Proton has successfully organised the inaugural R3 Motorsports Driving Experience (R3MDE) at the Malaysia Agro Expo Park Serdang last weekend. The one-day event is targeted to educate drivers from all walks-of-life; not by becoming track drivers within a day, but to become better drivers on the road. Yours truly were among the 40 participants who took part in the inaugural event from R3, where we braved the heat and rain while receiving invaluable driving lessons from some of the country’s finest race drivers.
Personally, I strongly think everyone should participate in R3MDE. Here are five reasons why you should.
1. Learn some of the essential techniques in motorsport and defensive driving
Over the course of a day, there will be five modules, that combines both defensive driving and motorsport driving techniques. The training modules were designed with the input from Head of Proton R3 and Malaysia’s drift maestro, Tengku Djan Ley.
Module one began with something which many drivers do not realise, the correct driving position. It may sound elementary, but trust me, look at our drivers and perhaps 80% of Malaysian drivers aren’t driving in proper driving position. Getting your driving position correct is as important as wearing a helmet during a track driving event.
Once done, we moved to the two modules of braking; threshold braking and brake avoidance test. The last one was a heart-stopper to many when participants learnt the art of emergency braking with the help of the ABS, with a twist added where the main obstacle was a man (a real one!) waving the flags to point you which side you need to go, testing the participant’s lighting-quick reaction. Thankfully, all 40 participants passed the test and the “man-obstacle” survived the ordeal; maybe the few spare underpants he packed came in handy…
The other two modules are more related to motorsports driving; cornering lines and slalom driving with understeer and oversteer control. Participants get to drive through the cones, learning the classic driving technique of “slow in, fast out” while attempting to attack the corners. Each trainer will be riding shotgun alongside each participant during each module. Having said that, this is the chance to have the 2002 Production World Rally Championship (PWRC) champion to ride beside you! More on that later on…
All participants will utilise what they have learned via a time attack competition, where participants will attempt a course consists of slaloms, sharp corners, emergency braking before ending it with threshold braking. As the picture suggested, heavy rain fell during the time attack event hence each lesson learnt from these modules came in handy to all 40 participants.
2. You get to taste some of Proton’s brilliant ride and handling cars!
With the modules emphasised on driving dynamics, a car with good ride and handling is a plus, hence the brilliant ride of handling on the Proton Preve, Suprima S and Satria Neo R3 models used during the event was a good showcase of their handling prowess. In fact, I got to enjoy the both the Satria Neo R3 and Suprima’s handling a little too much during the slalom test that perhaps I ruined the tyres on both cars. But I’m not the only one guilty of that!
3. Top driving talents as Instructors
The instructors during the event are some of R3’s top driving talents consisting of Chief Instructor, Admi Shahrul, Suhaimi Md Ali, Malaysia Rally legend, Karamjit Singh, and up-and-coming rally talent, Kenneth Koh. Getting driving tutorage from Karamjit is like getting guitar lessons from Mark Knopfler!
The best moment I had during R3MDE was to have the “Flying Sikh” pulling the handbrake while I steering the Suprima S hard during the slalom course, causing the car to go sideways which forced me to counter the oversteer. Once you feel that “sideways” feeling, there’s never enough!
4. Get to mingle with the R3’s fine folks and other participants!
This event allows participants to meet and greet the fine trainers from R3, who are professional racing drivers. This is a great opportunity to get Karamjit to share his rallying experience from all around the world. You can also ask him what is his all time favourite rally car (hint: the red one!). Not forgetting Proton R3 honcho, Tengku Djan, is a friendly person as well! He and the R3 guys will be glad to share some of the valuable driving tips as well as some anecdotes from their racing experiences.
Earlier on when I mentioned this event is targeted to all walks-of-life, I did mean it. The participants I met consisted of working professionals, workshop owners, car salesmen and even a grandmother. Mingle around and friendships can be built during that day!
5. It’s one of the most affordable advanced driving courses around
Advanced driving courses usually don’t come cheap. The ones from manufacturers such as BMW cost RM1,800 per day over the course of two days. Here at R3MDE, it only costs RM880 which includes meals, cars, and tuition, making it one of the most affordable advanced driving courses in Malaysia. Best of all, this is accesible to all Malaysians with a valid Malaysian driving license. Not many car manufacturers come out with such courses, hence our hats off to the folks of R3 for this splendid effort!
There will be plans for future R3MDE events in the near future, which includes the more advanced levels that incorporates the Sepang track that is in the pipeline. Do lookout for such announcements from Proton Motorsports Facebook page here.
The next Proton R3 Motorsport Driving Experience is targeted for 21-22 June 2014 (2 classes possibly), and there will be an early bird discount of 10% starting today (April 29th) till the 1st of June for anyone who pays within this period. From the 2nd of June onwards, the price will be the regular RM880. So what are you waiting for? Email R3mde@proton.com or call 03-8026 9400 / 03- 8074 5888 to register now!
[Image Source: Proton Motorsports]
