The precipituous peaks

Before the Ramadhan, and before sending Kate again to the workshop :-p I managed to squeeze one last hurrah from Kate X-p

We were finally able to visit the infamous Genting Sempah touge, where Touge G had made it their home :-p and so what better guide to show us the way than the landlords themselves X-p or in this case, touge-lords X-p

And better still, Hanz was able to come along ^^ at the least, if i am to be left behind, I'll still have his company X-p bcoz Hanz never leads on a new route, so if i am to fall behind, i'll be holding him back }:-) hoho..

Anyway, as usual, we were late... :-p even after quite a spirited wangan drive through MMR2 :-p

Well, fortunately we were not the last to arrive X-p they all gathered at the hallowed grounds of the 'Touge Bistro" :-p

The Enthusiasts

"Bila hero 120Y nak datang ni...?"

"Den tak tipu... On the way tadi, Den drift naik bukit turun kat jalan sebelah, nak cepat punya pasal!! " X-p (Note: all conversations are entirely fictional)

Before heading off...

Fans had a good look on the legendary 120Y :-p

After the arrival of the legendary Datsun 120Y, we finally headed off :-)

There was quite a number of us, I didn't really count (not really good at it anyway :-p) but it's safe to say that there were probably about 10 or more cars in our group...

Before we really took off, there was the ritual visit to the nearest gas station X-p

Don't ask why he's filling up the car like that... :-p

Kate doing what Kate does best... posing for the camera :-p

Meeting with the fans (of course that's totally untrue... X-p)

One of the cars broke down... :-p

And there are more onlookers (me included X-p) than actual helpers...

There was quite a lot of time on hand... to get to know each other :-p (and yes, there's even a lady X-p) "hello baby..." X-p (Note: neither she nor I was available anyway X-p)

There was SO much time, that Kate decided to get a little naughty by slipping up her skirts :-p

After quite a futile attempt to get the broken down car running (and after posing quite a nuisance to the visitors of the station as we were clogging up the space :-p) we finally decided that resistance is futile, and abandoned the car to her gravely fate X-p


And finally headed off... :-p

After going through the highway and trunk roads (and some villages as well :-p) we finally reached the start of the infamous Genting Sempah touge...

The starting grid..

The drama at the paddock.. X-p

Hanz's impeccable Neo CPS..

Kate's glowing sexy buttocks :-p

And luscious flowing eyelashes... X-p

After the paddock visit is over, it was time to move... "Drivers at the ready!!"

And then we're off!! X-)

Kate being the overwhelming monster that she is, makes the event not really a test of her limits, but reconnaissance of the touge itself :-p

To be fair, the Touge G and gang are superb drivers. Having been in this dangerous hobby as long or probably even longer than ourselves, they are good at attacking the touge as any other serious enthusiast...

However, limited by the power of their ride, and further compounded by the fact that it's a hill climb, they're not really going at speeds that would challenge the limits of Kate's new breast implants and her monstrous new stilettos X-p Kate has SO much grip nowadays, that the speed needed to really make Kate work for those expensive plastic surgeries and stilettos are in the region where my balls don't dare to venture :-p

So it was quite a cruise ride for me ^^ following the Datsun 120Y while enjoying some cowboy country music X-p But i have to hand it to the legendary 120Y, he hardly brake into the corners (up to the point that i thought his brake lights were broken :-p) and took the turns so violently, that his inner front wheel tyres are always up in the air X-p I suppose he's really suffering from roll steer, but heck, it looks cool X-p

Hanz not wanting to spoil his paintjob (as usual) didn't want to follow behind Kate... Being rather infamous for throwing chips of stones to any spirited suitors X-p so he decided to follow the Proton Saga of a fellow enthusiast by the calling of 'Botak' (for obvious reasons :-p)

The touge of Genting Sempah is always a series of turns on a rather tight narrow road... It becomes tighter whenever we crosses a bridge.. :-p interspersed with a few really steep and tight hairpins... If not for following the 120Y, I suppose I would be making my acquaintance with a few trees at the bottom of the dark abyss of Genting Sempah in more than a few places X-p

Being rather steep in the climb at some places makes following the 120Y even more of a breeze :-p Kate being overwhelmingly powerful.. however, at the turns, and even some tight turns, the 120Y dives in like a kamikaze dive bomber without any braking, that even i didn't dare to go so gung-ho that i would slightly tap the brakes X-p (more to make sure that it's still there than to really kill the speed :-p) but Kate's new stilettos are very reassuring X-)

