Thanks to A Few Good Men

Words by Leslie Chang

In all sports, funding is often a key issue. Thus, at the beginning, TSM decided that, where and when possible, it shall strive to be self-funded. Yes, the decision saved us the time and effort needed to make presentations and canvass for potential sponsors. However, the mission would not be possible without the kind assistance rendered by some helpful individuals and generous organisations.

Firstly, I would like to thank Singapore Motor Sports Association (SMSA) for appointing for me to lead TSM on this high profile mission. Also, to Tan Teng Lip, president of SMSA, for loaning his Terracan.

Jeffrey Low (renowned ex-sports editor) and Lawrence Dana (my old-time race rival) were responsible for convincing Komoco Motors Pte Ltd to extend special discount for my purchase of the new Santa Fe.

Chen Fei-Wei (my Thai-English teacher) provided advice on the purchase, installation and proper usage of our radio communication system. We later became friendly with the comm shop (R-One Trading Pte Ltd) who taught Ernest the art of antenna tuning.

Albert Tai recommended Garmin GPS to me and carefully supervised its installation including audio set and comm set at Tye Electronic Co Pte Ltd.

For those who have been following my stories, the Garmin GPS is remarkable.

Andy Tan carried out the pre-event tuning on the Santa Fe. The installation of the underguard was provided by kind courtesy of Espace Service Pte Ltd.

The support from Stamford Tyres International Pte Ltd through the years has largely contributed towards my continuous success in motorsports. Its wheel plant in Thailand, Stamford Sport Wheels Co Ltd, provided TSM the home-away-from-home feeling when we arrived in Bangkok.

Special thanks to William Lyou (my racing mentor). William provided many useful tips and followed the team’s progress vividly right from the beginning.

In my CAITA 2006 daily log, I prayed God to bless Nguyen Duc Hieu indefinitely for his help in getting our right-hand drive cars through the Vietnamese custom. We never expected to face the same problem, again! Words could not possibly describe how helpful Duc Hieu has been. I call him a saint.

We are thankful to our host’s warm hospitality and we look forward to reciprocate in the kind gesture especially to Li Chun Wei, David Dai and Rong Daisheng.

Lastly, we wish to express our sincere appreciation to the organizer, officials, media, friends, SMSA helpers and followers of our adventure. And, also to the many whom we did not make appropriate mention.

TSM certainly owes its success in CAITA 2007 to more than just a few good men.

Franking our Chief-in-Command, Mr Li Chun Wei

Difficult Terrain vs Difficult Mankind

The following is an extract from Channel NewsAsia phone interview with TSM’s Dr Tan Poh Heng.

1) What was the purpose of the car rally?
(To further strengthen the economic ties and social bonds between China and the Asean countries.)

2) Why did you choose to take part?
(Partly because my friend Mr Leslie Chang, who is also the chef de mission for the Singapore team, took part in the 2006 event and introduced me to such an event. What he encountered last year was well documented and this stimulated my interest in it. Also I felt that this was going to be an experience that may not come true for many in their life time. A lot of people can’t even imagine themselves traveling to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam let alone driving there.)

3) Were there any memorable events (good and bad)?
(**On the very first day, the Rally bus in the main convoy broke down during lunch at Malacca.
This delayed our journey by more than 2 hours and we ended up driving to our first destination Ipoh in the night and compounded by pelting rain. Add on to that, our group had to babysit a ‘lost sheep’ from another group because the Chinese driver had problems with the road signs.
**The rocky roads of Cambodia were the most difficult sector of the rally.
Fortunately, the cooperation of the 5 cars in our group made the drive less treacherous and uncomfortable.
The care and concern of the Chinese driver in the lead car of our group will always be fondly remembered by us.
**Our young ambassador, Bingo who is also Leslie’s son, entertained everyone with his magic tricks throughout the trip. This was especially apparent at the Thai immigration while we were waiting for clearance. A large crowd that included immigration officers, China media people, participants of CAITA and even the street urchins gathered round to watch his performance. The end result was everyone was very impressed with his as well as the whole Singapore team’s performance.)

