RCA Dragon Prosperity Trackday

Temujin

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Nov 5, 2004
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Last Saturday, Race Craft Academy held an open trackday dubbed the Dragon Prosperity Trackday as the Dragon had ushered in the Chinese New Year just a couple of days earlier. At first, we were told that the trackday had a lukewarm registered participation from enthusiasts who are thought to still be in holiday mood. But come the afternoon, around 80+ registered trackday participants made their way onto the track.


This would mark the first trackday for me as well as two other friends. We have gone uphill on countless occasions together and this would be a refreshing activity for a change, one that would turn out to be a later addiction.


Trackdays often calls for a mixture of cars; from fast normally aspirated but hyperfast front wheel-driven cars to rear wheel-driven cars one usually sees on the drift track...


...to fully prepped JDM race cars...


... to monster sedans...


...some exotics also joined in the fun...


...not to forget, a few Westfields also came out to play...


...and who could miss, this aural delight in the shape of a race-prepped baby blue Aston Martin Vantage.


The weather was kind, not blazingly hot but also no dark clouds pouring rain on the track. Good for us, as we were on stock width Goodyear road tyres which is only a puny 225/50/16 and shows how much it has changed since 1989. These days, the current model GT-R runs on 20 inchers with wide tyres.


80+ cars may seem a lot, but I was told that usually the drivers are active during the first hour. Everybody seemed eager to go onto the track, which is good as you can really push your cars without the worry of going foul with the authorities.


Having a turbo car definitely gives an advantage on the straights; where small normally aspirated engined cars may not have the umph to reach high speeds, turbo cars get a helping hand by having some boost shoved up their backside (not literally of course :biggrin:). The problem with the turbo is with the heat buildup which limits the cars' time out on the track. Hence, requiring the return to the pits after a few laps or so. So after the first hour, the track would be not as crowded as in the first hour.


Now, I don't really despise VTECs but they weren't my favourites ever since the sport of drifting caught hold in Malaysia. Most who are biased towards rear wheel-driven cars would not turn for another look at these front wheel, normally aspirated cars that screams its heart out without going anywhere. I agree that the comment is harsh, but it is quite obvious that these cars lack the turbo kick to get going.


I'm not trying to stir anybody especially the VTEC fanboys, as truth be told these Hondas driven by proper drivers are fast in the corners of Ulu Yam - Goh Tong Jaya (UYGTJ) and even more so in Sepang. A Type R owner should be proud of what his/her car can do in the corners; these cars are kings (and queens depending on your orientation) of Sepang and clearly show power is not everything.


Regardless of your orientation, any car can be made fast in Sepang with well planned out improvements in both car and driver. The balance between brakes, power and handling would be the holy grail, a tenet Keiichi Tsuchiya and many other distinguished drivers would emphasize greatly.


A pair of Westfields; a car similar to the Lotus 7 and Caterham, were seen driven on the track in what seemed to be some sort of a Westfield club or something like that (correct me if I'm wrong). I noticed Leona Chin with her bright orange Simpson helmet in the pits, perhaps giving rides throughout the session. Fun is the name of the game, not setting ridiculously low times or racing each other on the track; that would be the definition of trackdays.


Trackdays are fun, especially when your among like-minded friends who came along to drive, ride shotgun or even just for support. We came in a group of almost 10 cars, with a couple of trackday regulars such as khoyos giving helpful pointers on trackday driving and etiquette.


Being on the track in your own car does give you a big butterfly in your tummy. As the garage shutters were brought up, the feeling sinks in that you will be driving on a racetrack driven by Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Vettel and Fernando Alonso. The feeling of worry, a hint of being terrified and a dash of adrenaline made my hands sweat more heavily than usual.


Perhaps it was a mistake going onto the track on my own for the first time. Not that I was being a danger to others (I'm a very cautious and safe driver :biggrin:) but without a proper training in the racing lines, braking points etc would result in me being much slower than a Suzuki Swift. To make things worse, an intercooler pipe came off resulting in the loss of boost and running normally aspirated for half of the session :rofl:.


[PIMPIN] came out to play and proved that he was fast around the track. I could say all of us had a lot of fun driving our cars on track as that was the aim for the day.


After getting the intercooler pipe sorted (sort of, it would still limit me from revving above 5,000 rpm to avoid the pipe coming off again), yeehau86 came aboard for his first taste of riding shotgun around the track. We did quite well, sort of again, while spinning twice in the short two laps. :rofl:


It was good to see another Zerotohundred forummer bangkai_jk having some trackday fun with his BNR32. There were quite a number of Skylines that day; a couple of BNR34s and two BNR32 with most going onto the track.


The other side of trackdays are of course getting the chance to checkout other cars. The pits are close together and pit hopping is the only way to see others and their machines. The smell of exhaust, hot rubber (tyres, not condoms! :rofl:) and sweat was just awesome; if one couldn't stand these smells, then the person shouldn't make cars into a hobby.


Red is the colour of the day. It looks good on any car IMHO, even on a 4 door.


We had fun learning the track and digesting what a trackday is. There'll be another trackday on the 26th morning session before the 1st round of Megalap, and we hope to be there. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos below.



For more photos and write up of the Dragon Prosperity Trackday 2012, please hop on to Event: Shakedown at RCA Dragon Prosperity Trackday, Sepang International Circuit | Awesome Powered

Words: Temujin

Photos: yeehau86
















































































































 

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matshah

500 RPM
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Jul 11, 2008
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waaa nice bro..:driver:
 

shah5755

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Apr 20, 2007
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Pj....kch
salute all of u...if not mistake got invitation also to join in fb but my place is too far:banghead:
must be really shiok driving like a champion with all great cars:driver:
 

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