In denying Chong Wee Siang, who also drove a D-Max, Lohitt built a commanding 10-point lead over defending champion William Mei driving an (you guessed it) Isuzu D-Max. Mei, who came in fourth, now faces a tough battle to retain the crown he won last year, as there is only one more race to go.

Lohitt tastes victory again

Speaking after the race, Lohitt said, “I am very happy to have been able to get this win. Everyone had a very difficult day today and to have won in the last stage is really satisfying. The D-Max was absolutely fantastic. The performance kept us on pace throughout the event and we managed to push it even harder in the last stage to record our second win.”

Chong was the early pace setter, blazing to victory in the two opening stages, leaving Lohitt, Mei, and Teoh Kok Seng’s Isuzu Rodeo in his wake. On the contrary, championship hopeful Lim Seng Hai fell out of contention during the second stage, with a broken intercooler hose slowing his Mitsubishi Triton to a pedestrian speed, losing eight minutes in the process.

The race resumed the next day after heavy rain the night before. Drivers found the going in the 40km-long third stage extremely tough, with many cars having to extract themselves out of the ditch at one point or another. As William Mei said, “The stage was extremely slippery and narrow. There were many tricky junctions and once you made a mistake, it could be terminal.”

Eventual winner Lohitt had his moments too, recalling, “We went wide in one of the corners and we ended up sliding down a slippery slope. Thankfully a tree stopped us from going all the way down the hill. It looked like our rally was over then as we were there for a good ten minutes trying to extricate ourselves. Eventually we decided to try using the Touch-On-The-Fly to select 4L and charged our way back onto the road.”

For Lim Seng Hai, the woes in his Triton continued, with suspension problems seriously hindering his progress. Chong was able to keep himself on course, but could do nothing about Lohitt’s storm to victory in the fourth stage, as the Mysore-born driver overturned a 2:19 time deficit to register victory by a margin of 1:35. Understandably ecstatic over his win, Lohitt remarked, “The race was fantastic throughout the weekend. We had to push very hard to get our second win and the car and the team really performed well despite the rough and difficult conditions.”

Lohitt powers to victory.

Though denied at the last, Chong took defeat in his stride, saying, “Second is really not too bad. The win will come one day so I will just bide my time. We made some mistakes today. The roads were tricky and we took some wrong turns so we lost a lot of time. But it’s OK. We drove well throughout the event and that’s more important to me. The car was also fantastic. The D-Max did not give us any problems at all and the performance was very good. We clearly had the fastest car in the field but more importantly, the car was tough and took the rough roads well.”

Coming in third behind Chong was Teoh Kok Seng’s Isuzu Rodeo, while William Mei finished fourth, after slipping off the road in the third stage. “Some of these corners were incredibly tricky. They look wide but once you get off line, the ditches just suck you in,” he said.

Teoh’s Rodeo mixing it with the more powerful D-Maxes.

KON

At the recent 2009 SEMA exhibition, Kia Motors America (KMA) has announced a partnership venture with the Kinetic Group to race two Kia Forte Koups in the 2010 GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge Series. Using the age-old auto industry marketing gimmick of ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ the two Fortes will also have the task of helping Kia raise their brand profile significantly.

Michael Sprague, KMA’s Marketing VP, had this to say, ““The Forte Koup’s performance-inspired styling and outstanding driving dynamics make it a natural fit for road racing, and competing in GRAND-AM’s KONI Challenge Series enables us to reach an entirely new and passionate base of automotive enthusiasts.”

The Street Tuner (ST) class, in which the two Fortes will be racing in, is the domain of production-based cars. Competing vehicles are subject to weight and intake restrictions in order to maintain a level playing field for all. Additionally, this also implies substantial mechanical similarities between the cars going out onto the tracks, and the cars that Kia hopes to see you driving out of the showrooms.

KMA’s partner for the venture, the Kinetic Group, is an Atlanta-based outfit providing an array of in-house services which include fabrication, composites, paint, bodywork, engine and electronics. Their experience in motorsports include NASCAR, Indy Racing League, the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM KONI Challenge Series.

Taking the cars to the track will be Nic Jonsson and Andy Lally in the main car, Car #10, with Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood at the helm of the team’s second car.

“We expect the Forte Koup to be a strong competitor in the GRAND-AM KONI Challenge Series starting with the first race in Daytona, and the fact that drivers of Nic and Andy’s caliber along with Adam and Trevor have joined the team reinforces that expectation,” said Sprague.

Sprague further added, “Building on our involvement in the GRAND-AM KONI Challenge Series and in an effort to introduce the Kia brand to even more racing fans, apparel maker GoGoGear.com has created a highly modified version of the popular Soul urban passenger vehicle which will serve as the official pace car at several races throughout the 2010 US Touring Car Championship (USTCC) season.”

Meanwhile, closer to home, our sources in Naza Kia has informed us that the Kia Forte is scheduled for launch in the Malaysian market shortly. Watch out as we bring you the latest updates. Stay tuned for that!

KON

Building on his advantage earned during the first leg, Saladin Mazlan of the Felda Rally Team held off the spirited challenge of Karamjit Singh to finish first in Round 4 of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2009 at Ladang KLIA, Sepang, clocking a time of 1:23:50.1. In doing so, Saladin simultaneously took home first-place trophies for the Overall race, and in the 4WD and P12 categories.