4) What were some of the difficulties you encountered?
(Besides some difficult roads, the main difficulties encountered were at the Thai and Vietnamese immigration points.
At the Thai side, we were hampered by the poor paper work of the Thai guides in filling up the immigration forms of the entry permit of the cars.
At the Vietnamese immigration, we were held back by their refusal to let right-hand drive cars into the country.
This was despite the relevant authorities ensuring us that all has been arranged.
Ultimately, we were allowed in by the so called ‘5.30pm rule’ – ie time to go home for the staff.
The reason for the delay is something that I feel our MFA should be interested to find out.)

5) Were there any lessons learnt from the experience?
(Trips like this is definitely a good way of cultural exchange amongst the various countries. You get to see and experience a lot more of a country driving through it. We’ve also learnt that we still have some way to go before seamless travel amongst the Asean countries can be realized.
(Having foreign embassies is good but may not always be useful!) )

6) Is there going to be another car rally in the near future? If so, when?
(This is an annual event and it is usually held in the month of October in line with the China-Asean Summit. In fact, it is a fringe event of that summit together with other China-Asean events like China-Asean Expo etc.)

7) How can one participate, or is it for exclusive circles of society?
(The event is organized by the state government of Guangxi Province with support from General Administration of Sport of China - China’s equivalent of our MCYS and Federation of Automobile Sports, China. Participation is through invitation by the organizing committee. This is usually extended to the governing bodies of motorsports of the various countries.)

Drive your way, Hyundai?

Words by Leslie Chang

Hyundai is not a name synonymous to motorsport. Other than a brief spell in the World Rally Championship starring Wayne Bell and Alistair McRae respectively, the brand is better known for its no-frills offerings. Locally, the marque is gaining acceptance with its vastly improved quality and is exceptionally popular among off-peak car buyers.

What drove Team Singapore, Motorsports (TSM) to elect Hyundai as its partner for the historic mission to China? The first vehicle, a Terracan, was a matter of convenience rather than choice. It belongs to SMSA’s President, Mr Tan Teng Lip who had kindly agreed to loan the car to TSM. It would be politically incorrect to refuse his generosity. Besides, this SUV with its 3.5-litre engine was already well proven during CAITA 2006 under the hands of William Lyou. The heat insulator to protect the spare tyre from the exhaust muffler's heat and the fabricated fuel tank skid protector plate were still intact after last year’s outing. However, the low-profile 18-inch wheels were replaced with the original specification of 16-inch all-terrain tyres in anticipation of the rough conditions in Cambodia. The choice of TSM’s second vehicle took a little longer.

The Subaru Forester that I drove during last year’s event was on pace with the competition but fell short on interior space. Thus, I went about shopping for a bigger car. Although my budget was limited, there was surprisingly no lack of choice. I decided to look beyond those makes that were fitted with conventional 4-cyclinder engines. Hence, the Santa Fe was chosen for its V6 engine / 7-seater combo plus the promise of a rear self-leveling system. Sadly, I later found that the latter feature was found lacking in real world conditions, thanks to constant heavy loads and the demanding stages that we encountered.

We were reasonably pleased with some of our pre-event preparations. Starting from the top, the antennas for our radio systems were meticulously calibrated for exact length and optimum placement. As a result, it came as no surprise that our communications were one of the best in the Rally. We could even use our powerful radio to help the occasional lost ‘sheep’ to contact their respective group. Next component that deserves special mention must be the after-market GPS that was installed in the Santa Fe. The unit was cleverly inter-faced with the car’s audio entertainment system so we could enjoy double-din size monitor display with touch screen capability. Best of all, it provided navigational aid and relayed advance information all the way to Nanning, China without the need to pre-load any costly software. It was certainly more useful than we had expected.

The punishing road conditions of Cambodia Highway No. 6 will stay in our memory for a long time. We traveled twice on this infamous route. The first passage was shorter and took slightly more than an hour without any notable incident. However, it was painfully difficult for both Hyundais when we traveled the entire length of the ‘highway’ on the return leg ie. from Siam Reap to the Thai border. It prompted me to write these remarks on Day 7 of our daily log: “…the run wasn’t trouble free. The suspension of our vehicles was clearly unable to sustain prolonged pounding of the rough terrain. Even the comparatively rugged Terracan suffered rear end bottoming. At times, the bone-shaking jolts from the ruts and holes shook the wiper stalk resulting in the occasional ‘automatic’ wipes on the windscreen. We had the opportunity to engage the 4WD Lock on the Santa Fe to keep the wheel spin and body twists in control on a muddy section.” Clearly, an upgrade of suspension and some improvements on the under-carriage would be in order for future attempts. The 3½ hour journey ended with the Santa Fe from hitting a rock near the border. Other than a noticeable compression on the metal underguard, the car’s lower frame was undamaged. The installation of the guard during our pre-event preparations saved the day.

