Top Malaysian Drift Driver’s Bid for World Championship Uncertain
Kuala Lumpur, 5 October 2007 – Malaysia’s top drift driver, Tengku Djan Ley’s trip to Los Angeles in November 2007 to compete in the D1 World Drift Championship may be in jeopardy due to the lack of sponsorship.
After emerging a triumphant fifth in the World Drift Championship held in the USA last year, upstaging many competitors in the process, Tengku Djan has received an invitation to take part in the 2007 championship scheduled to be held on November 24 –25. Entries are by invitation only, and Tengku Djan is one of 30 participants who have been invited to take part in this very exclusive event.
Drifting is a fast growing motor sport event that started about ten years ago in Japan. The event is held on a short circuit, made up of a run-up section to allow the drifters to build up speed, followed by a series of turns of varying degrees. Competitors run two at a time, and try to outdo their respective opponents, the winner of each ‘duel’ moving on to meet others winners of other duels through a process of elimination until the overall winner emerges at the end.
The objective of a drift competition is to drive your car sideways through as much of the circuit as possible. Points are given for speed, angle of drift, the amount of smoke from the tyres, and speed in relation to your opponent. The idea is for the front-runner to get away from his or her opponent and the person behind to stick as close as possible or overtake if the opportunity arises.
Vehicle modifications are free, but the original bodywork must be intact; this means that any road-going car can be built up to participate in the competition. Of course, to be able to drift, the cars have to be rear wheel drive vehicles. The bigger the horsepower, the better the advantage, as the horsepower allows one to ‘break’ traction relatively easier, to put the car into a slide.
Tengku Djan Ley has spent more than one hundred thousand ringgit to modify his car, a Corolla AE86 to about 195 horsepower, and needs a further RM120k to get his car and very small crew over to the US and back. He has approached several potential sponsors, but is still short of funds to make his dream of winning the championship a reality.
According to Tengku Djan Ley, he is still trying very hard, and hopes that some sponsors will come through. The dateline is about 10 days from today, as he has to prepare documentation to ship his car (by sea) by then, so that it can arrive in time for the event. Interested parties can get in touch with Aw, or contact 012399716 (Fauziah) for details.
