Taking the First Step Towards Motor Sport – GRA Driving Advantage
Shah Alam 22 October 2006 – More than 40 young people, both guys and girls, mostly from around the Klang Valley, with a couple coming from s far as Alor Setar, took the first step towards being a better driver, with a view towards competing in grassroots motor sport today, when they joined the GRA (Grass Autosport) Driving Advantage Course held at the Shah Alam stadium.
Many people talk about going into competition, brag about being very good drivers, but never do anything about it. Some hide behind the story that they are in the process of ‘modifying’ their cars, or preparing them for the race; these modifications never end, and the cars never get ready – but only because the driver is a little on the ‘kiasu’ side, not good enough to go racing, but not man enough to admit it.
Well, today, these young people who turned up at the GRA Driving Advantage event were exposed to the fine art of precision driving. Sharing the knowledge on ground were Ian and Ivan Khong, the brothers who grew up eating and breathing motor sports. Both Ian and older brother Ivan started training for motor sports competition from a very young age, and at 32, Ian already has 15 years of experience. His brother Ivan started driving at the age of ten, and went into motor sport at the age of seventeen, barely three days after getting his driver’s license. Now the brothers are sharing their experiences with the up and coming race drivers.
Not only will the GRA Driving Advantage help in building up budding race drivers, it also helps drivers to develop car control skills, and generally improve driving skills all round, something that this nation needs badly.
The GRA Driving Advantage is not a driving school in the ordinary sense; it teaches car control skills, with a skew towards competitive driving. The exercises include high speed slaloms, handbrake turns, and high speed cornering.
At the scene were also some ‘veteran’ autocross drivers, taking the opportunity to put in some practice runs in a safe and controlled environment. From the smiling faces and the eager atmosphere, it looked like everybody had fun!
