MELAKA 4X4 SHOWDOWN 2002, 13th -14th April.
I marked my calendar last month, after being informed by Stiven
Sim, Event Director of Melaka 4x4 Showdown 2002 and waited for
the day to come. On the 13th April morning, I woke up especially
early to begin my slow drive to Melaka. On the North South highway,
the sun couldn't be brighter and the day was lovely. Rumbling
along at 80km/h on the highway in my Toyota, I enjoyed the view
and the rattle of my engine. Not too long later, the peace was
disturbed by a passing convoy of Toyota trucks. All built up
and well equipped to offroad specifications. Yes, these trucks
must be diesels. Nothing else. This could be some of the participants.
Most offroad enthusiasts like diesel trucks for its reliability.
As
I arrived at the Jalan Merdeka venue, I was informed that the
flag off would be at Kota Mas, Ayer Keroh. I rushed to the flag
off venue in the midst of heavy mid-day Saturday traffic. Luckily
I caught them in time and managed to capture some photos of
the 107 trucks participating in this event. The Melaka State
Secretary, YB Datuk Jahaya bin Mat flagged off the participants
to begin their journey to Makhota Parade. A lot of wonderful
trucks were honking in the convoy and the public was thrilled
to see such displays of trucks. It must have been the largest
convoy ever of 4x4s to congregate in Melaka.
As
the speech finished, the real competition begins. This is where
the men are separated from the boys. Unfortunately, I still
find the sport dominated by men. Perhaps more could be done
to encourage females to take up this unique sport. Not surprisingly,
Toyota Land Cruisers and Toyota Hilux trucks dominated the event.
Some other notable cars were the Suzukis and Jeeps. Not all
participants came in monster trucks, a few used their standard
daily vehicle with little modification. They should be commended
for their sportsmanship spirit. Entering a competition with
a standard car is like competing in the F1 with your mom's Proton.
With
27 participants waiting and ready to go, the competition begins
with a flying start as the 1st car (yellow Toyota land Cruiser)
attempts the track. They have to overcome 5 obstacles in 15
minutes and do it again the next day in 10 minutes. Sounds easy?
Not when you see the obstacles. A major heart-stopping obstacle
is the 8 feet high seesaw. They have to drive up the seesaw
and attempt to stay balanced mid-air! Also testing their skills
are the reversing obstacles on a single greasy log. All competitors
are not allowed to shout to each other; they can only use hand
signals. One guy has his mouth taped because he couldn't resist
shouting to his co-driver! Large crowds gathered around the
track to see these brave skillful men attempt the track. The
event was made even more joyful with the charity joyride, giving
less privileged children an opportunity to enjoy a ride in 4x4s.
After much exciting moments over the 2 days, the winner finally
emerged. The results are:
Champion : Driver - Tay Teng Seng
: Co-driver - Wong Siew Cheong
: Car No. DM 144
1st Runner up : Driver - Jacky Ho
: Co-driver - Yee Kheng Ming
: Car No. BCG 1010
2nd Runner up : Driver - Sai Hay Heng
: Co-driver - Lim Chow Hua
: Car No. WFR 3057
The event was fantastic and provided lots of exciting moments.
The Melaka Adventure Council, Majlis Perbandaran Melaka Bandaraya
Bersejarah and Four
Trax Sports Sdn Bhd have done a great job showcasing 4x4
adventure sports.
