Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - Speed junkies looking for an adrenaline fix no longer need to put their lives at risk with the rise in the popularity of scaled miniaturized and automated remote control (RC) cars.

These realistic scaled model vehicles are put to the test every night in practice races held in the Brunei National Stadium, Berakas. However there is a strange twist in the story as no longer are the racers trying to beat each other in terms of speed but control. Welcome to the world of RC drifting.

Drifting which is defined as the process of getting your car to enter a turn by sliding the vehicle. in a sideway motion while maintaining total control is the new rage in the world of RC cars, is indeed breathtaking.

Zulhazmi bin Azlan, a 27 year old civil servant said that he enjoys drifting with his fellow hobbyist

after a stressful day of work. His car which he bought four years ago cost approximately $200. This was however just a price of the rolling chassis as equipment such as wheels, batteries and motors were not included. Zulhazmi said that he had already spent in an excess of $1000 to develop his car into the beast that it is today.

When asked about how he feels about the current condition of the hobby, Zulhazmi replied that he hopes relevant authorities will provide them with better locations and facilities to run the cars in the near future.

There are currently more than 20 participants running these cars at a vacant lot in the stadium.

According to Melvin, a long time enthusiast of the hobby, a smooth surface is required to make drifting more challenging and realistic. This is one of the main reasons why the vacant lot was selected as the designated drifting spot three years ago.

Edwin Sim who is in charge of RC model department at Chian Hock Lee said the RC scene in Brunei is alive and well. He also mentioned that a majority of his customers are from the Sultanate however there are exceptions with customers coming from all over Sarawak as well.

Edwin also informed Brunei Times of an upcoming drifting competition organized by Goan Hock Lee at the stadium RC GP track on the November 23rd from 1 to 6pm. Edwin also said that the competition is conducted not only for the participants to have a good time but also to raise awareness for the sport, while trying to improve one's coordination. This has indeed been the current craze of Bruneians, and it is here to stay very long time. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times