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A
day with Uncle Champ on Track Day It was 1pm on a hot Sunday
afternoon when I received a mysterious called for our lovely
champion, Unker Julian Pang. He said "Kiss-Me, want to go to
Sepang for track day." Being a Sunday, I was half asleep when I
replied "No le, got something to do today." So I continued
to sleep until 2pm. When I woke up and ate my lunch with my
sweetheart, that's when I really woke up and decided to go Sepang.
Well, it would be a good day to see fast cars running around the
track. So I called Unker Champ and confirm my attendance.
<The
following paragraph should not be read if you are a police or should
not be used as evidence against me as it may be fictatious.>
The
agreement was that they would call me around 3.30 when they leave
Bandar Utama McDonalds. So, I waited and waited for their call,
impatiently waiting till 3.50pm when I called Unker Champ. He said
Mr. Grass was still eating his favourite meal, so I waited until
4.10 when Cicakman (tm) called to tell me they were at NKVE.
Thinking it was going to be a slow drive for them, I slowly walked
out of the house when Cicakman called again to tell me that they
have reached the USJ Toll (Where I live nearby). I was like "SH*T".
(Later I got to know that Unker Champ was in a hurry.) So, I rushed
to the NKVE and going on the straight road towards Sepang when I
called Cicakman again after there was no familiar cars to be seen.
He said he was already near Sepang and was driving...insanely.
Forced
by circumstances, I drove at 200kph to chase after them. I saw a red
GTR on the way and pass by him in no time. ( I estimate the GTR was
moving at 180kph..and he wasn't chasing..I know I cant win it.)
Somehow, I manage to reach the place before our beloved unker
champ.
Moments
later, Unker Champ and Cicakman arrives at the scene. With haste,
Unker Champ unloads all the stuff from his car, save PorkChop (tm).
In less than 5 mins, Unker Champ is in the track with Cicakman as
Co-Driver. After 6 full laps, Unker Champ returns to the pit lane
while Nigel (Satria 1.3) is out with Kenneth (Wira 1.3) with Ian
being the instructor. It was Kenneth's first time but after many
laps, you can see that Kenneth is steadily getting faster.
So,
it was my turn to be in Unker Champ's car. I hope in, smile at
PorkChop a little and off we went. The deal was Unker Champ needed
to overtake Sharom (Kelisa 1.0) within 3 laps, but giving a
headstart of roughly a grandstand. I was sitting inside Unker
Champ's car, looking as Sharom pulls away before Unker Champ can
start. Even on the exit, Unker Champ throttled the car to the
maximum and doing his usual autocross late braking turns. Within one
single lap, Unker Champ tailgates Sharom.
During
the 2nd lap, Unker Champ manage to overtake Sharom at the 3rd corner
and proceed smoothly towards the whole lap, while being side by side
Sharom for most of the race. Sharom even horned Unker Champ for
being slow. <I cant imagine anyone would use the horn on the
track.>
By
the 3rd Lap, Unker Champ asked me to time his lap. I took out my
trusty phone and started counting down. However, it was not a lap to
be as Unker Champ spun on the 4th corner due to overspeeding.
<Luckily no crub..or ..ahem> I thought with so much gravel in
his car, our beloved champion would stop and rest to check his car,
but no....our champion, like all champions continued on at full
throttle, sparing just seconds to shake the gravel on the track. So,
off we go again into the 4th lap where he timed a 3.04.24 lap.
Decent for a novice track driver.
By
the 5th lap, Sharom was waiting for Unker Champ with his blinkers
on. Thinking that he might pit, as we saw him at the last corner,
Unker Champ overtook it. The moment Unker Champ overtakes him,
Sharom begun to chasing our champion. Definately outmatched, Unker
Champ emerge victory once again.
I
lost count after the 6th lap but during one of the laps, we saw the
famous Ian Khong in a Wira 1.3, he was looking at us thru his helmet
and face mask. <Yes folks, he's so famous, he needs a mask.> A
lap or two after that we saw a Lotus Elise go through and Unker
Champ could not contain his eagerness to chase and went tailgating
the Elise. At turn 8, the little Lotus Elise was so pressured that
he spun straight into the gravel, spinning an awesome 720 degrees.
Later, we realised the driver was an elderly man. <Bad Unker...Bad
Unker.>
Happily,
we pitted after 10 laps, Unker Champ using almost 1/2 his tank of
fuel.
Later,
Unker Champ even went out with Hammond Lai and Ian Khong as
Co-Drivers. If there was an award for most laps done for the day,
Unker Champ would have won it for sure. He manage to finish one full
tank in one outing. Guess Unker Champ is thinking "Practice
makes perfect."
That
was my first experience on the track. - end -
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