I must admit that our expectations would be higher if we were given more up-market cars like Touareg, XC-90, or Discovery. Nevertheless, it would be fair to say that the Sante Fe was as good as a car could be. For most parts of the marathon drive, the silky engine, comfortable cabin and user-friendly handling often made us forget that we were in a Rally. On the other hand, the frame-on-ladder Terracan had enormous torque to make up for its lesser road behaviour. Save for a loosen steering rod, the bigger Hyundai had the rare credential for completing CAITA twice with remarkable flair. On that note, I shall conclude that Hyundai has accomplished more than just ‘drive your way’.

Work, play and sleep in my Hyundai

What makes the team members click?

Words by Leslie Chang

Team Singapore, Motorsports (TSM) comprises of 2 cars, each carrying a driver, 2nd driver and a navigator. For reason best known to the organizer, our line-up was reshuffled on day 1, immediately after we crossed Tuas checkpoint. The Santa Fe was designated Car # 26 with Aki-boon (driver), Poh Heng (2nd driver) and Bingo (navigator). The Terracan – Car # 27, was piloted by myself (Leslie), Davo (2nd driver) and Ernest (navigator).
I later learned that the move was to take advantage of my past experience and that the Terracan would serve as a sweeper car all the way till end of Rally.

During last year’s inaugural CAITA, William Lyou and I were able to communicate in Chinese with our lead car and, as a result, we carried out whatever required maneuvers promptly. We were never overly dependent on our navigators. Under adverse conditions, we drove with great understanding and precision. In the absence of William, this unmatched level of partnership was not to be repeated. The matter was further compounded by the fact that 2 of our drivers are ang-mo’s. In addition to navigation, both Ernest and Bingo had to multi-task by providing translations whenever the ang-mo’s were driving. Under such circumstances, both navigators felt a little stretched. Hence, some unpopular decisions had to be made. (a.) Under predictably good road and traffic conditions where minimal navigational instructions/translations were required, the 2 ang-mo’s would drive both Hyundai’s; and (b.) Poh Heng and I would do the driving where and when radio communication would be vital such as during heavy traffic, dark hours and on rocky roads.

The ang-mo’s were visibly unhappy with the arrangement as they were subjected to lesser challenges. Secondly, they felt that Poh Heng and I were talking (via talkies) excessively while driving. They were concerned that we might have disregarded the safety factor. On ground that all human and machines needed time to shake-down, the team members persevered. The ang-mo’s soon realized that their roles were by no mean ‘easier’. Their drives on the super highways in China and northern Thailand were fast while the scenic drive towards Lao/Vietnam border was very rewarding. Not quite happy ending though as they have not gotten over our non-stop chatting over the radio. Poh Heng and I conversed mostly in Hokkien while driving. The ang-mo’s were not convinced with my explanation that, most of the time, I was providing navigational aids and advanced driving lessons to Poh Heng. They suspected that I acted as a lookout for other attractive looking road users. And, thus, it would affect Poh Heng’s driving whenever I relayed such distracting information to him. Well, the ang-mo’s were not totally wrong after all.

Off the field, TSM carried itself cohesively and repeatedly exchanged compliments with our Chinese hosts cordially. The Guangxi Daily News reported that TSM is “a happy team filled with constant laughter” accompanied by a picture of Bingo in ‘action’. I would like to add that whenever Bingo had to perform on stage, the team rallied firmly behind him. It was good enough to earn Bingo a precious rare hug from the Vice-Governor of Guangxi Province (Mdm Liu Xin Wen) during the event’s grand finale. That’s something which even William and Leslie have yet to learn.

a deserving hug from the Vice-Governor