The touge was made even more treacherous by the fact that that is the common route of plying lorries O.O and massive Lori Balaks!! getting caught between the long drop and a squeezing Lori Balak in a tight hairpin is not my idea of fun :-p

The almost sheer vertical wall makes almost every turn a blind corner... So i suppose it's bordering on being suicidally crazy cutting corners like nobody's business.. :-p it seems the touge is also the usual route of the local villagers (like 'duh...' X-p) so we almost nearly hit an oncoming motorcyclist X-(

We reached a right-hander, and the cliff wall was so close to the road, that there's hardly any space with the road... the 120Y dived in, and was about to exit the turn, when suddenly a motorcyclist showed up (I suppose he was also speeding through considering how fast we suddenly came upon each other X-p) I was in the middle of the turn when he suddenly whizzed by :-p the speed he was going was so fast, that i wasn't able to react at all to his sudden passing X-p Thank goodness it's a habit of mine not to cut corners to the limit in a blind turn, so when
he passed by, there's quite a considerable space between me and the cliff road...

His meeting up with Botak is another story X-p Botak was cutting corners to the absolute limit, with no space at all between the tarmac and the little space of grass and the cliff wall... O.O quite a recipe for disaster... Luckily the motorcyclist himself was quite an accomplished rider X-p he was able to drive through that very little space (running on the grass i suppose :-p) with extraordinary precision X-p his face was so close to the cliff wall, that Hanz said he saw the motorcyclist holding the cliff wall with his hands in trying to keep the fine balance of hitting a car or the wall X-p truly a situation of being stuck between a rock and a really hard place X-p luckily he could still stay on the 'between' path :-p my hats off to that great 'Rossi' ^^ (of whom i will call him such as forth :-p not that i know him anyway X-p)

After a while, as we were nearing the end, Botak began to drop behind... Not really sure why, but Hanz said Botak lost his usual pace (he usually could keep up with Kate and the 120Y) that forced Hanz to finally overtook Botak... Hanz's ego now doing the thinking (as usual X-p), he tried to close the gap which Kate and 120Y had built :-p

But not being familiar with the road (since it's our first time) Hanz misjudge a hairpin and ran on the grass at the exit X-p again thank goodness that nothing untoward happened :-p

The 120Y i suppose being very familiar with the road and traffic, overtook the lorries we came across very quickly (and dare i say, almost at the point of being reckless X-p) I wasn't so exuberant about it as he was :-p

When we came upon a lorry at a blind turn, the 120Y overtook the lorry without any hesitation... Me being jaded by the motorcyclist event, couldn't really muster the balls and faith to commit to such a kamikaze move X-p and decided to settle behind the lorry until i know there is a clear road before me...

So the corner turned around VERY slowly X-p that when we finally cleared it and the lorry, the 120Y was no longer in sight X-p and it was at this time that Hanz finally manage to come up to Kate :-p

A few metres down the road, we came across another lorry X-p after making sure that there's no traffic coming up, we then overtook the lorry... and came into a highway (I suppose that's why the 120Y dived ahead of the lorry almost suicidally... he knew that there would not be any incoming traffic i suppose :-p)

The 120Y was no where in sight, and to make matters worst, the road turned into a downhill course X-( Still being traumatized by the experience, decided to take the course very gently :-p and braking at the slightest hint of the road turning into a corner X-p the fact that there was an open gutter right beside the road is not really comforting X-p

But that was the last stretch and we finally hit the end when we came upon the Genting Sempah R&R area :-) Because Hanz had some appointment with some friends, we decided to forgo the downhill attack (which i think it's just crazy X-p) and went back through the Karak highway... Hanz being extremely fast and crazy at the Karak Highway, that he went through it at 200++ Kph O.O not really having the balls to follow, he naturally left me behind :-p

Then it was a long night of shisha hopping and boasting X-p haha... anyway, it was a great drive all in all :-) the Touge G and gang truly are crazy enthusiasts X-p I suppose if we went for the downhill attack, i would be more than sweating trying to keep up :-p considering how crazy these fellows are X-p

Anyway, here's a compilation of the vid ^^ it's my first time using a software i am entirely unfamiliar :-p not that i ever made any good vids in the first place X-p it's not as poetic as Ryosuke's vids, nor as epic as Takashi's, but still, at least it's a vid X-p

(note: pictures courtesy of Takashi of Touge G :-)



Till next time ^^

Shakedown at Kuala Klawang

Well, finally the holiday season is upon us ^^ and i could at last find the time to write something up :-p haha...

