ru keen to attend his lecture/reception at the opening tomorrow evening? i can try to arrange an invite for u. just pm me
tied down already tomorrow evening with some overseas guests. Thank you for yr kind offer. But will definitely be visiting the gallery on saturday.
Lung/Leang, does the Scud come with CCB's as standard or do u have to tick them? And how long does the warranty cover the brakes? I mean, if there's such a warranty to begin with..Tracking aside of course
But when you actually do get to the race track. You won't drive your car at full potential because you're gonna always be worrying about whether you'll be able to get home in your car
Very true. U need a lot of money to run even a basic series like the Aston or carrera cup. I believe this is a mutual friend of ours. He spends well over million usd to run an rsr each year and a bit less for a gt3 cup. Another friend of mine ran in the recently disbanded Aston cup series. He also ran a team of 4 cars of which he drove one. That cost him usd600k per car Per season and the Aston series is the cheapest. The alternative is to just do time attack track days where u bring your own car up and race in one of a number of different classes. A very very humbling experience to say the least. I now am more than happy to just compete against myself with timings at track days. And that still is not cheap. Tires last at best 4 track days, a full oil and brake fluid change every track day, discs last 12 track days, pads about 9 track days, and if u blow a clutch or something else that's big bucks, cost to flat bed your car back if something happens 1k and no insurance on track. By the way anyone going up to watch the privateers racing this weekend at sepang?
I found out about this when i spoke to a instructor during my Pilota course some years ago. He said there are lot of talented drivers out there. One of the key to success is to have sponsors or a rich family. Alex Yong got to be the first asian driver in F1 with team Minaldi. He had a big malaysian sponsor who paid big bucks to Minaldi. I asked Felipe Massa if he would want his son to be a race driver. He told me it will cost him at least 1 million USD to sponsor his son in kart racing per year. During my Pilota course i started to understand and give respect to the top drivers. These guys are not human, going 50 or more laps and especially in hot weather like Sepang, going at 320kmph and hitting their brakes at 50m b4 the corner. my brother got invited to try out the McLaren F1 simulator. After 5 laps, he felt sick and his friend puked. Most of us watching an F1 race don't really understand what these guys go through. They make it look so easy.
Absolutely agree mate. Its amazing, the concentration, skill, courage and stamina that these guys have going at it lap after lap. 7 or 8 laps for me (and at very moderate levels mind you!) and I am toast.... cannot imagine what these guys do... but understand fully why they are paid so much, and beyond that why it needs a natural to really be competitive. All the practice in the world is irrelevant when competing against someone who was born with a natural driving ability.... unfortunately I fall into the earlier category and have since resigned myself to the fact that its all just fun and games for me...
it actually does not cost very much to go racing at a decent level. A buy-in for a seat in a team at Sepang 1000 or MME costs between 7k-25k. For anyone wanting to start racing (as opposed to club level tracking), this is one of the best places to start out from. You'll of coz need to spend a bit of money to buy your FIA-approved gear, and then a little bit more to get your license from SMSA, and then you're good to go. You can get started in cars like DC2, EG6, maybe a DC5 or CTR for a few more thousands. If you prove your worth, you may get invited to drive bigger cars, but of coz you gotta pay for the seat too. If you get consistently good results, you may start your own team, get some sponsors, and run bigger cars like wrxes or evos, jump to bigger class races. If you get good results from there, you may then gravitate to the cups but costs will jump 10 times. Alternatively, you may buy a seat for single races at the cups for a bit more money than what you'll spend at the MME. for mere mortals, this would probably be as far as anyone can go without totally breaking the bank.
I understand that racing at professional level requires talent etc, but most importantly its money. I am not born with a silver spoon, hence starting our young with karting is impossible for me. This is why I'm happy enough to be able to travel to sepang, run a few laps, and head back home smelling of burnt rubber. (provided my car survives the ordeal) Do you have any idea or details about getting a license from SMSA? Cost etc? I know car manufacturers provide driving courses, where they teach about performance driving, safety etc, and the give you a certificate at the end of the day.
Thanks for the good tips. You can always swing by Pasir Gudang which is a lot nearer & smaller circuit to start with. To be honest, I've not been there but Spaing & many others have been hitting there. Otherwise, there are several good instructors in Malaysia to learn from & the exchange rate helps tremendously; so are the cars. You can easily pick up ex-season race cars for rather affordable prices too since they are not registered & not taxed
Agreed. Those professional race drivers make driving look effortless but actually it requires a high level of finesse, concentration and many other attributes such as having a strict regime and diet. The level of determination and discipline required in such a profession is just phenomenal. They have my utmost respect and admiration.
hey guys anybody goin for the track day on the 30th? and does anybody know where I can pick up cool helmets for track in Singapore? Like those carbon fibre ones... or even better.. like an ironman helmet..
Was reading up on old car magazines & realised that nothing much has been spoken on the California lately. No brothers here bought one? One of my office neighbour collected his recently but didn't dared to drive it to the basement so I haven't got a chance to speak to him on it. Any local pics & impressions will be appreciated. How about the 570SL, is it as popular as the ex Superleggera?
I've been using my bike helmets as they have more varieties and easier to get but some will say it's not proper due to the design for crash tests. I believe that company (sorry can't remember the name!) in Genting Lane area that supplies car accessories like bucket seats, harnesses, steering wheels etc. should stock some proper car helmets.
Yep done it! Still back to two 2+2, well, I can squeeze 3 back there now. She doesn't do night shoot, so can't visit your workshop & she is 1.9+ with heels! Would love to but not much time to drive these days so semi-family car it has to be for the moment. Am still slowly waiting for the right classic car to come along, one that can enter events. Oh darn. So a groove line has been scored on the inside of your rim? if it's not deep, then don't think too much about it. Happened to my porker when I visited the gravel pit & it sounds awfully painful when stones get inside the brake system. Sms u guys for a drive next week when I'm back or join Sareve's drive.
Saw a lancer irriated a yellow lambo , race with the lambo , follow very close last nite at Clarke Quay. is the owner of the yellow lambo here?
Lung gave his impressions on the Cali after he drove it as I think his Scud's battery died so Ital lent him a replacement. The only pics I have are those at the CNY dinner at Mike's hotel. Only caught a glimpse of a few zooming past on the roads so far.
Jon, why don't u start hunting for Dino's? I know there are definitely a handful running around in Malaysia
Those classics in Malaysia are asking for way above international mkt level & unlike S'pore, you just pay AP & you can enjoy benefits of a classic car with reduced roadtax & daily use like any other cars. So, I'd rather hunt overseas & import which a lot of Malaysians are doing now. I like the lines of the Dino but it is a Fiat & an underpowered car which is overpriced now. It's much like a Porsche 912 against 911. I would love to have it but @ a more sensible price but in the collector's world, people are always chasing numbers..... A better collection would be the 365Boxer onwards which are still @ sane level prices & relatively lesser numbers built. Anyway, I just collected my 456GT after a major service yesterday. The car still drives like an old 80s vehicle, we have advanced a lot since mid-90s.
