FEATURE – FORMULA DRIFT KL 2011 – “HISTORIC BATTLE”

17 & 18 of December was another successful milestone for Formula Drift Asia fans, with the likes of many superstar drifters from all over Asia coming together to participate in a heated battle of tire smoking and sliding sideways. Round 3 of the Formula Drift series was set in the tropical country of Kuala Lumpur. Rain clouds were looming above, but the event was somehow blessed and the rain never came. Prominent names in the drifting scene like Manabu Orido, Daigo Saito and Daijiro Yoshihara, Formula Drift USA Champion as a special guest judge, and from Thailand Kiki Sak Nana and Tong Nakarin of Team Red Bull, one can only expect the best when you hear these names, when it comes to skillfully taking a car out of its grippy comfort zone, sending it sideways gracefully and artistically laying some lines and smoking it up on the course.

The Formula Drift weekend was an eventful one, set in one of the most scenic locations in sunny Kuala Lumpur; the battleground chosen was none other than the most historical landmark in Malaysia where thousands gathered in 1957 to celebrate its independence from British Colonial rule. This historical landmark is none other than the Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square in English. The Ground condition was of an unusual material, rather than the standard Tarmac, bricks are in place of this historical battleground.

 

Formula Drift in KL is very different, in the respect that there is cultural diversity that is well respected here, and something that Malaysians are very proud of. There was even a cultural show to kick start the Weekend, something you don’t see in most of the other Formula Drift events.

 Your eyes will now feast on the visual buffet, of lean mean drifting machines and of course, The beautiful Race queens. Let’s begin this feast with an appetizer, a lineup of some of the cars ready to do battle.

 The 1JZ Altezza, Driven by Formula Drift Malaysia’s champion, Daigo Saito.

 Guys of the PTT Performa Drift team from Thailand. Gotta love that Fro he’s rocking!

None other than the Mad Max himself, Manabu Orido, with his Tricked out RS*R Supra.

 Now for the “main course”. Here’s Orido and his Supra in Action, Chasing down Ivan Lau at the wheel of the AE86 Levin.

 Here’s Terdthoon Ruayjaroensap, in the KohKae RB20 Cefiro, who put on the most spectacular smoke display over the weekend, as proven in the below picture.

Kiki Sak Nana with his unmistakable Red Bull S15.

 Robbie Nishida in a subtle yet graceful machine, the 180SX.

 Josh Boettcher with his locally built Supra, with a V8 taken from the SC430 Soarer.

 Armando from Indonesia, with his Achilles sponsored R34 GT-T, at only 18 years of age he put on an astonishing display, and was one of the crowd favourites.

 Some tandem action with an S15 and an AE86 Trueno

 The tents that were set up as impromptu garages for the weekend, so that damaged cars could be worked on, or drivers could just chill out waiting to do battle and mingle with other fellow drivers.

 The track layout was one that demanded a high level of skill to navigate, coupled with a track that is laid with bricks rather than tarmac this made it even more difficult to drive on. The track got the better of some of the drivers, but thankfully no one, (other than the cars) were hurt over the weekend.

 One of the many drift cars on display for the fans to grab a photo or to just ogle at in amazement; you’d be surprised how long  i had to wait to grab this shot without any people walking around or posing with the car!

 After the “Main Course” to warm the cockles of your hearts, what would a race event be without Race queens? They are like Sushi without wasabi; one cannot be without the other. Time for dessert! Here are the beautiful girls of the Achilles booth.

 Beautiful isn’t she?

She’s pretty too!

 Smiles warmer than the sunny weather.

 Oh my, ladies, the weather’s already hot enough!

 The top 10 finishers of the Formula Drift KL 2011 are as follows:

#1- Daigo Saito

#2- Manabu Orido

#3- Terdthoon Ruayjaroensap (Koh Kae)

#4- Muhammad Rulli Armando

#5- Saranon Pornpatanarak

#6- Thanapol Thongchua (Pete PTT)

#7- Somchai Aroonrung (Ju Redbull)

#8- Ser Ming Hui (Ah Fai)

#9- Davide Dorigo

#10- Hashiguti Anderson Toyoshi

And that’s all from this installment of 7Tune.. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing this article!

More to come in the future! Signing out, Gene.

Words- Eugene Chan.

Photos- Eugene Chan.

FEATURE- KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – A KID IN A CANDY STORE

As Forrest Gump says, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”, this can literally be directly applied to the JDM Scene in Kuala Lumpur. Read more

DRIVEN – THE NEW TOYOTA 86

Let me start by putting the internet arguments to a rest. The new Toyota 86 is an epic little machine that will amaze you when you get behind the wheel and really go for it. It is also so simple and rewarding to drive on the limit and I’m certain it will be absolutely pounced upon by all sorts of people when it get’s released next Spring. Forget about it’s looks, power figure, weight and wheels for a minute and let’s just take a look at how good it is as a drivers car ( and for that matter a potential drift machine )… Read more

FEATURE – THE STORY OF MONA – THE LITTLE RED TOYOTA COROLLA KE20 THAT COULD

 

