The recent What’s Good? + Pixel Pimps Year End Kart Day was a fun-filled day for everyone who participated and I’m glad I took the time out to organize it.

We were blessed with fantastic weather and I don’t think any of us regretted making the trip to Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) all the way in Kedah. For those who don’t live in Malaysia, we’ve got to drive about an hour out of Penang to reach Kedah, and UUM is actually located just a few kilometres away from the Thai border. Damn if we had brought our passports we could have had dinner in Thailand!

I’ve been an avid karter for many years but every track in the Northern Region before has just been some converted carpark with tyres littered around to mark out the track. I was told that the track at UUM was a proper track and thus I was super psyched to visit it.

I didn’t know the way to UUM but luckily I had 2 mates who lived in Kedah (also Impreza owners) who were going to “escort” me there.

By “escort” I mean they were going to give me a 200km/h sandwich all the way to the track.

The gunmetal Version 9 belongs to Alex and his car is probably the fastest Impreza in Kedah. He wasn’t satisified with the stock engine so he sent his whole engine to Singapore for tuning. It is damn loud and when compared to it my car sounds like a Lexus.

The white GC8 belongs to Lim, another Impreza freak who decided that a stock engine wasn’t good enough for him and decided to put in a block from a Version 9. He also sent his whole engine to Singapore for tuning.

That’s just how they do shit in Alor Setar man.

This is the track … for me to see something like this in the middle of nowhere (seriously, UUM is like in the middle of nowhere) was really amazing.

Imagine a junkie having been clean for 5 years and then suddenly being dumped in the middle of a cocaine warehouse – that was how I felt at the time.

The end of the straight has what I call the “corner of death” – notice how there is no run-off/gravel trap at the end? That means if you fuck up at that corner, miss your braking point or daydream, you will fly up that slope.

And I call it the “corner of death” because the track operator told us that three people had already been permanently paralyzed from crashing at that corner.

*ominous and menacing music playing softly in the background*

There are 2 types of karts at the UUM track for rent. One type are Fun Karts that run lawnmower engines and the other are faster 125cc 2-stroke karts (pictured above)

I love karting because it is the simplest and rawest form of driving. You have a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. Nothing else. The steering is not power-assisted and the throttle and brake are connected the engine and brake caliper via a wire on each side. The ride is harsh and bumpy and you feel like your ass is scraping against the floor of the road.

For those who’ve never been karting – the driving mechanics of a kart are supposed to be the similar to F1 cars and many past/present F1 stars had their starts in karts.

Kart-virgin Yuki was trying to put on a brave face after we told him about three people being permanently paralyzed from driving these 125cc karts.

He wanted to go back to the Fun Karts but I didn’t let him. Hahaha

We don’t have any photos of the Fun Kart session because everyone was on the track at the time and there was noone to hold the camera.

Dorfito Neko getting ready to attack the track. Victor was really frustrated driving the Fun Karts because of his “weight penalty” and was hoping that the higher-powered 125cc karts would better for him.

Dorfito Neko doing what he does best … check out that opposite lock!

The last time I karted was 5 years ago so I was enjoying every second of my track time. All the bumps, all the little stones flying up at me, the seat digging into my ribcage at every corner – I was loving all of it.

For a first time karter, Yuki was doing pretty good and I have to give him props for being able to wrestle that 125cc kart around so many corners without crashing. Hehe

It was also Tommax Tommy’s first time karting and here he is telling us how you can shave seconds off your lap time by putting more stickers on your helmet (just look at mine)

But it only works if Tommy makes your stickers for you.

Even on a 125cc kart, Dorfito Neko still cannot catch me. Sorry Victor!

DC, the prefered choice of karters worldwide.

Victor on that opposite lock again! One of the funnest things about go-karts is that you can drift them so easily, just a little extra turn-in into a corner or a harder dab on the brake and away you go!

Of course if you don’t catch the tail then you’ll spin or crash.

Ed managed to grab this great photo of me coming out of the “corner of death” – it is my favorite corner in the track because just when you breathe a sigh of relief that you made it out of the corner in one piece you are thrown straight into an “S”

I spent all afternoon experimenting with different ways to take these consecutive corners and it was super challenging and rewarding.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

This handsome fella (or “eng dau” as they say in Hokkien) is Big Boss Alex, owner of Kedah’s fastest Impreza and also owns two go-karts which he races at the UUM track. He was our guide for the day and also a spectacular host.

As always, my trusty Pro-Specs did their job beautifully.

You can’t really see it cleary from this photo but Yuki’s face is half black from wearing this nasty borrowed helmet from the track. I can’t even being to imagine how many people used that thing before him and what sort of shit was in it.

*yuck*

DC Teamworks Collection … the most awesome motorsport clothing line in the world. If you wear one of these Ts it will shave seconds off your lap time.

Available soon @ What’s Good?

Hmm …

If you ever go karting, I highly recommend that you bring your own helmet. Then you don’t have to use the rancid loaner helmets they provide at tracks. A decent full-face helmet will cost you less than RM200 which I think is a worthwhile investment if you are planning on going karting regularly.

Just make sure it is full-face so your face/eyes are protected from all the little tar chips that will fly up and hit you when you are driving.

Racing gloves are also recommended. They will give you a better grip on the steering wheel as well as protect your hands from the aforementioned tar chips.

Group photo at the end of the day … everyone was super tired but extremely satisfied! The only person who didn’t kart was Lim (owner of the white GC8, 3rd from right standing) because he hurt his back from doing too many “horizontal exercises”

I hope he recovers in time for our next kart day!

Being a gracious host, Alex took us for dinner at a fantastic Thai restaurant nearby.

I don’t know the name of the restaurant and I can’t remember how to get there but I will say that I had the best Thai food that I’ve ever had in Malaysia that night.

Check this out … KFC – Kedah Fried Catfish … They may look like poop but they are super super dope and yummy, everyone went crazy over these … I think I had three.

Not much left after we attacked the food. Hahaha

Alex insisted on paying for dinner, which was too kind of him. Thank you boss!

It was a brilliant day and all of us enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The track was great and the karts well-maintained. The UUM kart track has to be one of the cleanest kart facilities in Malaysia and definitely worth a visit.

We will be making another trip there sometime this month so for anyone who is interested in joining us just get in touch with me or Ed and we’ll notify you when we are going.

All track photos: Ed @ The Pixel Pimps
More kart day coverage: Dorifto Neko
My gear provided by: DC Shoes
Special thanks: Alex Tan & Lim Farn Kae

Posted on January 6th, 2010 by BadBoyBen
Filed under: Bad News, Cars, Events, What's Good?