Fanga Dan takes 1st Goodyear International Drift Series Title
The inaugural Goodyear International Drift Series of 2010 held at Precinct 3, Putrajaya, concluded yesterday with New Zealander Fanga Dan Woolhouse crowned champion with his Nissan RB26-powered Holden Commodore VZ. Along the way Dan had to overcome challenges from Muhd Zaiham, Hashiguti Anderson Toyoshi, and Ser Meng Hui before squaring up against Ivan Lau in his Toyota Corolla.
Being the only professional and amateur drift series in Malaysia affiliated to Formula Drift, the event attracted the participation of no less than 40 local and international drifters. The event is conducted as per Formula Drift standards, with all cars undergoing the same stringent levels of inspection the day before. As a measure of safety, the track was also cordoned off by concrete barriers, to which our photographer has to thank for saving his life in at least three separate occasions.
“Drivers who achieve top 15 placements at the end of the International Drift Series will qualify to receive a Formula Drift Asia Pro license (1 year validity), which will allow them to compete in future Formula Drift Asia competitions – such as with the upcoming battles in Indonesia and Thailand, culminating in a grand finale in Malaysia by year end,” said Marcus Lim, General Manager of Drift Pac, the technical consultant of Formula Drift Asia in charge of the track layout, safety regulations and judging.
The selected venue for the Drift Series was the open air car park at Precinct 3, Putrajaya behind the Palace of Justice. Completely resurfaced just prior to the event, the car park is slightly sloped. As a result of this sloping, the first corner of the course is a an off-camber corner, which proved problematic for some of the drivers.
Qualifying saw the field of 40 drivers reduced to 16 competing against each other on a knock-out basis. While Fanga Dan got the knock-out rounds off to a smooth start by seeing off cowboy hat-donning Muhd Zaiham, Tengku Djan Ley became the first big name casualty of the day.
Drifting in his Nissan 180SX instead of the Silvia that earned him the Formula Drift Singapore title, Djan seemingly had Rhenadi Arinton very much in his pocket. In the opening tandem run, Rhenadi was barely able to even smell Djan’s smoke. However, in the second run with Djan on the chase, the renowned Prince of Drift inexplicably erred, with his car straightening at the first corner, handing Rhenadi an unexpected win.
Next to fall was Michael Gan, at the hands of Ser Meng Hui. Gan in his Nissan Cefiro was able to keep pace with Ser, better known as Ah Fai, in the opening run when the latter was leading. But when the roles were reversed, Gan fluffed his lines at the first corner and ended stopping within millimetres of the concrete barrier.
Hanizam Hamzah, a favourite amongst the media during the recent Singapore Formula Drift, also bowed out early on to Ng Chun Lai after committing an unexpected error when trailing in the second tandem run. Chun Lai’s reward for his win was a quarterfinal clash against eventual finalist Ivan Lim, who saw off the challenge of Seah Swee Ling in an all-Corolla clash.
The quarterfinals got underway with Fanga Dan outsmarting Hashiguti Anderson Toyoshi to book the first semifinal berth. Rhenadi Arinton failed to build on his scalp of Tengku Djan in the Top 16 round after being comfortably held off by Ah Fai.
Pick of the quarterfinal ties was Mervyn Nakamura’s Nissan Cefiro squaring of Tan Tat Wei’s rotary-powered Toyota Corolla. Tat Wei, one of the outstanding performers of Formula Drift Singapore, continued his fine form here leaving Nakamura for dead in the opening tandem run.
In the second tandem run, Nakamura made a minor mistake at the first corner which saw his Cefiro lost tremendous speed, and allowed Tat Wei to slide past him. Overtaking is generally forbidden in tandem drifting, but it is allowed when the lead car commits an error. After long deliberation, the judges called for a ‘One More Time’, and the two cars went at it again. At the second time asking, Tat Wei made no mistake and convincingly saw Nakamura off over both runs.
While the judges were busy analyzing the replays of Tat Wei and Nakamura’s clash, an organizing blunder saw Ng Chun Lai and Ivan Lau entering the field without being judged. As a result, their first run was declared null and void. The judges eventually needed ‘One More Time’ before awarding the win to Ivan.
The first semifinal tie saw Fanga Dan advance past Ah Fai, while a costly error from Tan Tat Wei saw him exit at the hands of Ivan Lau. Tat Wei and Ah Fai returned for the 3rd/4th battle, with Ah Fai taking victory by default after Tat Wei sideswiped his Corolla against the concrete barrier.
In the final, Fanga Dan started the first tandem run in the lead. The New Zealander held his drift along the outer line at a reduced pace, luring Ivan to slide past him on the inside. That mistake by Ivan rendered the second run pretty much academic, as Dan only needed to stay within sight of Ivan to take the crown.
The Putrajaya leg of the Goodyear International Drift Series is the first of three planned legs – the next two will take place in July and September. The Series will also be organized in Thailand and compliments Goodyear’s active support of drifting through its sponsorship of the Formula Drift Series.
“Through Formula Drift, we are able to provide a safe and professional platform for both novices and experts to compete in, and to also obtain the Formula Drift Asia Pro License,” said Nasution Abdul Rahman, Managing Director of Goodyear Malaysia.
“It is part of our ongoing commitment to nurture and grow talent within the drift community since our foray into the sport back in December 2007 with the Goodyear Speedfest in Bukit Jalil,” Nasution added.
