You’ve probably heard someone drop this legendary but frequently overused and misapplied cliché at some gymkhana event or amateur open track day. Most of the time, it’s from the guy wheeling the slower car whose timing wasn’t too far off someone piloting much more powerful machinery.

While misconstrued many a time, every cliché has a kernel of truth to it and in this case, it truly is much easier to learn how to go fast in a slow car, which explains why most professionals start with go-karts before progressively stepping up into quicker cars.

As most skilled wheelmen or high-performance drivers will tell you, one of the sharpest instruments in a driver’s toolbox is corner entry speed and mid-corner control.

The first component is self-explanatory. Enter a corner too slow and you lost momentum, getting left behind as the others carry more speed into the exit and leave you in their rear-view mirrors. Too fast and it’s obvious what happens, you either spin off or wash out wide.

Nail the entry speed and you get through the corner in the quickest way possible without losing momentum or spinning out.

Now, the thing is that speed’s never consistent and changes with every lap. Track temperature, tyre wear and tyre temperature among other factors mean the need for constant adjustment, and that’s a dark art that separates the Samirs’ from the Max Verstappens’.

The issue is that if you start with a more powerful car, you’ll arrive at the corner in haste. That means you can’t learn to feel and fine-tune your feel for the entry speed. Hit the track in a less powerful car and you’ll arrive at the corner with a lower speed but that’ll allow you the time to practice precise control over your braking and feel for the car’s momentum as well as weight balance as it rotates.

Furthermore, even if you overcook it in the less powerful car, there’s far more forgiveness there than from a supercar on barely-there slicks.

Now as you get better at it, you can step into faster machinery and work your way up, gradually adding to your driving repertoire.

In a way, this is the fundamentals of grassroots racing because for obvious reasons, less powerful, mass market cars are usually affordable and that represents one of the best entry points into motorsports. While you hone your craft, you can also master the artistry of door-to-door racing and not worry so much about messing up… because it won't burn a hole in your wallet to fix.

It can be said our northern neighbours Thailand organise one of the most interesting grassroots racing series that centres around the country’s Eco Car programme. Now in Phase 2, the programme reduces duties and taxes for locally-assembled compact cars that meet eco requirements, namely improved fuel economy and lower emissions.

The Thailand Super Eco Series is the steppingstone into the Thailand Super Series and from the Instagram clip below, you can quickly grasp just why it’s interesting.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by PogonainsuranceTV (@pogona_tv)

Multi-brand, multi-model compact cars being given the full beans with drivers wringing every last horsepower out of their little eco engines flying into a corner five-wide… that’s always going to be a spectacle for spectators.

Needless to say, contact is mandatory and the action will make Formula 1 seem like a snoozefest.

The entry list predominantly comprises the diminutive Honda Brio, with the occasional Suzuki Swift and Mazda2 hatchback peppering the starting grid. Any car under the Eco Car programme can make the cut but in this case, size does matter.

Vios Challenge Season 6 Finale

Closer to home, Malaysians don’t have to miss out on the action. In fact, we can even catch it live with the Vios Challenge that’s the main attraction of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival.

Believe it or not, the one-make series is now coming to the tail-end of its sixth season in Malaysia and over the years, we’ve been blessed with some spectacular door-to-door, or bumper-to-bumper, racing.

Cars flipping onto their sides? Sure. Turning turtle and ending up on the roof? Got that too. A 3-car wipe-out into a high-speed corner? You bet.

Unlike the Thai series, all the race cars here comprise the Toyota Vios in identical specification. Most of the modifications include basic performance parts with an equal emphasis on safety as well.

Being a one-make race, the Vios Challenge can actually lay claim to being a better platform for the development of driving skills as the person behind the wheel will spend more time focussing on driving rather than attempting to extract every last ounce of mechanical performance out of the car.

UMW Toyota Motor hasn’t just stopped at providing a comprehensive grassroots racing platform to develop motorsports in the country. The distributor for the marque here has even gone onto introduce a Rookie racing class that sees the cars and team management provided at their own cost for upcoming drivers to experience proper motorsports and develop their skills at a higher level.

While the Rookies are undoubtedly the future of the country’s motorsports, the Vios Challenge also pits legends of the scene against some of the current established names against each other, usually leading to nail-biting racing.

There’s also somewhat of a crossover between the Vios Challenge and Thai Super Eco Series. Budding racer Hayden Haikal has been making huge strides in the Vios Challenge locally and now is also mounting a strong challenge in the Thai series, currently sitting second in the championship.

If you have caught any of the Vios Challenge rounds so far, you’ll know what an extravaganza it is. If you haven’t, it’s time you rectify that.

Round 3, also the season’s finale, will be held under the floodlights of the Sepang International Circuit over the 30 Sep - 1 Oct 2023 weekend.

Apart from the racing, there’ll be concerts by artistes such as:

• Malaysian Pop and Alternative Rock group OAG
• Hip-Hop singer KMY KMO
• Local Rapper Luca Sickta
• Indonesian Alternative Rock band Iqbal M
• 16 Baris featuring Joe Flizzow, MK, SonaOne, ALYPH, AbangSapau, Killa Driz, Sophia Liana, Gard, Pele, Fuego & DJ CZA

You’ll even be able to meet and greet your favourite local celebrities that participate in the Promotional class of the Vios Challenge. You can easily register for the event by clicking here and filling up a simple form.

If you feel Sepang is a little out of the way, there’s always the livestream on Toyota’s social media. You can catch the action on their YouTube channel that’s also filled with plenty of content regarding the series that you’ll love.