>>>What I find to be simply bad and stupid? :
>>>Who designed / commision the track / changing room / commentator's area? >>>The track is ok, but to me, I find the rest of 'em really bad!
Firstly, the track is designed by Keichi Tsuchiya. The Drift course comes 1st. Everything else, changing room, spectator area, Pit area, commercial area, commentators area, etc are designed around the track. The commentators area is also the judging area, as it gives clear view of the entry to the drift point, and the 2 points scoring "clipping" points. Tsuchiya himself spent the better part of thursday testing and adjusting the whole course. Being the D1 representative, he himself approved all elements of the course layout, safety..etc. No R3 staff have ever been to a live D1 event in Japan or any other part of the world. That is what Tsuchiya is for, if he doesn't know better, who else then? The safety aspects were double-checked by the COC, as well as the AAM steward, and was agreed by all parties that all adequate safety measure based on the conditions have been taken into account. ok, point duly taken into notice.
Why bukit Jalil Stadium carpark? Location in klang valley. Biggest carpark available that can fit a D1 standard course layout. Most importantly, carpark management is open and willing to coorperate and allow R3 to run an event like this on their premises.
The only problem is, it is not a venue designed for motorsport. there are no adequate run-off areas for the cars, hence the design of the track, to use what possible natural run-off there is. which is why no crowd is allowed where the car went off, and why crowd is not allowed to near behind the stage areas, and why the crowd is further back where the start and finish is. It is not ideal, and not the safest arrangement. But it is the best possible acceptable risk that all parties decided upon. The layout that ACE79 did, isnt very clear to me. Also, if you the public have a better idea for a venue, i'm sure R3 is more than happy to listen. please do review the layout properly, if i have a proper 3d software, i would have done a better job at that. the layout was done so that the paying enthusiasts ( which most probably be the REAL enthusiasts, not those unruly fans which was counted into the 5,000 paxs figure ) do get to enjoy watching the action, and the A box with a smaller X box ( the X box is where the judges / commentators would sit ) should be similar in size and construction as the other 2 A boxes. The ambulance is situated as close as possible to the entry to the track area to allow fast action taken if a horrendous accident takes place. Most of the officials would be around the pit area, hence another officials area ( box D ) to allow 'em to control the other half of the area ( and especially to control the non - paying paxs, which will include those unruly mat rempits etc ). There are two F & B etc areas ( named as box C, not only for F&B, but for show / sponsors booths etc ), and the changing room ( box R ) is placed close in between the F & B etc ( box C on the RHD ) and pit area, to allow competitors shorter time etc ( can walk from pit, to change clothes, to F & B for drinks and a chow, then move on to the seats etc ) And mind the gap on the pic I supplied, it is not according to size.
>>> Why must The King and Kazama run from the changing room, to the commentators's area, then run back again, change clothes, go >>>demo, then run again back to sign a few posters etc?
As mentioned already, the areas were placed as they are based on the recommendations of the Japanese entourage. Even the changing room. Tsuchiya himself was very happy about walking next to the crowd to and fro from both the areas, as he could get closer to the crowd. OK, point taken. Next time, if we have the D1 judges and drivers from Japan etc again, make sure the paying enthusiasts ( if they do so, paying I mean ) is the one who get to stand nearby where they walked to and fro etc.
>>>This event was done under Proton's banner ( which is our country's no.1 automotive company ). Since it's done under Proton, why can't you guys make it a proper one? The King had to run to and fro a few times? What are you thinking?
already explained.
>>>Why didn't the events follow the schedule as posted in R3's website? Come on lah, so many manpower, some more under Proton banner, and you guys can't follow your own schedule?
Yes, the event ran late, and off schedule. Manpower has got nothing to do with the delays. I could only see 2 real reasons for delays on that day. 1) race management- The schedule was planned around R3's SOP for SSO drift. When Tsuchiya got in, he mentioned many other things that were not part of R3's SOP. There were many more briefings he requested..etc which took up the bulk of the time and caused delays. All competition related matters were done exactly as how D1 would do it. Crowd control. Even with adequate manpower, the crowd would not listen to instructions and continually encroached into danger areas. This is also due to the lack of proper viewing areas for all the crowd(estimated at 5,000 strong). As for Grandstand style seating, i heard the cost of erecting, and rental is almost RM100k. Because of budget constraints, and there was no charge for entry, i believe a compromise has to be made somewhere to reduce cost.