Anyway, when I first took up Kate from the workshop, I had taken Kate for a shakedown with Richard and co... :-p from what i gathered, it seems that we got the muscle, but not the brain X-p We finally got a car that could compete with Richard's monstrous Scooby, but unfortunately, not the balls nor skills to compete with the man himself :-p haha..

Anyway, I'm not here to talk about that shakedown, it'll have to wait... Haven't completed the vid on it yet X-p haha.. anyway, Takashi from Touge G did a vid on the 2nd shakedown and it's pretty epic :-p i enjoyed watching it and is really honoured to put this up here for the viewing pleasure of our spamming readers X-p

The basics of Braking

Ahh... I haven't written anything in eons... X-p

I do have a lot of materials to write upon, since we were brimming with activities the last time Ryosuke came back from war-torn Iraq :-p but i haven't found the time to divest the necessary creative juices to actually pen any worth mentioning literary pieces :-p

Anyway, what I am about to post is not about our recent activities.. :-p that'll have to wait, since i am still trying to find the time (and correct software) to come up with a nicely composed video collection ^^ maybe not as poetic as the videos edited by Ryosuke, but at the least something worth spending the next 5 minutes of one's life... :-p

I have always been thinking about braking techniques... I have read many articles on it, from cadence braking, to full-lock braking, to threshold braking etc... However, I have come across something so basic, that i feel it's fundamental to read and reflect before one tries any of those advanced braking techniques.. which unfortunately we did not practice as we had immediately jumped to trying it :-p a trial and error way of doing things, one finally learn something, but at quite an atrocious cost X-p

We have always instinctively known this basic concept of braking (and i am sure many are) however, this article, i believe, is great in the sense that it is able to articulate on that basic concept so well :-)

After so long driving at the touge, I notice that one of the most important aspects of driving technique is, for want of any better word, 'weight management' :-p and i am not particularly referring to my growing waistline (which is, quite frankly, also a cause of alarm X-p) but to the understanding and manipulation of the dynamics of the car and its shifting weight... this is particularly so when driven at the limit, and even more so in a downhill run... with an oversteer happy rear wheel car :-p

Aryton Senna was famous for being uncannily good at knowing where the 'grip' is...
and to me, Weight management is the holy grail of controlling when and where the 'grip' of the car is... by manipulating the weight of the car, one can control how much grip goes to which wheel and etc... of course i am not here to talk about weight management (considering my not so graceful growing physique, i certainly am not the most appropriate person to talk about it :-p) but about braking...

One of the most basic and important technique in this 'weight management' concept is braking... proper braking helps the car to settle in on its suspension, to take a 'set' (as they would call it) before turning in... more advanced drivers would do 'trail braking' by braking deep in the turn, manipulating the weight of the car using the brakes rather than the throttle (which is, speaking from experience, a really difficult feat to accomplish...)

Braking, if done properly, is not only to 'slow down' the car, but make the car take the turn faster... Jackie Stewart (particularly famous for being a super-smooth driver) used to say that his advantage over his opponents is how he 'eases' off the brakes... thus, eventhough braking is the most fundamental aspect of driving, mastering it can be considered one of the most difficult (for me at the least :-p)

Well, enough with my rant... This article was found at http://www.racingschools.com/drivingtips.php, a really good site to check out :-)

"BRAKING - Slow It

Virtually all of the braking that a race car driver does is done in preparation for or in conjunction with cornering. One of the first lessons that every racer must learn is that the most efficient way to slow a car is in a straight line, with the car's weight evenly distributed side-to-side. The "standard" turn on a race course is made under power, with all slowing having been done before the car is turned.

In the last article I noted that braking transfers weight from the rear of the car to the front, and that your braking system is designed to accommodate this. Cornering transfers weight from one side of the car to the other -- from the inside to the outside of the cornering direction. The braking system is not, with rare exceptions, designed to adapt to this weight transfer. The driver has to adapt instead.

Any time we turn our car's steering wheel we compromise braking efficiency. When we turn left, for example, some of the car's weight transfers to the right side; the left side of the car gets lighter. If we brake (or, for that matter, even slow down) at the same time, the car's weight is transferred forward as well. Now the car is unbalanced; the braking and tire adhesion forces on all four corners of the car are different. In all likelihood, each of the four wheels is either bearing too much weight to brake efficiently or too little weight to stick to the pavement optimally.

