RC drifters ready to make Brunei proud in KL

FIVE Bruneians will be looking to slide their 1/10 scaled radio controlled (RC) vehicles to glory as they compete in the Nov 11-13 Yokomo International Drift Meet at the Tropicana Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Departing the Sultanate for the Malaysian capital today, this will be the second time the Bruneians compete in the event their first in the 2009 edition despite the racers already boasting impressive resumes of accolades in various international drift meets.

Lobo, a prominent figure in Brunei's RC community and one of the racers who will be flying the flag for the country, had driven to silver in the B-main of the 2009 meet.

He, along with his teammates, will be eyeing a semi-finals spot in this weekend's race.

Compatriot Mamatkubo, who finished two positions behind Lobo in 2009, told The Brunei Times that some 100 racers from across the region as well as Japan will be competing at this year's meet, 40 more than that of 2009, making this year's edition of the race more challenging.

Another notable name in Brunei's contingent is G Birin who occupied the top of the podium in Kota Kinabalu's drift meet held on Sept 19. Completing the list of Bruneian racers are Alvin and Fadil, both active RC drifters in the Brunei community.

Asked what are some of the challenges they are expecting, Mamatkubo replied that the Brunei contingent is going into the tournament with limited knowledge of the track layout and race rules.

"The judges are Masami Hirosaka and Takahiro Ueno and they will decide on the rules," he said.

Hirosaka is a Japanese radio controlled car driver who is considered to be the world's most successful with a record fourteen IFMAR World Championships.

Ueno, meanwhile, is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix.

Mamatkubo added that the drift vehicles are also now different from that of 2009. The vehicles will no longer be tuned to the 50/50 class (equal power distribution to the front and rear wheels) but to the counter-steer category where more power is transferred to the rear wheels, making the cars behave more like their real life counterparts.

The driver who trains daily at Tungku Link's CH Hobbies used the opportunity to state that more support from both the Government and non-government organisations are required to help the hobby grow and progress in Brunei.

"We need support such as the preparation of facilities and organising of events," he said, adding that the RC drift community is steadily growing in Brunei.The Brunei Times