Everyone loves a drifter
Goodyear’s Formula Drift Malaysia sees huge crowd of over 12,000 fans
By Daryl Lee
THE WEEKEND OF December 19 saw lots of wailing tyres, roaring engines and screaming fans at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Malaysia for the final round of the Goodyear’s Formula Drift series.
The Malaysian round represents the culmination of the Formula Drift series, comprising three events in the ASEAN region. The series kicked off in July in Singapore and took place in Thailand last month.
The event was won by Team Bridgestone Malaysia’s Tengku Djan, a man dubbed as the “Malaysian prince of drift”, in his Nissan 180SX and besting a field of 53 competitors from eight countries.
Second and third place went to Sak Nana Kiki of Thailand of Team PTT, and Team Goodyear Malaysia’s “Mad” Mike Whiddett from New Zealand, respectively.
The ASEAN edition of the Formula Drift series follows the format set by the North American Formula Drift series, where it first gained popularity, and sees competitors sliding their cars through a pre-determined marked course.
Like in all forms of motorsport, finishing the course quickly is important, though it isn’t the be all and end all. Rather, competitors are assessed by a panel of judges on how fluidly they complete the course.
The initial field of entrants are eliminated based on judges’ scores until 32 are left. These drivers will then be paired off to race against each other until only a pair is left and a victor is crowned.
In this case of the Malaysian round, Tengku Djan squared off against Kiki in the final to clinch top honours.
The next season of Goodyear’s Formula Drift series will start again in April 2010 in Singapore.