Day 3
Bright and early the next morning we get ready to move.
Today is going to be a long day.
A new addition from Penang .
Batman !!!!!
Nice huh .
Rest of the line up .
After breakfast and the days' briefing we start our engines .
The longest leg of the trip . From Penang island ,across the breadth of the country to Kuantan in the East coast
And all curves except the last part which is on the highway .
Driving in Penang .
Looking at the Malacca straits .
Batman again :-p
A quick fuel up...
Photo op...
...and we move again .
One of the landmarks of the island .
A nice coastal road .
Then its onto the bridge .
Team lead .
The Malaysian mainland in the distance .
Rest of the pack .
From Penang we will make our way to Gerik .
Such a beauty .
All ready for Day 3 .
Soon the roads open up .
And the usual velocity starts .
Traffic lights and traffic regroups us .
Then its all pistons firing time .
Great roads...
...lead to high speeds .
Look at that .
Another regroup .
Then we continue our journey .
Not too bright ,but dry weather .
The Malaysian countryside .
Some corners we managed to get the pack .
A very nice shot .
All the action shots are by my copilot .
Passing through a village here .
That is a really wide car .
The Central mountain range in the distance .
We will cross it today .
Rolling obstacles .
Another nice shot .
We get closer and closer to the mountains .
Soon there are no more villages or towns.
And the boys start to gun it .
What a beautiful road .
A favourite with drivers and bikers .
Minimal traffic .
And amazing views .
Add in good weather...
... and roads like these...
THIS is driving heaven .
Nice huh .
A short break for lunch .
What a line up .
In Malaysia we get good food everywhere .
Time for some R&R .
Then its back on the road.
Across rivers...
..hills....
..up mountains...
..and through passes .
here we're crossing the Belum dam .
look at the roads here .
ha ha ha .Keep your eyes open .
Climbing up the Titiwangsa mountain range .
Thick rainforests.
Tapir crossings ??
Fuel up...
..and roll out .
We need to cover a large distance today .
nice huh .
As we were driving through the hinterland..
in the middle of nowhere...
..suddenly we got instructions to pull up over the radio .
one of the cars had a flat .
Luckily we have a tech crew along .
So we waited for them to catch up .
Picture time .
Unfortunately it was not just a flat but a sidewall tear .
Initially they tried to repair the Lotus's flat tire and put it on the Ferrari .
Some passed out from the heat :-P :-P
As we were waiting for the guys to get back with the loaner tyre...
..we presented quite a spectacle for the locals .
By we i mean the Aventador :-P
Its like the rest of us were not even there , ha ha ha
:-) :-)
local boys .
The guys came back ,but were unfortunately unable to use the loaner tyre .
So the leads decided to go in the support truck to a town 100+ km away through the jungle...
...and try to get a new tyre ....
...and meet us up in the hotel .
.So the convoy lead was handed over to another driver...
..and off we went .
From the jungle which had quite good roads...
We will be driving through a very large palm oil plantation...
Narrower roads...
Hilly...
All part of the experience .
This is Malaysia .!!
What a great road.
More Tapir crossings :-)
Convoy intact .
Its already afternoon here...
As we finish crossing the mountains .
Now we enter the plantations .
A quick regroup .
Stare at this ass...
Then start moving .
Narrower roads.
Guess the speeds here :-)
Slow.....
Really...
Look at the dips .
...and curves .
Also the views .
None that i saw anyway .
Tunnel vision anyone .
All i saw was lines ,apexes and corners .
If i was sightseeing , we'll end up in a ditch .
Nice huh .
Felda Aring...
On my six .
Drive Hard V .!!!!!
Great roads...
Views...
Experiences...
...and friends .
What an experience .
This is the only way you would learn about your car...
...and more importantly ...yourself ...
...By doing...
I was really nice to let everyone go on ahead :-P
Such a fast group .
We're almost at the East coast already .
From here we will take the freeway...
Unfortunately , it started to rain...
...and get dark .
So we took it easy...
Till we reached Kuantan .