At the very least this condition will make the car uncomfortable for its passengers and difficult to steer. At the worst, it can cause the driver to lose control of the car entirely. The solution? For comfort or for safety, whenever possible, don't brake and turn your car at the same time. If you have to do so, be aware that it will neither brake nor turn as well as it would if you were doing one at a time.

While absolutely correct braking and cornering may not be a matter of safety at street driving speeds, they can be a matter of increased comfort. Next time you drive on the street try slowing down for corners before you turn the steering wheel to negotiate them. Turn at a constant (but not too fast) speed, and as you start out of the turn, accelerate gently. If that's different from the way you usually drive, you'll feel the difference immediately and so will your passengers.

The same braking technique will make driving a curvy road much easier: concentrate on slowing down for each corner while the steering wheel is straight. If the corners are esses, slow during that brief time when the wheels are straight as you turn from one direction to the other. Do this as smoothly as possible. Accelerate lightly coming out of the corner. Assuming you've judged your cornering speed correctly, slowing in a straight line and not braking while turning will make a dramatic difference in the ease and comfort with which your car negotiates a curvy road. And it will let you make better time without having to drive any harder.

Ideally all braking should be done before the wheel is turned for a corner. At the very least, 70% of your car's braking should be done before turning, and all of it should be completed by one-quarter of the way into the turn.

The cornering/braking tradeoff is dramatically illustrated in a highway emergency situation we've all seen or experienced. The car in front of you stops abruptly. You brake as hard as possible and swerve into the breakdown lane simultaneously. If you're lucky, this works, but it's only because you weren't stopping as quickly as you could have. If you're less lucky, you're suddenly sliding sideways toward the car you'd hoped to avoid or you're in a spin.

That shouldn't be a surprise now that you know your car can't brake and turn optimally at the same time. If you've mastered the technique of "instantly" squeezing your brakes to the limit, you'll brake at the limit first, then ease off your braking slightly to turn to the side; or, if getting out of the lane is more critical, brake lightly to preserve turning capability.

Copyright © 1998 by Tim Moser of Silhouette Racing. All rights reserved.


BRAKING - Stop It

Of all the skills that a race car driver must master to go quickly around a road or street course, none is more complex or more critical than braking. In fact, braking is important enough and complicated enough to discuss that I plan to devote two of these articles to it, and I'll do a third article, later in the series, on the unique characteristics of antilock braking systems (ABS).

No racing skill is harder to execute perfectly or to learn than is slowing a race car at the limits of its braking performance. It occurs dozens of times each lap on the race track. Slow down too much, too slowly or too soon and you've lost critical lap time; slow down too little, too quickly or too late and you've lost your race car or more.

There are three factors that make braking so complex. First, virtually all braking during a race is done at the absolute limits of the car's performance -- at the limit of the brakes' ability to convert the car's kinetic energy into thermal energy and/or at the limit of the tires' ability to adhere to the track surface. Second, the car's braking characteristics are never the same for two stops in a row. Third, the act of braking induces changes in the race car's posture, its weight distribution and its handling characteristics, all of which make braking more difficult and complicated.

Because race braking is done "at the edge," race car drivers have plenty of opportunity to experience and to practice braking for maximum performance. The everyday driver rarely experiences braking at the limits. When we do, it's an emergency, and one for which too few of us are prepared. I'd like to see every driver have the chance to practice braking at least twice a year, coming to a full stop as fast as possible, without skidding, from 30, 45 and 60 miles per hour. If all of us knew exactly what that feels like and how much time and distance it takes, the streets and highways would be safer places to drive.

There's a television commercial on these days that says something to the effect that your brakes stop your wheels; your tires stop your car. That's actually a profound statement, for all that it's technically flawed. Tire characteristics such as pressure and tread depth have a direct impact on a car's ability to stop. Race cars are checked for tire pressure and condition dozens of times during a race or practice session. Do you know the ideal tire pressure for your passenger car? Do you know how to measure it? What's the tire pressure of your car right this very minute? If you can't answer these three questions, you are in increased danger of not stopping in time when you need to. Tire pressures should be checked every time you put gas in your tank, and you should take a conscious look at the tread on your tires every time you get into your car.

When you step on your car's brakes, whether gently or firmly, some of your car's weight transfers from the rear of the car to the front. You experience this in the front end's dipping down. Your front brakes and tires experience it by having to do more of the work of slowing. That's why your front brakes are probably larger than your rear brakes and why they will probably need maintenance before the rear ones will. Weight transfer happens as a result of the laws of physics and your car is designed to accommodate it.

However, if you "grenade" your brakes -- if you stomp on them -- it is possible, even likely, that your more powerful front brakes will lock before that weight transfer occurs. Your tires will be skidding well before your brakes have dissipated any energy, and most of your braking effectiveness will be lost. The race car driver learns, and every passenger car driver should learn, to squeeze the brakes on (rapidly) rather than to stamp or slam them on, and to maintain pedal pressure right at the brakes' limits. The panicky "Oh no....STOMP!" stop has no place on a track and no place on the streets or highways; when it occurs either place it's likely as a prelude to a crash.

Copyright © 1998 by Tim Moser of Silhouette Racing. All rights reserved."

Though ABS is not really relevant to Old Kate (being stripped of that system long ago :-p), however, for the benefit of modern day drivers, i suppose there's no harm done in posting an extra article on ABS braking ^^

"ANTI-LOCK BRAKING

In my first braking article, earlier in this series, I promised a separate article on antilock braking systems (ABS). A recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has raised questions about the effectiveness of antilock brakes and prompts me to follow up with this article.

Strictly speaking, antilock braking isn't a racing technique, since most race cars don't utilize antilock braking. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) It isn't entirely clear that antilock braking will reduce stopping distance for the skilled driver; and 2) Antilock brakes add system complexity, cost and weight to the race car, the disadvantages of which outweigh any possible advantages.

The IIHS report, issued December 10, 1996, notes that in single-vehicle accidents, cars with antilock brakes are as much as 44% more likely to produce fatalities than are cars without the antilock system. While the Institute declines to give a reason for this, it seems to me that the reason is simple and obvious. I don't believe that it indicates that antilock brakes are ineffective or dangerous in and of themselves. The problem is that stopping with antilock brakes, in an emergency situation, requires an entirely different braking technique than the one used with conventional brakes, and virtually no drivers have had or taken the opportunity to learn this new technique.

Different ABS systems work and react differently under extreme braking. While they all prevent the brakes from locking up, many of them generate pedal feedback -- pulses or bumps -- when they're working. They may seem to be pumping themselves; they may alternate between feeling firm and feeling soft; they may feel as though the pedal is going to the floor. The instinctive reaction for most drivers when they feel this strange brake pedal action is to reduce brake pressure, which deactivates the ABS, increases stopping distance and can actually cause a loss of control by upsetting the car's balance.

I said earlier that it isn't entirely clear that ABS will reduce stopping distance for the race car driver. It is very clear that it will reduce stopping distance for the everyday driver -- except perhaps in loose gravel or loose snow -- but that's not its primary purpose. The primary function of ABS is to enable the driver to steer the car while braking at maximum effectiveness. But steering in an emergency stop is itself a new technique. Abrupt or severe steering movements under these conditions will, again, unbalance the car and may cause a loss of control.

If you have a car with ABS you must learn to use it. ABS works and works well when you apply maximum braking pressure and HOLD it. DO NOT pump or ease off on ABS brakes in an emergency braking situation, no matter what they seem to be doing. If you steer while in an ABS stop, do it smoothly, but don't, under any circumstances, release or lighten your pressure on the brake pedal until your car is stopped completely. None of the above, by the way, applies to pickup trucks with rear ABS only, which should be driven as though they have no ABS at all.

It behooves every driver of an ABS-equipped car to unlearn his or her old braking habits and to learn the new ones that work with ABS. To do that, take your car to a safe location such as a completely empty and obstacle-free parking lot or a completely unoccupied street, preferably when the pavement is wet, and practice hard braking. Don't "slam" on your brakes, but press firmly, as hard as you can, with the force that would definitely lock up conventional brakes. Start at 15 - 20 mph and try to lock the brakes up while driving in a straight line. Your tires may screech or even skid or slide momentarily, but they should not lock up. If you can lock your brakes up, your ABS is not functioning properly. Stop your practice immediately and get your brakes checked and repaired.

No matter what the car or the brake pedal does in this practice, don't let up the braking pressure. Get used to what your ABS feels like when it's working; then do the same thing from 30 - 35 mph. At each speed, once you are comfortable with the feel of the car in a straight line, practice turning smoothly but positively while under maximum braking. Repeat this exercise several times, particularly at the higher speed, until you are completely comfortable with the way your car will react to a maximum braking situation and are confident that it won't surprise you.

ABS technology is expensive, and the more expensive the car the better the quality of the ABS system it is likely to have. There is a world of difference between, say, the ABS in a relatively low-cost Chevrolet and a top-of-the-line Mercedes. Both, however, require learning new driving habits.

Learn your car's ABS braking, what it feels like in your car and how it's different from what you have learned in the past. It is an exercise that can save your life in an emergency.

Copyright © 1998 by Tim Moser of Silhouette Racing. All rights reserved."

Anyway, hopefully this article helps refreshes my memory on proper driving technique ^^ sometimes we get lost in the minute details of trying to push the limit even further, that we stray from the most basic of concepts :-)

After a hiatus of driving on the limit for so long (due to that rather unfortunate accident :-p) driving fast again feels pretty much alien to me, and I do feel that I have to re-learn everything again, from the ground up X-p that crash really shattered everything inside of me :-p from my self-confidence, to my courage and even to my understanding of the most basic of concepts... It's great to finally able to drive again ^^ but the dread is still hanging over every turn :-p

Ryousuke is certainly over it (as is his post earlier), but i still got quite a hill to climb X-( well then, nothing wrong with a spirited hill-climb attack then X-p haha... Until then, drive safe ^^ one hardcore touge enthusiast once said (whom shall not be named for security purposes :-p) "drive safe, not slow... but safe" :-)

Driving issues....

Well awhile back it seems we were having self-confidence issue concerning our driving technique...
(here)

It seems the accident Keisuke had last year has affected everyone one way or another... both physically and mentally...
Keisuke was in a dump... and for me, for something to happened to my nearest rival... even I started to have self-doubt concerning our level of driving technique...

Coupled with the fact Old Kate suddenly had power bump after another... she was turning into a real monster before we know it... and making our self-esteem taking a nose dive and our balls turn into the size of peanuts...>.<

But lately... after so many countless hours driving her, testing her and refining her.... it seems we may have found the light at the end of the tunnel...^^
For us modding her, we are no longer in the realm of small horse-power... we have entered into the dangerous world of high powered machines... so she would need the best to contain her...
No more cheap-o second hand tyres that has very little grip... no more banana chasis and kamikaze steering:P

She's now equipped with a very powerful chasis and tyres to catch up with the very powerful heart... the only thing she's lacking are modern electronics that makes driving monsters like her a breeze.. somethings like ABS, EBD or traction control, but not having those electronics only makes us driving her all the more sweeter :D
Becoz if she goes fast... we know its not just the car ;)

Notice how high she stands now... she's no longer a track focused car but a streetable touge monster^^

Lately we have been going for some touge action... testing her at Tekali during daytime and testing her at Kuala Kelawang with some new friends... the Touge G and co. :)

 Hardcore Touge Enthusiasts at its best^^

Kate is doing what she is born to do... tearing up the touge at break neck speed^^

 Semi slick goodness^^

 After so many months only communicating via the web and smses, finally we were able to meet up :P

p/s : pics courtesy of Taka Fuji from Touge G

What I've found out from those touge actions, lately driving Kate is no longer scary... and we are getting comfortable controlling her 300 whp at the touge... her brake feel and the enormous grip those semi-slicks provide...

We've gotten back to our pre-accident days of confidence driving her... controlling the minute slide the car goes into corner... threshold braking with those big brakes and catching those big slides... even when the tires lock under braking no longer makes us panic...

All are starting to become natural again^^

Keisuke is finally getting some glimpse of his former glory... albeit his self-confidence is a mere shadow of his former self... but we are slowly getting out of the rut...

Thank god... so what we have learned coming out from our depression state?

It seems once we have jumped higher than 200hp, with a classic suspension and chasis with no electronic aids... our driving style will just have to get smoother... everything will have to be smooth so as to not upset the balance of the car...

Now we understand how important it is for smooth driving style and feel...

But still... even after all these years, if you ask us who is the fastest we've seen at the touge, it still is Richard and his monstrous Subaru Ver 8 Spec C... he is so fast, Keisuke was not even able to match his speed at Kuala Kelawang when Keisuke was attacking with all the road available while Richard was maintaining a single lane attack >.<

I guess we still have a lot to learn... seeing how fast those guys are really make us see the difference between heaven and earth >.<