The
crisp spring morning air greeted the brave that
met at the superdome. It was 6am. Stories and
plans of cars and mods exchanged excitedly amongst
enthusiastic owners as they stood besides their
cars waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
The clock struck 6:40 and the sound of engines
firing up echoed around Olympic Park. The
cars rolled in one by one into Oran Park. Toyotas,
Mazdas, Nissans, Hondas, Mitsu’s..there
were all sorts of makes and models awaiting the
onslaught of the day ahead. Strangers quickly turned
into friends with the help of our nametags. The
day started off slowly as we listened to Luff’s
anecdotes as well as a few safety driving tips.
Clearly that wasn’t what we were there for.
Our
first practical exercises warmed us all up and
got our heart’s pumping. Emergency braking
and swerving techniques were taught to us and how
to react in emergency situations. Straight line
braking at various speeds, straight line braking
in the wet, swerve braking in the wet. All just
an entrée to the day as we took a break
for lunch. After
lunch we quickly raced off to our parked cars.
Our hearts slammed down the A-Pedal as we
watched ringo’s mx-5 go round and round and
round the circle they laid down for us. A quick
demonstration of under and oversteering, quickly
followed by power-oversteering was performed before
our groups got split up. One group was to continue
with the circle. Going around the circle, pulling
up handbrakes, full lock, screeching tyres. We
all thought we were the new drift-kings.
The
other group got to attack the slalom course.
A quick run through a handful of cones, followed
by a sharp turn and then back through the cones
got the competitive bug to bite. Taking the car
beyond our limit’s as we tried our hardest
to outdo each other. A team effort on the clover-leaf
course also pitted one group against the other.
The
day ended with the spectacular demonstration
of Luffy doing a 360 coming from a 110km/h straight.
The first attempt could’ve gone horribly
wrong as he nearly got the poor S14 to flip, getting
2 wheels in the air. The day finished off with
their second attempt in their VR-X Magna’s,
this time, looking like clockwork.
BRIAN_J |
