28 NOVEMBER 2004
By Colonel Elias
A few of us, 18 cars to be exact, had a very good outing last Sunday. The route
took us to Bentong, Teranum, Gap, Fraser Hill, Kuala Kubu Baru, Batang Kali, Goh
Tong and back to KL. Compared to other previous drive, this particular one was
an easy drive, not because of lack of desire to drive fast but because of the
road condition which was wet and slippery. On the way back we had a little
adventure in Ulu Yam. Read on to find our little adventure.
By 9.00 am all but two cars arrived the RV. Farisya was lost somewhere in Batu
Caves and Joshua was lost at Kepong of all places. Our Singapore friends had no
problem finding the RV. Kwok Jen and CH knew nearly all the roads in
Malaysia. Their GPS equipped Porsches seem to have a very good sensing
capability - the smell of Big Mac at the Projet could have drawn their mean
machines there. A pleasant surprise awaited us. Guess who turn up that morning
- our very own race driver - Marcus Chye. This time he was not in his favorite
Lotus Elise but a very potent silver Porsche 993 RS. The briefing was very
short. It was going to be a Time, Speed, Distance run. All drivers were given
90 minutes to reach Gap.
At 9.20 sharp the convoy rolled. The cars were grouped in two packets, the
above 2 liter and below 2 liter with the exception of the gold colored tow truck
(a 300SL) which was the lead car of the convoy. Alex in his turbo powered Miata
was the sweeper for the below 2 liter packet. In the above 2 liter pack Md Nor,
in his Boxter S was the lead car and Kwok Jen in a grey Porsche 996 C4S was the
sweeper. Six UHF radio communications were used to control the convoy.
What would normally be a splash and dash run from Gombak Toll House to Bentong
Toll House surprisingly did not happen. Instead a sexy looking green coupe,
piloted and navigated by an equally sexy pair was doing only 80 kph on the same
highway where only two weeks ago Md Nor was doing 180 kph. Rumors had it that
Alex in his turbo powered Miata had a hard time using third and fourth gear to
keep the sexy lasses company.
Bentong was over in a breeze and soon we were tackling the wet and slippery and
winding road from Tranum to the Gap. I could imagine myself driving one of
those mean machines, where a slight dab on the accelerator could send the tail
in the wrong direction. Four minutes to 11.00 am we hit the Gap. How is that
for timing? Nick, the Executive Director of Driven, a new car magazine, and his
photographer, Tan had arrived earlier and were waiting for us. In no time the
one way gate was opened for us to do a final 7 kilometers assault up Fraser
Hill. Once in Fraser we hit straight for the Golf Club on top of the mountain.
Nick and Tan were on hand to direct parking for the photo shoot. By this time
it started to rain and we had to take shelter at the club coffee house leaving
Nick and Tan to do what they had to do. At the coffee house we had a cupper of
tea and sandwiches. On completion of the outdoor shoot, the photographer and
Nick joined us for some indoor shoot and by 12.45 we were heading back to the
lower Golf Club for lunch. We had another bite at the local restaurants and
Joshua who got lost in Kepong earlier on managed to find his way and was waiting
for us there.
At 2.00 pm we headed for KKB where we stopped at Petronas for the sexy car to
refuel and most of us had to empty our bladder anyway. By the time we left the
Petronas station it was raining cats and dogs. We limped on till Batang Kali
and made a left turn to Ulu Yam where the real adventure awaited us. The road
was flooded. We got through the first flood only to find another deeper flood
awaiting us. We took a short detour in front of shop lots. From where we were
we could see a couple of Wajas stranded in the flood. Here the water seems to
be not that deep, about a foot at the most. The gold tow truck engaged D2 and
ploughed on, only to find a 90 degree bend and deeper water there, about 18
inches. It was a point of no return. The road curbs were submerged and the
drains could not be seen at all. Stopped and be stalled or push on. Instinct
says push on. After what seems to be ages the tow truck got out of the flood
safely, watching the lower sports cars like the Porsches and the Miatae go
through. God willing after some detour all were safely back on track for the
drive to Gohtong Jaya. The drive to Gohtong was in heavy rain and it was a
great relief when we saw the cable car station of Gohtong. True to Malaysian
lifestyle or perhaps even that of Singapore, it is time for tea tarik at the
local nasi kandar shop. It was not just tea tarik, but tea accompanied with
capati and roti canai. It was still raining cats and dogs. We have no choice
but to push on to KL. The order of the evening was that all of us were to say
goodbye to one another at Gohtong, drive together as a convoy to Gombak toll
house and after the toll house to disperse on the fly.
We reached KL at 5.00 something. In its own way it was an exciting drive with a
lot of excitement. Thank you all who took part in the drive. We look forward
to the next drive. Participants and their rides are listed below. Till we meet
again.
Marcus & Nancy
- Porsche 993 RS
Micheal & Angela
- Porsche 996 Turbo
CH Liauw & Linda
- Porsche Boxter S
Jean &
Kang - Miata
Alex
- Miata Turbo
Chris
- Miata
Brian Melling
- Fiat Bravo
KK Chan
- Peugeot 206 cc
Steward Ong &
Family - Fiat Coupe
Set
- Miata Turbo
Amos & Theresa
- Mit FTO
Eunos Tan
- MR2
JB Kuan & Family
- BMW 328 Cabrio
Kwok Jen
- Porsche 996 CS4
Colonel Elias
- Mercedes Benz SL
Farisya & Marina
- Hyundai Coupe
Mohd Nor
- Porsche Boxter S
Joshua &
Adeline - Miata