The sound of supercharged engines stunned Malaysian motor sport fans
witnessing drag racing for the first time and had them rushing to the
fences at the Sepang Formula One track as Australian drivers Dean
McClennan and John Payne performed demonstration runs as support for the
Silverstone 12 Hour Merdeka Production Race held over August 30th and
31st. Spectators including the country's Prime Minister Dr Mahathir
couldn't get enough of the burnouts and high-speed runs put on by the two
drivers.
The Sepang International Circuit boasts a wide, 927-meter long straight
with a covered grandstand stretching almost its entire length on one side
and huge corporate facilities on the other. Demonstration organizer Rob
Oberg said, "This track is awesome. The main straight is almost
perfect for drag racing. Both Dean's Alcohol Funny Car and John's '63
Corvette Doorslammer were able to put on great shows with plenty of room
to pull up.
The promoters of the event, Zaifa Motorsport are keen to introduce drag
racing to Malaysia and this was a first step towards making it happen.
Every time we started the cars people came running from everywhere. The
circuit racing pit crews ran out into pit lane for every pass. I'm sure
we'll be back here very soon with more drag racing."
Featuring a diversity of cars from Evo 6 Protons, TVR and Lotus Elise
sports cars right the way through to 4WD Suzuki Vitaras, the twelve hour
race for production cars started at midnight as the event was held in
conjunction with the Merdeka National Holiday celebrating Malaysia's
Independence. The drag racers performed two runs each before and after the
main race with huge burnouts and strong runs the order of the day.
Castrol Funny Car driver Dean McClennan rated meeting Prime Minister as
the highlight of the event. "Dr Mahathir came down to our pit area to
meet us with his complete entourage. I've never had so many press cameras
pointed at me in my life. He was so knowledgeable and asked very relevant
questions about our cars and the sport. He was also very interested in
finding out about off street drag racing as a road safety plan for young
people. The Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs also spent a lot of time
with us asking questions and getting information."
With motor sport of all forms being extremely popular in Malaysia it's
expected that drag racing could be developed from an off street foundation
to championship style competition within five or six years.
For more information contact Oberg Motorsports Marketing P/L, email:
