A fellow race car enthusiast, Niki Tham started LMS to brings together Motorsports passion and inspiration with the objective of creating a Centre of excellence for motorsports (beginning with automotive) Lifestyle Experience.
Gone are the days when one would have to travel to the affiliated garage to make payment for the specific track day. LMS has a web page where you can access http://www.lmsports.com.sg to sign up for your account, book your track dates, make your payment via Paypal or eNets. Just as easy as booking a movie tickets! You can even view the available track days for the rest of the year via the web page!
LMS also has a system where one is ensured a paperless transaction from pre track day till post track day. On top of that, with an account with LMS, you are provided your own online trackie profile, where you can access your past lap data that will be stored for you whenever you attend any LMS track day.
Having said all that, 1 month into introducing their system, LMS had their 1st Track Day on 31 March 2013 Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
Just as I was excited to see what the LMS Track Day had for it's participants, I was equally excited to bring my R to SIC again after the last visit in July 2012.
Headed to the Media Centre upon reaching to register.
As mentioned, registration at any LMS organised track day is a paperless affair. Hence, this registration process is actually a verification of your attendance with your proof of either identity or passport number as entered in your LMS account.
For this track day, there was a special transponder limited to first 20 who registered.
I was the 4th to register for the afternoon session. And the device on the top right of the photo is the special transponder mentioned.
This transponder is in fact a state of the art GPS Lap Timer with 10Hz acquistion resolution and it's a first of it's kind with a full colour display that helps the driver see clearly and identify easily whether he is faster or slower at a sector with green or red background. Proudly designed and manufactured by the GPS specialist, QStarz, this is their latest product LT-Q6000 under their racing series and has acquired patents for its extraordinary design and innovation. Lifestyle Motorsports is proud to be QStarz's distributor for this region.
Different from the usual transponder which one would have to check their timing only after the track session, I was able to track my timing with each hot lap and rectify any problem with my car or driving method. It was indeed a useful device for aspiring racer like me.
The safety briefing was also one of its kind, with a safety video by Grip Academy.
Back at the car before hitting the track, this sticker is an important aspect of the track day as it does not only separates the other cars from the cars used for the track day, but it also identifies the car that spoils the circuit in any manner (e.g. oil leak).
I was so eager to take R out onto the track that I was in the car, putting on the appropriate gears in no time.
Note that you ought to wear a balaclava under your helmet for safety reasons. And for those who perspires shitload like me, it's a good piece of towel to clean the sweat.
Since this is just a regular track session, there was nothing imposed on having a suit worn. Hence, I came in the basic gears:
Helmet, Balaclava, Gloves.
All FIA approved.
As mentioned in my previous entry, my mysterious helmet design was unveiled at the track day. And I sure got a lot of laughs for my tongue-in-cheek design.
Well, isn't that what motorsport is all about: Fun and Laughter.
Anyway, the weather was exceptionally good at the SIC.
Just look at that clear blue sky as my R rolled into the pit lane.
But the awesome weather was the only good thing during the track session as I fought to understand why the set-up that I had added was not improving my timing. It also didn't help that the track was closed many times due to car faults.
It was only after the track session that I was able to have a discussion with Jonathan since his garage was busy supporting LMS for the entire track day.
We concluded that the 5mm increase in stroke made the drive up to SIC more bearable. However, I forgot to match the damping to the increased stroke, thus inducing more understeer in each corner. This resulted in 2seconds slower than my personal best of 2:39.
Overall, this track day was a learning experience for me and I will definitely be bring my R for the subsequent track days to rectify the problem identified today.
Before I end of this lengthy post, here are some useful tips on what else to expect of a track day apart from pushing your car to the limit:
1. Track days are a good time to put your basic knowledge into good use.
In my honest opinion, a race car driver should possess basic knowledge to check on the car after each hot lap. This knowledge will be particularly useful for competitions where the mechanics are not allowed onto the circuit to rectify any problems should your car breaks down there instead of the pit.
2. Track days are also a good time to exchange valuable pointers with other motorsport enthusiast.
For this track session, I was honoured to have Mark Darwin visit our pit.
Mark is a friend I made last July during the Time to Attack competition held at the SIC. Despite being miles apart, we built a friendship through our common love for motorsport.
We were unable to complete a lap in my R due to track closure, however, the ride I took in his car was unforgettable.
That's all for now!
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