Saladin Mazlan powers to victory

National rally ace Karamjit, racing for GSR Pennzoil Racing Team, fought valiantly, but found Saladin’s 24.4 second lead too big a hurdle to overcome, managing to only slash it to 20.1 seconds.

“We were the fastest overall today, we won the Leg, but we couldn’t make up the time we lost yesterday.  We found a leak in our turbo pipe in the first Service today which had been slowing us down.  That fixed, we pushed as hard as we could but there weren’t enough kilometres in the Stages to reduce the time,” said Karamjit’s co-driver Jagdev Singh.

“Saladin drove a superb rally and did a beautiful job,” Jagdev added. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had competition like this. This is what rallying is all about!”

A delighted Saladin drove his Proton Gen.2 home to a jubilant team.  “We were pushing all the way but we were always in control.  I think we have another ten percent to give, so in the next rally, the battle will continue,” Saladin said. “To win like this gives us a good feeling.”

As Saladin and Karamjit pushed each other hard in a neck-and-neck finished, they had also left Gunaseelan Rajoo and Muhammad Rafiq Udhaya comfortably behind them in 3rd and 4th placing. Guna finished 10:57 behind Karamjit, followed by Rafiq a further 44 seconds behind.

Rafiq, who had finished third in the first day, slammed his Subaru Impreza into a tree at Special Stage (SS) 19, to clear the way for Guna to take the last remaining podium spot. Rafiq did, however, take home the N4 category trophy.

Fastest among the two-wheel drivers was Clayton Check from Hong Kong, who also won the P11 category, while Faidzal Alang topped the P10 and Junior categories. The P9 category was won by the brother-sister team of Jamaluddin and Rozita Tukimin.

With 20 stages to cover in two days, Round 4 of MRC 2009 put the competitors through 481.08 grueling kilometres. The final round of the MRC this season will take place in Perak on 5 & 6 December 2009.

Competitors were put through a grueling race

KON

Pictures from: www.malaysianrally.com

Day One of the Malaysian Rally Championship 2009 Round 4 at Sepang came to a conclusion yesterday, with Saladin Mazlan of Felda Rally Team leading defending champion Karamjit Singh by 24.4 seconds.

Saladin powering ahead of Karamjit.

Driving a Proton Gen.2, Saladin took full advantage of a failing turbocharger in Karamjit’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, as Karamjit’s partner, Jagdev Singh reflected, “We were fast enough in the short, twisty stages but we were no match for Saladin on the long stretches.”

Saladin is naturally pleased with the outcome, noting, “We are very happy with today’s result.  The car is running very well and if we have a good day tomorrow we can finish first Overall and in the P12 and 4WD categories.”

Directly behind Saladin and Karamjit is the Subaru Impreza of Muhammad Rafiq Udhaya in third place. When asked about his performance, Rafiq commented, “Today was only our second time racing this car, so we are still getting used its power. But we are very happy with our performance so far.”

Coming in fourth was Gunaseelan Rajoo of GSR Pennzoil Racing Team. Amidst heavy rain and slippery terrain, Guna made no mistakes and eased his way to the finish line, as many of his competitors were undone by the treacherous conditions.

The Felda Rally Team lost two of their four cars with Azmeer Yusri Yusoff hitting a tree, and Mohammad Zekri Ibrahim skidding off the track. Out of 25 cars starting the race, only 16 crossed the finish line for the day.

Leading the 2WD and P11 categories is the Hong Kong pair Clayton Check and Tracy Li, with Mike Ariokiasamy Ratnam partnering his 22-year-old daughter Maruthi. “Maruthi is vey new to Rally.  She got her first taste in the Rally Sprint a few weeks ago and now the MRC, but she is a fast learner and enjoying the challenge,” Mike said.

Meanwhile, in the Junior and P10 categories, Faidzal Alang maintains his lead over his competitors.

Held at Ladang KLIA, Sepang, the rally took its competitors through 12 stages yesterday stretching 286.65 km long. The race continues today for another 194.43 km.

KON

On a Sunday in September 2009, UMW Toyota’s CRM Division threw a chocolate-themed party for 55 Toyota Merit members and their family members. The party was held at Delicious restaurant of Dua Residency in KL. Toyota Merit, launched in April 2005, is an exclusive, by invitation-only programmed for loyal Toyota customers.

Yum!

While chocolate was the main attraction of that sweetening afternoon, attending members and guests were also treated to performances which included songs, dances, and magic. Guests were also engaged in a series of games and contests which ranged from trivia questions to decorating cupcakes, all in the name of fun and friendship. There was extra joy for member Mr Subramaniam, for whom the Toyota Merit team threw a surprise birthday celebration as well.

Cheers to the birthday boy!

With decades of experience in the industry behind them, UMW Toyota Motor is all too aware of the need to maintain customer loyalty and support. Precious Moments with Toyota Merit is one way it has of rewarding its many customers with for their continuing support. In fact, we were told that members can look forward to more of such events happening in the future.

More to come, they say.

KON