Client of the Month: Oliver Wong

Oliver Wong is a young man with a burning passion for cars. Despite having loved cars for all his life, he had never had any real experience in racing till recently. He is an enthusiast who has been for performance driving programs conducted by BMW and gone for a couple of track days in Malaysia. He approached us, wanting to “get a taste” of what it would be like to drive in a Formula car, and he received more than what he had bargained for. Below is a schedule of what we had planned for his 2 day formula program.

Day 1: BASIC RACING

  • 9am: Pick up from Hotel
  • 930am – 4pm: Clark International Raceway
    • Orientation on Basic Racing and Formula Car Driving
    • Learning of the Circuit (Tony Kart)
    • Heat 1 – Orientation Gear Shifts and Circuit (Ford Focus Touring Car)
    • Heat 2 – Braking (Formula Ford)
    • Lunch Break
    • Heat 3 – Follow the leader / Racing line Exercise (Formula Ford)
    • Heat 4 – Downshifting (Formula Ford)
    • Heat 5 – Lapping (Formula Ford)
  • 430pm: Return to Hotel

Day 2: ADVANCED RACING

  • 9am: Pick up from Hotel
  • 930am – 4pm: Clark International Raceway
    • Review
    • Heat 1 – Skills review: Shifting and Race Line (Ford FocusTouring Car)
    • Heat 2 – Lapping (Formula Ford)
    • Heat 3 – Lapping (Formula Ford)
    • Lunch Break
    • Heat 4 – Data Interpretation (Formula Toyota)
    • Heat 5 – Data Interpretation (Formula Toyota)
    • Wrap –up Discussion
  • 400pm: Return to Hotel

On the 17th and 18th of December 2009, Oliver Wong did a 2 day Formula Program with us in the Philippines. He had approached us in early November, inquiring on the feasibility of doing a Formula program and we tailored a program specifically to suit his needs. The agenda for the customized program was simple. To build up the skills needed in a short period of time so that Oliver would be able to handle, and perform in a Formula Toyota. We started him off with the purest and most basic form of racing, karting. This was used to build up the essential concepts that would be required to handle an expensive and delicate race machine, the Formula Toyota. After some theory and practical with the kart, the next step was to put him into a touring car, to get him used to handling a vehicle that was much bigger, and a lot more powerful. This phase saw Oliver hurtling through corners, unleashing the power of a race prepped touring car.

Oliver felt that the progression from karting, to touring car, to Formula Ford, and finally the Formula Toyota was a great way to build up his confidence and to ensure that he had the necessary skills and techniques to advance up to the Formula Toyota. His biggest takeaway from the program was that “In order to drive fast, you first have to learn how to drive slow.” This was something he truly believed in and was emphasized by the instructor that trained him. The initial portion of the training was spent refining his skills and developing his techniques to a greater level. After he got used to the handling, the racing lines, and the driving techniques such as heel and toe, Oliver was then strapped into a Formula Ford. It was his first time in a Formula Car, and Oliver was thrilled. He had no idea that this program would be so much fun. He was taught about the car, its behavior, capabilities, and its limits. His instructors were really impressed with his ability to learn and adapt so quickly to the driving conditions presented to him.

With full confidence, they gave him the opportunity to drive the Formula Toyota car, with uprated horsepower. In the Formula Toyota, he had a blast of a time, with the adrenaline rush from the open cockpit of the Formula Toyota. Oliver was extremely satisfied with the program and felt that it was better than what he had expected. Oliver was pleasantly surprised with the 1 is to 1 instructor to student ratio and the fact that there were only him and another client of ours doing the program. We had customized the program such that it would be a private program so that he would be able to learn and absorb as much as possible within the two days and the addition of the second client, was to reduce the costs of doing the program.

When we asked him about his future plans for racing, he told us that he had such a great time, that he would like to get a racing license and start participating in some race weekends.

We have successfully planted the racing bug into Oliver and we will be seeing a lot of him in the Motorsport scene as we support his training and races so that he’ll be able to live up to his full potential.