_Achilles Formula Drift Malaysia 2011
_ Daigo Saito of Sparks Achilles Drift Team claimed the Achilles Formula Drift 2011 Malaysia title and clinched the overall Drivers’ Champion in style at the Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Coming home 2nd was another Japanese driver, Manabu Orido of Team RSR while Kiki Sak Nana of Red Bull Drift Team Thailand rounded off the top three.
Open practice on Saturday started literally with a bang with Malaysian driver, Tan Tat Wei hitting the barriers and damaging his car.
Open practice on Saturday started literally with a bang with Malaysian driver, Tan Tat Wei hitting the barriers and damaging his car.
The action quickly continued after the track was cleared with drivers taking turn coming out for their practice run. The crowd was especially thrilled with the smoke show from Koh-Kae and the blazing run by top drivers such as Saito, Orido and local ace, Ser Ming Hui (Ah Fai).
_Out of a field of 44 participants, 10 Malaysian drivers qualified for
the Top 32 shoot-out, with Ah Fai leading the charge.
Saito however stamped his authority over the competition during qualifying round with the highest score of 94.5 points.
Top 32 shoot-out started on Sunday at 12.30pm in front of a packed grandstand. Malaysian driver Mervyn ´Nakamura´ Abdullah caused the biggest upset of the stage by defeating Thailand driver Non, who was ranked second in the series coming into the competition. Mervyn later had an intense battle with Chanatpon Kerdpiam (S) during the Top 8 stage which went into a rematch. S took the win to move into the Top 4.
The tricky track layout continued to caught out many more drivers throughout the race. The most dramatic incident happened during the battle between Thanapol Thongchua (Pete) and Kiki Sak Nana. Pete's car hit the barriers at speed and sustained heavy damage to the right front wheel.
It was 2nd time unlucky for Ah Fai during his Top 8 battle against Saito. Having crashed out during the 2010 race, Ah Fai did well during the chase run but hit the barriers during his lead run. Saito was following closely behind and did well to avoid any serious contact during the incident.
In the Top 4 stages, Saito went head-on against S while Orido took on Kiki. Both Saito and Orido won comfortably to set up a dream final. In the 3rd / 4th placing match-up later, Kiki won to clinch the final podium place.
Defending champion Saito versus Orido, Super GT legend and former D1 Grand Prix judge. This was the dream final that all the fans were hoping for. However, Orido made an uncharacteristic spin going into the first clipping point during his chase run and thus handed a huge advantage to Saito. A clean 2nd run was all it took for Saito to seal the win and retain his Formula Drift Malaysia crown.