Hello. My name is Praveent Chelvam and I am 19 this year. Kenapa saya cinta JDM? “Kenapa saya cinta JDM” means “why do I love JDM” in Bahasa Melayu. I am from Malaysia and I come from a small town named Ipoh. I have been in love with JDM for 17 years and counting. And this small red Toyota Corolla KE20 Deluxe named Mona started it all. Read more

VIDEO – TOM’S RACING HISTORY

Have you heard of Tom’s? The JDM tuning house that is intimately tied with Toyota. If you open a HyperRev of a Toyota car, you’ll see a fair few Tom’s parts in there. They make everything from bracing to coilovers, all specifically tuned for the Toyota street cars. Read more

WTAC NEWS SCOOP – CYBER EVO LAUNCHES PROTEST

In the wake of Sierra Sierra’s stunning 1:29.024, the Cyber Evo team has launched a protest, claiming that the American team is running NOS; a claim the Sierra Sierra team deny.

Sierra Sierra has invited the Cyber Evo team to come and inspect the car but as of this moment no one has visited.

This news has come as a surprise to the paddock as the Sierra Evo has blasted out of the box to take the top time by a long way, leaving the Cyber Evo team to make up almost a second over the next 3 sessions.

Just to add a little more drama to the situation, the Sierra car is currently out of the running for sessions 2 and 3 with a blown head gasket but they expect to run for the final session which is sure to be a blockbuster ending to a fantastic event. Crucially, the weather has cleared here and the rain clouds that threatened the event have been blown upwind meaning there is plenty of action still to come.

7Tune is live on hand with the latest news and we’ll be back soon with more from a bright and sunny Eastern Creek raceway with more news, entertainment and information.

7TUNE – The Ultimate JDM Experience Since 2005

Words – Adam Zillin

Photos – Adam Zillin and Brendan Mok

WTAC 2011 – SATURDAY TIMES: PRO CLASS SESSION 1

There’s been a big upset in the first session for the Pro class with David Empringham taking the Sierra Sierra Lan-Evo to top spot with a commanding 1:29.024; some 7 tenths faster than the best Tarzan Yamada could muster with a 1:29.791. Empringham’s stunning time was made when everybody believed that the track would be at its best and with the threat of rain closing in for the afternoon, there is every chance that we already have our final result. Read more

WTAC 2011 – THE FRIDAY RESULTS

The 2011 WTAC has already heated up and the pace was frantic from the very minute the lights went out in all three classes. There were plenty of surprises today and none more dramatic than the way Tarzan Yamada clinched top spot in the dying moments of the final session with a 1:30.369 smack-down to his nearest rivals; the Revolution FD RX-7 and the Sierra Sierra Evo Lancer… Read more

WTAC 2011 – PREVIEW

Welcome to Eastern Creek Raceway, the home of World Time Attack 2011 for the next three days. Over the next three days we will be bringing you all the action straight from the track, pit and all the action behind the scenes. Be sure to check in regularly to keep up to date with what’s happening at Eastern Creek and watch the event unfold from the comfort of your own home. Read more

THE FRENCH & THE FURIOUS PT2 – RACE IMAGES

24 Hours of close racing, heavy crashes & continuously changing weather conditions. The 2011 edition of Le Mans had all the drama that you would expect from this famous race. After the race started at three o’clock I stayed at the grandstands watching the race for a good hour before I started walking around the track. I always like to watch the race at the bottom of the Dunlop Bridge. The view is amazing as the cars pop over the crest before they head into The Esses section of the track. Read more

SPOTTED – TOYOTA OR SUBARU FT86??

Out testing on the Nurburgring in Germany very recently was the new FT86 but if you look a little harder at the spy shots, it’s hard to tell if it’s the Toyota or the Subaru. There are a few clues however as to which one it might actually be… Read more

NEWS – TOYOTA TO JUMP SHIP OVER STRONG YEN?

As most of you know, the Japanese Yen hit record highs against the USD in March, and has since slid further still, compounding issues the already battered and bruised Japanese economic system is dealing with. Yesterday it was revealed this ascension in the Yen has wiped out 290 Billion yen ( 3.5 Billion USD ) of value from car giant Toyota’s annual net income which is now forcing the company to consider moving manufacturing off shore… Read more

FEATURE – SUPER GT 2011 ROUND 2 AT FUJI SPEEDWAY

The first race of the Super GT 2011 season was tough, as it is often the case at Fuji when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Usually when it’s raining over there, it’s raining a lot. As such, the race result was difficult to guess before the start since the rain added yet another level of uncertainty over the many unsolved questions arising for the first time the new cars, drivers and teams gathered to race at last.

Read more

VIDEO – RIDING SHOTGUN IN THE LEXUS LF-A

This video contains raw footage shot on the iPhone of a press ride I was given by the good people at Toyota in the race specification Lexus LF-A. I still can’t believe how poised and balanced this thing was at Fuji Speedway and I don’t think it was being driven slowly. They say the times this car makes are even faster than the quickest GT500 cars! Read more