KUCHING: Practice makes perfect. I suppose this applies to everything, even when going drifting in your car, as it requires a certain level of skill behind the wheel.
Drifting is one of the most rapidly expanding disciplines of modern motorsport, thanks to smoking tyres and outstanding driving manoeuvres.
In fact, it has a long history, despite the fact that making a controlled skid while taking a turn in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” movie brought it to popular attention.
Chen Kuoyang, organiser of the Borneo Star Drift Battle 2023 said drifting motorsport requires not only a suitable car but also a good driver.
Well, as Dominic Toretto – the main protagonist in the Fast and Furious movies – said, “it doesn’t matter what’s under a hood, the only thing that matters is who’s behind the wheel.”
Agreeing with the quote, Chen said the maintenance of a car used in drifting motorsport depends on the driver itself.
As drifting requires a lot of rubber, having many tyre sets is essential.
Usually, Chen said, a car uses four to six tyres during a fun drive, which is a half day training routine.
“For training on track, the total amount we spend on the car depends on the car and the driver. Depending on how hard the driver is going to push, the tyres especially need to be changed regularly.
“But of course, it also depends on the car’s horsepower. The more horsepower, the more things you need to change like the brake oil and so on,” he said to New Sarawak Tribune during the Borneo Star Drift Battle 2023 practice day at La Promenade Mall recently.
Presented by FL Motorsport, the drift competition will take place at the mall’s parking lot on March 4 and 5.
As professional drifters from both Kuala Lumpur and Sabah will be invited to serve as judges, the drifting buffs can expect to be treated to outstanding performances by local participants as well as those from Brunei and Indonesia.
Chen pointed out that practice is necessary for the participants to get familiar with the track.
Other than that, he said, the environment and safety measures taken at the venue also need to be studied.
He noted that the vehicle itself must adapt to the environment before the real competition.
“Drivers need to look at further modifications, if needed. They need to run a few tests on the car to achieve the best performance during the competition.
“So far, during the practice routines held, there were no accidents. We were having fun, apart from practising.
“We also get to meet familiar faces in this scene – motorsport enthusiasts and those who love to hear the roaring engine plus the smell of the smoking tyres,” he said, chuckling.
Chen hoped that the event would bring awareness and give it much needed exposure to the public.
Anyone who has interest to venture into such a hobby, he said, could always find members of FL Motorsport as well as that of Petra Jaya Motorsport.
“We hope to bring our local drivers, drifters, to the next level. Hopefully to the international level,” Chen said, adding, “we have talented people.”
Meanwhile, Hock Seng Lee digital marketing and corporate communications manager Sophia Ong pointed out that La Promenade Mall is always trying to collaborate with local communities to host such events.
“We are very honoured that these people came to us to have this event. A lot of people are coming to see it. We welcome more people to come and have a look,” she said.
