June - July 2013 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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Business Car Racing in Singapore and Malaysia Interview with Wijnand Schagen Text Ay Wen Lie Photos Wijnand Schagen The F1- circus has been visiting Singapore for several years now, creating an exciting event each year in September. For Singaporeans, it’s an event impossible to miss. A less well-known fact is that there’s a whole range of other types of motorsports both in Singapore and in the region besides F1. There are many accessible forms of motorsports available which individuals or (corporate) groups can easily take part in. Wijnand Schagen, (ex-Yamaha test driver, licensed instructor and automotive engineer) tells us about the available options in Singapore and Malaysia. He talks about racing, improving your driving skills, hiring racing cars for on-track racing, and where to get engineering services to optimize performance of sports- and racecars. Can you give an overview of the Singapore motorsport scene? A popular form of motorsport in Asia is drifting, a driving technique whereby the driver intentionally causes the rear end of the car to slide at a great angle, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. Specifically modified, rear wheel drive cars are used for this type of motorsport. Up and coming in Singapore is Gymkhana, a motorsport style whereby the driver must manoeuver through a pre-determined track, set out with cones on a big, empty parking lot. The driver must perform many different driving techniques, such as 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s, and other advanced skills. Any road car can be used, but a car equipped with a manual gearbox is more suitable than an automatic. On the road you see quite a lot of modified Japanese cars and high-end European sports cars. A number of these fast cars are being used from time to time on so-called Track Days, mostly on Sepang Formula One racetrack in Malaysia, near Kuala Lumpur. Track Days are organized by various driving clubs and provide the opportunity to drive your car around the racetrack as fast as you like. There is no competitive element here and no racing license is required for this. Ultimately, enthusiasts who want to engage in racing competitions can compete in top-level race classes in the region like GT Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, and Malaysian Super Series for Sports Prototypes, GTs and Touring Cars. Professionally built, competition-dedicated racecars are used for these race series. What services do you provide? For motorsport enthusiasts who want to drive on a racetrack, I offer track day experiences. This entails an Arrive & Drive concept, whereby a track-prepared rentalracecar is provided. The drivers’ level of driving experience varies, therefore a variety of rental-racecars is available, ranging from fast Touring Cars to lightweight, open-top Westfield Cup cars, up to very fast, big-winged Sports Prototypes. Usually people start out in a Touring Car, getting the hang of driving on-track and getting used to the high levels of grip a racecar generates, learning correct racing lines and getting a feel for the high cornering speeds. Then drivers progress onto Ariel Atom and Westfield Cup cars. These are lightweight, open top racing cars with an exciting power to weight ratio and lots of mechanical grip, making them significantly quicker than the Touring Cars. Speeds in these cars are higher, lap times are faster and the skills required to drive these cars are higher. Finally, it’s on to the Sports Prototypes. These ‘junior Le Mans’-cars generate a lot of down force and are seriously fast. It takes a while for your brain to adjust and accept how extremely late you can actually brake in such a car and how much speed you can carry through a corner. Very exciting stuff! It’s a great experience for drivers to learn how to drive all of these cars at racing speed and learn the skills required to do that. What else do you provide? For local car clubs, I provide instruction at club events, such as Gymkhana instruction at the Mazda MX5 club. Group-instruction can also be done at (corporate) karting events. Learning only a few basic things such as 12
Business racing lines will help you beat your friends or colleagues at a karting event. Karting provides a nice introduction to motorsport and a step-up to on-track car racing. I also provide on-track race instruction, so drivers can gain knowledge, skill and experience. Drivers can be trained over an extended period of time to become competition-racing drivers. This can be done on any of the circuits in Malaysia. And when the Changi Motorsports Hub materializes, a Race Academy will be set up there. For racing drivers that participate in the local championships I provide engineering services. I prepare their racecars, develop car and driver and offer technical track-support throughout the racing season, making the driver and the racecar more competitive. What tracks are there in the region & what are the differences between the tracks? The most famous track is Sepang circuit in Malaysia, famous for its international events such as F1, MotoGP and Super GT. It’s a modern track, with very fast straights and, with its big run-off areas, it’s relatively safe. Closer to Singapore, in Johor there’s also a circuit, Pasir Gudang. It’s an older circuit, with a layout that gives it the feel of a classic ‘European’ track. The track follows the natural flow of the terrain. It’s got elevation and several exciting corners that resemble the best from other famous tracks (for example: Laguna Seca’s ‘Corkscrew’ and Zandvoort’s ‘Scheivlak’). It’s a real drivers’ track. I personally enjoy driving there. There are several karting tracks in the region. Two of these are in Singapore. There’s a technically demanding track in Jurong and a new track was recently built in Changi. It’s a wide, fast track, built to international standards. Also in Johor there’s an exciting, flowing track built in the middle of a rubber plantation. These tracks are much more exciting and fun than the tight, narrow, (slow) indoor go-kart tracks that are available in Holland. Regarding karting tracks, we’re really spoiled here in Singapore and Malaysia. Rental karts are available at the track and for (corporate) groups, tailored karting events can be organized. A typical program would include a brief instruction and a familiarization session, followed by a qualifying session to determine starting position and of course several races. That’s an exciting day with your mates, or a good way to form a bond with colleagues or clients. How can you participate in competitions? It’s generally a good idea to get trained on how to drive a car fast around a racetrack. It greatly enhances the joy you get out of driving on-track, plus you’ll be safer and more competitive. In fact, in the Netherlands it is standard practice to go to a racing school for a full season of racing lessons, prior to doing a racing exam and obtaining your license. After obtaining a racing license from either the Singapore Motorsport Association, or its Malaysian counterpart, you’re allowed to take part in races. You then require a racing car, fit for the racing class you want to compete in. Upon request, I can source a suitable racing car from anywhere in the world, ship it in and import it. What are the ‘signature’ races held in the region? Singapore F1 Grand Prix in September, Merdeka 12 hour race for GT’s and Touring Cars in August and the Sepang 1000km race in December. What has been your favorite event of the past year? My favorite event is the Sepang 24 hour race that was held last February. I joined 4 other drivers to share a Sports Prototype car for the event. Aside from the excitement from the performance of the car, what appeals to me is the consistency and endurance required from both the car and the driver during such a race. And it was a thrill driving through the night. The companionship and fun you’re having with the other drivers in your team is great. Many things can (and will) happen to the car over the course of 24 hours of racing and it requires perseverance and resourcefulness to overcome any technical setbacks. That makes the sense of achievement even greater when your team reaches the finish line. I’m already looking forward to the next endurance race, the Fuji 1000km in Japan, where we’ll be entering two identical cars. A few seats are still available for keen drivers. Wijnand is an automotive engineer with over 20 years of racing experience, both as a driver and as an engineer. His engineering experience ranges from Sports Prototypes, Touring Cars (DTCC) and Dakar to ex-DTM cars, IMSA cars (Dutch Supercar Challenge), GT3 and Westfield Sevens. Wijnand has worked for Yamaha’s 4-wheeled vehicles division and has worked with Öhlins on development of experimental suspension systems as later used on Citroën’s WRC car and Audi’s Le Mans contenders, with great success. For more info, please contact: wijnand.schagen@ lm-eng.nl 13
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