A very nice hotel .
And a great room .
The Blue Jackets organised a gala dinner that night .
After a long day... it was time to eat .
Eat we did .
This is just the first round .
One of the guys had his birthday ,so a surprise cake turned up .
Part of the dessert .
A bit of signing of the drive certificates .
More eating... then zzzzzzzzzzz
(** The guys who stayed to get the tyre ,showed up at 2am. At least the car was fixed )
Day 4
Today is a shorter day with a later start .
We were invited to a lunch at a town we will anyway be passing...
As there will be a gathering of VWs ,Audis ,BMWs & Lotuses who drove from KL yesterday .
So we will make a quick stop ,then continue on our way .
ha ha ha ha
From the hotel till the town of Pekan where the gathering is...
We will be escorted by the police .
And that made it so much better...
As this stretch is full of lights...
...and traffic .
Cars at the side pull over to let us by .
Outriders...
3 of them leap frog...
At intersections and lights .
While the squad car is in front .
It was really fun with the police escort .
Not fast but smooth .
in less than an hour...
We reach our destination .
The Royal town of Pekan .
We arrive at the gathering...
Everybody was pointing at me and taking pictures .
See.....
Till i realised...
The Aventador was behind me :-P
Cars from the various clubs .
Meeting up with old friends .
Look at the crowds focus .
See ha ha ha
As we are on the clock...
We timed it so we arrive in time for lunch .
A nice gathering .
We were led here...
And treated to a very nice lunch...
Very well organised...
And it was a pleasure to meet old friends and make new ones .
After a short break...
We had to move...
As today we will be driving.....
...to the southern tip of Malaysia .
Back on the road again...
minus the escort...
So you can imagine the velocity...
See the empty B road infront of me...as everyone is ahead...
You can vaguely make out my slow speed on this road. :-P
bunny petrified...
Passing villages...
Till we reach...
Our actual planned lunch stop for the local delicacy.
Huge prawns...
After a spicy lunch its time to drive...
Surprisingly hazy...
More towns...
This one is a bit larger...
Then back through the B road .
A very fast car...
Bad haze .
Nice huh .
Its only mid afternoon here .
I've been here before -June 2013 on a ride with Han .
It was a group ride ,but we got up early to check out these WW2 pillboxes .
We finally exit the B roads...
Our sweeper...A very fast car and driver .
And the last stretch before the hotel .
Almost there...
Finally we reach .
A smooth drive...
Check in...swim a bit... then dinner.
The last night of the drive...
A really fun dinner ++ till late.
Right next to the marina .
What a night :-)
Day 5
Today its just a drive north to the capital via the freeway .
After a late breakfast, certificate presentation..
To all the drivers and copilots .
A bit of photo ops .
And a final briefing before we leave .
A smooth drive north till a final stop where we said our goodbyes.
And made our way home .
When we joined this drive ,we were told that this is not for everyone.
You need to love the drive and adventure ,and be prepared to not just use the car for a dinner date only .
It was 5 days of 110% focus ,mental stamina , lots of laughter and a whole load of fun .
The Blue Jackets Drive Hard 5 was very well organised and every detail was handled well.
From all aspects of the drive , to the drivers , to the food ,hotels ,unexpected emergencies...everything was smooth .
This takes work and a lot of planning .
Kudos .
Now , we were deciding whether to bring the Lotus or the Porsche .
The Porsche is new and i'm not used to it, as its my wife's daily driver .
Also the Porsche is a very basic spec and has no frills , bells or whistles .
So after 5 days of freeways ,B roads , C roads , high speeds everywhere, i can safely say that the Lotus is a fantastic car on smooth roads with sharper corners. Where as the Porsche is a better car overall. It handled all road surfaces from smooth to bumpy with ease.
Its civil when u want it to be and a hooligan when you need it to be.
Great composure ,power and handling.
Win= Porsche
So some asked whether the next round my wife will drive her own car.
Someone's interested .
Round one - Fight !!!! ha ha ha
Cheers .
