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Tengku Djan (right) and Sak Nana Kiki in a close tussle for overall winner in the final duel
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[
Click here
for a movie clip of the duel between Djan and Kiki]
[
Click here
for a movie clip of the duel between 'Mad' Mike and Kiki]
In front of some 12,000 fellow Malaysians, Tengku Djan manoeuvred his Nissan 180SX to top position after out-driving and out- sliding 52 other drivers at the final day of the inaugural Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia on Sunday. The event was held in the carpark at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang south of Kuala Lumpur and was the final round in the ASEAN series this year, the other two being in Thailand and Singapore earlier.
The event saw 53 drivers from 8 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand and China. In fact, some 80 entries had been received but 53 were finally accepted.
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A jubilant Tengku Djan after winning the event
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The top three drifters - (from left) Tengku Djan, Kiki and 'Mad' Mike Whiddet
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Over 12,000 spectators turned up for the inaugural event
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Yes, that's a Waja. It was entered by an Indonesian team and was a R3 car modified to rear-wheel drive. The engine was said to be a 'development' engine
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'No worries, mate'...Kiki giving Whiddet a friendly hug after the latter had 't-boned' him on the final turn
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The event was run on an elimination process and pairs of drivers challenged each other, going from 16 to 8 and then the final 4 before the two best - Tengku Djan and Thailand’s Sak Nana Kiki - did a tandem battle. Djan piloted his Nissan precisely through the turns with smart strategies to gain an advantage and his smooth driving style impressed the three judges who gave him top points.
“I’m really happy to have won this event today,” said Djan, who has entered similar events outside Malaysia and is rated among the world’s best drifters. He said that among the three rounds this year in the Goodyear series, the one in Thailand was the toughest because it rained during the event changing the conditions drastically and he acknowledged that the winner 'Mad’ Mike was the better driver on that occasion.
 | Whiddet (front) in close combat with Japanese champ Ryuji Miki who used a Toyota Supra | |
 | Thailand's Sak Nan Kiki was highly rated and easily out-drifted his opponents | |
Team Goodyear Malaysia’s 'Mad’ Mike Whiddet, who wowed the crowd in his Mazda RX-7, came in third. The New Zealander, together with Japanese champion Ryuji Miki, thrilled the crowds with their close battles, drifting through turns as if they were connected. One of the more exciting moments was when Whiddet 't-boned’ the Nissan of Kiki on the last turn, but the Thai driver understood that it was unintentional and unavoidable and immediately trotted across to give the Kiwi driver a hug, drawing cheers from the spectators who appreciated such good sportsmanship.
Event sponsor Goodyear Malaysia showcased a stellar line-up of 17 drivers including top female drifter, Azrina Jane Abdullah, fellow team mates Ariff Johanis, Michael Gan and Johan Norman, as well as some of the top regional drifters.
 | Female drifter Azrina Jane Abdullah. Goodyear's team drivers used the Eagle RS-02, Eagle Revspec and Eagle F1 Asymmetric | |
 | Though Goodyear was the event sponsor, teams representing other tyremakers also took part | |
“Goodyear’s very first Formula Drift Malaysia was sizzling with red-hot action. It is certainly an honour to be part of this exhilarating event. Having such a number of international and local drivers competing only underscores our commitment to raise drifting standards to an international level,” said Richard Fleming, Managing Director, Goodyear ASEAN.
“There is also a high degree of synergy between drifting, a motorsport that places strong emphasis on advanced technology and precision driving and performance tires. Our ultra high performance tyres put up a fantastic showing the last two days,” he added. [Click here for an interview with Goodyear's ASEAN and Malaysian MDs]
 |  | Goodyear's ultra-high performance tyres were on display at the event | Entertainment for the enthusiastic crowd in between races | |
[For ultra-high performance tyres, visit www.goodyear.com.my] Goodyear’s initiative to promote drifting in the region is certainly commendable and for people like Azrina Jane Abdullah and Ariff Johanis, who have put in much personal effort in creating interest in the sport, it must be very satisfying to see the global tyremaker now lending its generous support to run a regional series. Undoubtedly, the weekend’s event will have served to increase interest in drifting and Malaysian enthusiasts will look forward to another season next year.
Hopefully, the organisers (not referring to Goodyear who only fund the event) will know how to leave their superior 'first world mentality’ back home and understand that Malaysia - which hosts a round of Formula One - is not some third-world country where the media must be shouted at and treated like 'dogs’ (local journalists had complaints about media tags not being recognised even by security personnel). There’s no point asking the media to help create awareness and publicise the event if the organisers and officials are indifferent to what is necessary for reporters and photographers to do their job effectively. Talk about this event in the MTM ForumRelated articles: Formula DRIFT Singapore ProAm Series 2009 Inaugural Formula Drift in Thailand Goodyear raises standards of drifting events Drifting on stage! Doing it sideways
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