You have to admit it, every time you hear the word drag battle or drag racing, you unconsciously think of the 1000hp, 20ft long, fire breathing funny cars with tyres as wide as your house. I almost always used to picture that but that was before I visited the Sepang Drag Battle that took place not too long ago.
It truly is amazing watching how people come up with ways of reaching the ultimate drag nirvana; light weight, high power, insane traction and of course, trailing arms (is that what they call it?). There were cars there that were never intended to be used as a drag car, and I’m sure that never even crossed the manufacturers minds when it left the factory, cars like Proton Iswara for example are meant to serve as a cheap transportation option for the young, aspiring whoever and taxi drivers, but here it was, all bored out to cut down on weight, stripped like a porn star and using what seemed to be a long steel tube as a rear axle. This seemingly redefines the meaning of hardcore dragging, the only thing missing was 1000hp’s.
Of course the turn-out was massive and the crowd was great with different clans backing their own drivers and teams though nothing spilled over from bad blood. I guess here people do their talking with their machines instead of their fists, sound like something out of a movie? Well, thats probably because the atmosphere really was like that with engines screaming, people cheering, jumping, hugging one another as others hang dejected. You have to be there to experience it, they even let you get as close to the track as possibly without disregarding safety. I personally was in the way of some sucky drivers torque steer but it truly was close encounters of the drag battle kind.
I used to agree with the notion that dragging was a sport where the deepest wallets win. If you have enough money to get your modifications right and money for lightweight equipment not forgetting an endless tyre supply, you pretty much have a podium finish before your race even begins. I know it sounds really cliche to declare I’m a convert, but the fact of the matter is, I am ! I can appreciate the amount of thought and patience have gone into building these machines. Its not easy to come up with ideas on how to make a faster lighter car especially when your budget equals that of a ice cream vendor and your opportunities for testing are virtually non-existent. Sepang Drag Battle – Round 2 happening 31st May 2008. Catch you there.
Winners-Round 1
Class A – Open – Dizon Chen Teck Sun (Mitsu Evo IV)
Class B – 2WD Forced Induction – Jamsari Jahya (Nissan)
Class C – 2WD Normally Aspirated – Mohd Maziz Abdullah (Honda)
Class E – K Car – Mohd Amiri Naaem (Perodua Kancil)
Class F – Avantech On The Road Class V-Tec Category – Suhaimi Hamid (Honda Civic)
Non V-Tech Category – Ahmad Nizan Ibrahim
Non V-Tech Category Mark Darwi
Click any one of the thumbnails to view the full gallery:
