Bumped into a Ferrari F430

What do you do when you encounter a Ferrari F430 on the twisty mountain roads? Try to keep up of course!! *grins*

I bumped into a Ferrari F430 on the roads heading to Gohtong Jaya and had a bit of fun tailing it. Needless to say, the F430 is freaking fast! Well it does have a 4,300cc V8 under it's hood pumping out 483hp at 8500 rpm and 465 Nm of torque at 5250 rpm. Yikes!!!

But what impresses me the most is the gear changes. Ferrari's F1 gearbox for the F430 is a gem. It changes the cog so freaking fast and instantaneous (150 milliseconds to be exact)! Makes perfect sense. Why spend idle time changing gear while you can be constantly accelerating? I was losing ground each time I shift up or down. Dang it!

Check out the below video of my run-in with the F430. I was short-shifting at 5,000rpm as this drive was my shakedown run after the completion of my Stage II mods. :)

2010 Autobacs Super GT Rd. 4 Race Results!!

Fierce battle ends with 1-2 finish for GT-R teams!

The SUPER GT INTERNATIONAL SERIES IN MALAYSIA, Round 4 of the 2010 AUTOBACS SUPER GT in Sepang International Circuit ended with good results! 27,500 spectators cheered to the 1-2 finish of the mighty Nissan GT-Rs!!

The GT500 class winner was the pole-starting CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R driven by Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli for their first victory of the season. Second place went to the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, giving the Nissan GT-R a 1-2 finish.

Pic 1: CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R

Starting from the pole position, Matsuda in the CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R managed to stay ahead of his Honda HSV-010GT pursuers and remain in the lead until he made his pit stop at the end of lap 25.

After that, the RAYBRIG HSV-010 and MOTUL AUTECH GT-R moved ahead for a while, until the RAYBRIG and MOTUL cars collided and that accident helped the CALSONIC take the lead again with 10 laps remaining in the race. From that point on, Quintarelli managed to keep that lead to the finish and claim the team's first win since the final round of the 2008 season.

Pic 2: MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

In the GT300 class race, the M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC7 came from 2nd position on the class starting grid to grab the win. This was the fifth win for the AMEMIYA RACING team here at Sepang in the ten GT races held here.

Pic 3: M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7

========= Winner Comments ========

No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R [GT500]
Tsugio Matsuda: “There were some uncertain factors in today's race, so I am really happy that we won. I am glad that I was able to do my job of getting a good start and then turning the wheel over to Ronnie (for the second half) in first position. Although, if I had been able to give him a bit more of a margin over the cars behind, it would have made his job easier…. Things had gone well most of the way, but near the end, the Honda machine with their advantage in tire wear rate began to close the gap. Still, Ronnie was able to get to the checkered in 1st place for us. So, this win belongs not just to me but to Ronnie and to Manager Hoshino and the team who gave us a chance to run winter tests despite the tight finances, and to the people at NISMO who supplied us with this new engine and the people at Bridgestone and everyone else involved."

Ronnie Quintarelli: “I thought I could get past car No. 100 but I was beginning to lose tire grip at that point and that kept me from running at the pace I wanted. But I kept pushing, knowing that this was the key point in the race. (When No. 100 collided with another machine) I thought that there was a possibility of it happening, so I had kept a space open on the inside. But I still don't know what happened to him. To tell the truth, I didn't think we were going to win, but when I started my stint I found that neither No. 100 nor No. 23 had gotten as far ahead as I thought they would, so I kept pushing to try to catch them. Then they collided with each other. The last ten laps after that were very long for me. So much happened out there that I still can't believe that we really won. Tsugio and the team all worked very hard. Nothing can beat this feeling of having won."

No.7 M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7 [GT300]
Nobuteru Taniguchi: “Our team's main sponsor is a Malaysian company, so several of the country's VIPs were at the pre-race party, and we wanted to win this race, so there was a lot of pressure. That makes me all the more happy that we won this race. Or strategy had been that we wouldn't change tires if we were in the lead. The tires that the engineers chose for us were exceptionally good."

Ryo Orime: “Our Malaysian sponsor MUTIARA MOTORS came out to give us their support this weekend, so I am very happy that we were able to give them this victory in return. Taniguchi-san pushed hard and brought the car back in 1st place with a lead, so things were relatively easy for me. But trouble developed in the suspensions in the last seven laps, so I had to avoid the curbing and that slowed my pace by almost 2 seconds per lap. Actually, it was a miracle that I was able to make it to the finish."

RACE QUEENS
So where's the race queen pictures? Hmmmmm.........
I think I'll reserve that for another post entry. :)

Pic 4: ISHIMATSU Kosei RUNNUP PORSCHE

Pic 5: M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7

Pic 6: COROLLA Axio apr GT

Pic 7: ZENT CERUMO SC430

Pic 8: KEIHIN HSV-010

Pic 9: CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R

Pic 10: MOTUL AUTECH GT-R

Pic 11: CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R

Pic 12: ZENT CERUMO SC430

Pic 13: M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7

Pic 14: MACH GOGOGO SHAKEN408R

Pic 15: EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA

Pic 16: PETRONAS TOM'S SC430

Pic 17: EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA

Pic 18: WedsSport IS350

Pic 19: HIS ADVAN KONDO GT-R

Pic 20: CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R

Pic 21: COROLLA Axio apr GT

Skyline Club Gathering - 19th June 2010

Pic 1: The ones that were on time

In a somewhat period that seemed like ages, the Malaysian Skyline Club finally had a gathering that involves everyone and that is really newsworthy. All in I think were close to 50 cars that turned up. Mostly were R34s but there were a smattering of R32s and a couple of R33s. Two units of R35s also joined in the fun. I wish there were the older R31 or even the R30 around. Now that would be superb. Even more so if a certain owner were to bring out his KPCG10. :P

Pic 2: Some butt shots


Pic 2: More butt shots

The gathering was great!!! Kudos to Azmir for organizing this event. Was good to meet up with the owners and also getting to know new friends. I reckon the best way to showcase the cars that came that day is via a video of the attendees. There are a couple of cars not in the video as they arrived after I filmed it. Sorry guys...

Btw, there are a lot of cars that many (me included) have not seen before. Wonder where those guys lurk .... hehehe

Am keeping this post short as nothing really happened. The owners gathered, we had a photoshoot, mingle around and chit chat before groups of owners starts to make a move. Remember to check out the video below. :)

Sneak Peek: 2010 Autobacs Super GT Rd. 4

I'm sure plenty of you guys are very excited about the 2010 Autobacs Super GT Rd. 4 this coming weekend. Holding its own weight amidst the frenzy of the World Cup 2010, the Super GT is here at the hottest round of the series. Some teams even installed air-conditioning in their vehicles last year. Yes, that is something that is virtually unheard of in the world of motorsports. I'm sure more teams will do the same this year round. :P

Anyway. as a teaser to the race this weekend, below are some sneak pics......

Pic 1: PETRONAS TOM'S SC430


Pic 2: NAC EISEICOM LMP Ferrari


Pic 3: RIRE Lamborghini RG-3


Pic 4: JLOC Lamborghini RG-3


Pic 5: M7 MUTIARA MOTORS AMEMIYA SGC 7


Pic 6: Volk Racing wheels for the picking


Pic 7: EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr COROLLA & COROLLA Axio apr GT


Pic 8: Wheels of the EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 apr


Pic 9: ARTA Garaiya


Pic 10: ARTA Garaiya


Pic 11: Weider HSV-010


Pic 12: Interesting rear wing of the Weider HSV-010


Pic 13: Weider HSV-010


Pic 14: KEIHIN HSV-010


Pic 15: WedsSport IS350


Pic 16: DENSO DUNLOP SARD SC430


Pic 17: ZENT CERUMO SC430

DILYSI #16: Genting Highlands

Pic 1: Grouping up

Well theoretically, I shouldn't call this a DILYSI session since I am not the organizer but just an invited participant but for the sake of easy of reference, I'll call it DILYSI anyway.

The route this was from Ulu Yam to Gohtong Jaya and up Genting Highlands. Not my favorite route but it'll do I guess. It has been exactly 11 months since my last DILYSI. Yea man, it has been that long! What the hell .....

Pic 2: Enroute


Pic 3: Grouping up before the drive

Pic 4: Be afraid when this is staring at you from the rear

I would like to focus this entry about my 'feelings' on the ER34 after my Stage II upgrades. The car definitely has more power and torque but I think the original setup is far better suited on the twisties. The turbine now spools later which makes exiting out of tighter corners a real drag as one has to wait for the turbine to spool before you get any action happening.

With so much torque on tap (well more than previously), throttling out of fast corners or long sweepers will see the tail coming out. In fact, the ER34 tail was sure like a happy dog. It kept wagging around coming out of corners. That's on 255mm width tyres! And they're Yokohama AD07s, sort of like your street-legal semi-slicks. What the ......

I had to have the ER34 on low boost throughout the journey to make it more 'easier' to drive. :(

So yeah, it's now much harder to drive on the twisties as throttle modulation is crucial. I must admit I got scared shit countless times when the ER34 tails out more than expected.

Back to the drive; after the twisties of Ulu Yam, the group stopped for breakfast in Gohtong Jaya before proceeding up to the Coffee Bean in Genting Highlands. Over there we were greeted by the sight of loads of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus. Some were leaving as we arrived. Superbikers were in full force too. There's just so many of 'em. We were all congregating at the same place. :P

What's surprising is that, upon arriving, we were guided by the local coppers to park by the side of the road right outside Coffee Bean. Very convenient indeed. :)

Allrighty then, check out some of the pictures I took. There are also some videos of the drive. Do enjoy. :)

Video 1: ER34 heading up to Gohtong Jaya


Video 2: ER34 going up Genting Highlands with a FD3S RX-7 and a R35 GT-R

Pic 5: Spot the odd one out


Pic 6: R34 rear end looks huge compared to the Porsches


Pic 7: The Jap pack


Pic 8: Regular readers will find this car looks familiar (it was white previously) :P


Pic 9: Clean FD3S and a wicked looking CBA-R35


Pic 10: Privileged parking up in Genting Highlands :P


Pic 11: Superbikes from BMWs to Kawasaki and KTMs to everything in between


Pic 12: Couldn't keep up with this F430 coming downhill from Genting Highlands


Pic 13: F360 Modena twin stove round lighs


Pic 14: Twin round lights on the CBA-R35, F360 and also F355


Pic 15: This VR38DETT is packing massive power


Pic 16: This FD3S is freaking loud. Straight pipe yo!