The Cari Touge Club of the Chinese Cari forum has organised this open trackday at the Dato' Sagor Circuit located at Kampung Gajah, Perak. It's a mini circuit which is about a kilometer long, with twisty bends and short straights which mainly cater for grassroot motorsports events.
I've been to the circuit a few times for events and drivers' training, but never have I drifted there all this long. Having inadequate practice and testing with the Hiper DCM Silvia since its last upgrade, I decided to give it a go, at the mean time meeting up with a few old buddies from the Chinese Cari forum.
7am Sunday morning, we set off to Kampung Gajah in 2 cars, with the Caldina carrying the tyres and all necessary spares. It took us about 2 hours to cover the 200km journey to the destination.
The trackday was basically a free run session with a time trial and mini race later in the afternoon. As there were not much cars on the track, I got plenty of time to test out different lines and setting, and also getting myself acquainted to the power of the current setup.
I must say, drifting in this circuit is very addictive. The 3 linking high speed turn on the opposite side of the grandstand is really challenging. First of all, the entry is moderately fast and you need to get a good angle on the entry in order to tackle the 2nd corner with a correct line. The transition point is also crucial. You’ll be grazing the grasses (yupe the run-off areas are basically grasses) if it’s too early or too late. A 4.3 final drive for the Silvia will definitely benefit here as with the 4.1, there’s a slight bog down on the 1st transition, and you’ll need to downshift for the final turn.
I met a few drifters there, some of which I took them for a ride and share some tips with them. The boys from the Cari Touge Club are a bunch of motorsports fanatics. I spent most of my time taking them as passengers and swirling around topics related to cars and motorsports. Hopefully this in some ways motivated them.
After the free run session, I decided to head back home early. Before I left, the organizers have decided to put me into the time trial session! Not wanting to disappoint them, I went for it. With the 255 Direzzas worn right up to the TWI at the rears, the car was struggling for traction. Once the power kicked in, the rear wheels were spinning on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. The recorded time, however, was 55 seconds. Power do play a part here, but there is much more room for improvement still.
Here's a short clip recorded by one of the member:
Photo credits to Jamie Oh and Alvan Yap
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