>>>We have The King of Drift and Japan's ( where the D1 sport came from! ) 2005 D1GP champion here. Why didn't you guys let the enthusiasts interact with the 2 of 'em? I'm sure you guys ( the event managers ) must have at least seen a few vidoe clips of D1GP races ( whether at Japan or US ) and MUST have seen how the enthusiasts interact with the judges and drivers. You must also seen how they run their D1 races. So, how come what we had today doesn't even come close to any of 'em?
There were more than 5,000 enthusiasts that day. It is impossible to allow each and everyone to get up close and personal to the Japanese. Even that doesnt happen in D1 Japan, or D1 US. The Japanese D1 entourage thought the event was very close to D1 Japan. They were happy enough that after the event, they announced that they will be bringing the D1 championship to Malaysia. Remember, this event is run as the D1 intro. It is also done to impress the Japanese, to show them we are capable of running the event up to their expectations but based on their criteria. NOTE : there were not that many REAL enthusiasts that day. Most of them was mat rempits, or families who lived nearby and happened to know something big was being held close to their homes. I take that you have never been to any other major events that was held at Bkt Jalil area? Oh no, yes, it didn't happen like at Japan or US. Pls do see / watch / view any D1GP rounds video clips 1st, and see how they hold 'em. Hell, even a few of the top 10 drivers was sitting between the spectators bfr their events!!! Yes, I do know that it was merely and intro, therefore I was giving out my own review and give a few points for them to ponder upon.
>>>Not forgetting, rude officials / staff ( I'm sure of that, since the guy is wearing an R3 shirt with his name " Subi " sewn on the shirt ). We
If you had any problems with rude officials, you probably encroached into a restricted area, and was told to move off. If you were constantly in a designated spectator area, you would never have had the opportunity to come in contact with any of the crowd control marshals. But if you were not doing anything wrong whatsoever, and an official was rude to you, I think its most unfortunate and you should probably complain to R3 directly. I saw that guy shooing off some amateur photographers ( come on lah, manual SLRs? ) with very nice words. If they were like : Maaf cik, kalau cik takde pass Media, sy tk boleh benarkan cik masuk kawasan ini. But, suing demoting words like bodoh etc isn't a nice way to shoo off ppl.
>>>be close to the action, like those so - called true fans and those officials >>>wearing R3's shirts. ok, i did not post my words this way. ?
Officials are close to the action not because they are having fun. Officials are there because they have a job to do. This job entailed being on site from Thursday to Saturday, from 9am till 12 midnite. These officials also did not have the opportunity to meet any of the D1 people close, shake their hands, take pictures, or even get their autographs. Are you a more deserving fan than the next person? I think everyone has the right to get up close to their idols, same with the 5,000 other people there. Unfortunately, it didn't happen at this event, and it will never happen in any other event. When you watch F1, do you get to go up close to schumacher? [I]Most of the officials are not really into D1, you should ask 'em bfr this idea of bringing D1 into Malaysia even took place : who is Keiichi Tsuchiya? And they will answer you a straight NO, I DON'T KNOW. And I know that the officials are there to do a job, I have posted earlier, stating my experience in holding a similar event ( 55 officials including me, 25 PGAs, 10 Traffic police, 1 Ambulance and about 10 PBSM members to control 250++ participants and well over 500 walk - ins, ) and that is why I gave out some points for them ( Proton and R3 ) to ponder upon. I never stated that it's unfair to have the officials so close to the action ( oh please! ) Please, do not compare F1 to D1. F1 is the highest echelon in motorsports, where speed, money, CF and scantily - clad 36D women mix together. I have been to F1 and MotoGP events using passes that allow me to stand right beside the TV cameras on top of the control centre, which is guarding by a policeman with a H&K MP5, therefore I know that these big - money events is uncomparable to D1. D1 is about fun, being there, close to your fans and your fav D1 drivers, unlike F1, whereby if you even bought yourself a Paddock Club pass, there's no guarantee that you can waltz by a pit and take pics.
The event is not perfect, no event is. all the aspects are taken into account, and implemented as best as possible based on the restrictions on hand. I think R3 did a good job. If not for them in the first place, despite the hiccups, there would never be a D1 event in Malaysia in the first place. We would all be still sitting around our Tv's.
