Follow us to Kluang Mall
Pit Stop Challenge with Empire Motorsports talented pitcrew
Lotus Club members getting into the joy of the festivities
interview minterview!
With Denis Lian for a drifting experience
1 Malaysia...hmm.
Autocross-ing!
Dato' Seri and Mr Tey Ah Kau having a light moment
YB Dato' Seri Hishammuddin gracing the occasion
Kiki and I sharing a private moment together
Kluang Mall hosted the ‘Kluang Mall Motorsports Day, boasting special appearances by Empire Motorsports and their Lotus 2 Eleven GT4 race car. This marked a special day not just for this newest and grandest mall, but also for the residents of the small and sleepy town of Kluang.
Minister of Home Affairs, YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussien and his wife Yang Mulia Tengku Datin Seri Marsilla Tengku Abdullah graced the event in support of what can be considered a landmark affair for Kluang. With also the support of Lotus Cars Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin flagged off the event with a Lotus Elise to officiate the launch of the Motorsports event held for the first time in Kluang.
Also present at the launch were Kluang Mall Owner & Chairman, Mr Tey Ah Kau and Empire Motorsports Team Principal and driver, En. Ashraff Dewal.
“This is the biggest event in the history of Kluang since 1910. We are very excited
to be doing this branding exercise with Empire Motorsports. Besides hyping up our year-end shopping ambience at Kluang Mall, it gives our locals the opportunity to further understand the automobile industry and promote awareness for this healthy and positive sport,” quips Mr Tey Ah Kau.
Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin, who is also the MP of Semborong, applauded Kluang Mall’s initiative to hold a grand event such as this because Motorsports is fast becoming a popular sport in Malaysia. He urged parents to support their child if they are interested in any area Motorsports as it also encourages the spirit of competitiveness especially amongst the youths.
“Who knows one day, we will be able to produce more Motorsports Champions including categories like Formula 1 and drifting,” he positively adds after acknowledging that Empire Motorsports was the first Malaysian team to have participated and to complete the Dubai 24 hour race held early this year.
Dato’ Seri unveiled the Kluang Mall’s sponsored Lotus Two Eleven GT4 race car and took an Autocross ride on a Lotus Elise with one of Team Empire’s race drivers, Denis Lian.
“Kluang Mall Motorsports Day” was carried out for 2 days and was made merrier by the presence of the Lotus Club members who traveled from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in a convoy of 20 cars to join the fun and festivities of the weekend. With a colourful and attractive display of Lotus car, the main road outside the Mall was temporarily closed to host a display of Lotus cars drifting and to conduct the Lotus Cars Autocross Challenge for public viewing and entertainment.
Residents from in and out of Kluang came in droves to Kluang Mall for a chance to get passenger rides with the team’s drivers and the Lotus Car owners. Empire Motorsports, who organized the Autocross as well as the Pit Stop Challenge, invited members of the public to pitch their skills against the highly-trained crew of Team Empire.
“We are honoured and proud to be given the opportunity to showcase Empire Motorsports together with Lotus Cars Malaysia and the many Lotus Car owners who have come here to support this event. Moreso, Kluang Mall has done a fantastic job in organizing this event. There is so much more to motorsports than just drivers and fast cars, but the crew members who are the backbone of any motorsports team. We train these young men to be better, faster and smarter in every aspect of their educational development” said Ashraff Dewal, Team Principal of Empire Motorsports.
The event that was hailed a success by Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin. The ex-Minister of Sports and Youth commended the efforts of Kluang Mall and Empire Motorsports for their efforts and further urged the support and development of not just the drivers, but for the “unsung heroes” of Malaysian Motorsports consisting of its pitcrew. He added that the interest of Motorsports amongst the public of all races would further support the 1Malaysia campaign spirit initiated by Prime Minister , Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
