DANCING AROUND CURVES : Malaysian Drifter Leona Chin Likens the Motorsport to the Art of Dancing, Writes Haris Kamal, Photos by Gary Lee

The exciting motorsports of drifting has been around for more than 30 years but has only gained popularity recently. Drifting is about tryinf to remain in a state of over steer, sliding the car round a corner.

Like most motorsport, drifting is dominated by men. A female drifter is a rare find, and in Malaysia, we are blessed with lovely lass Leona Chin.

She is not your Average girl, Looking at videos of her on the internet. You will be astonihed at the way she works wonders with her Nissan 200sx.

Chin, who stated drifting at the age of 20, grew up with boys who were mostly car enthusiasts. “I started to like cars ans went further by engaging in motorsports itself after watching drift events at Sunway Extreme Park four to five years ago,” said Chin.

“People were amazed and some didn’t believe me, but when they saw me drifting, they were shocked,” she added.

“Drifting is an art like dancing. Instead of using your body, you use the car to dance around curves. You just want to show the world your talent and entertain the audience,”said Chin.

“Honda Dc5 Type R has be my favourit car since high school. It’s fast and althought it isn’t a reat wheel drive like my Nissan 200sx. I still have a love for Honda cars. Between an S2000 and a Dc5, I prefer the latter.”

“I love the sleek looks and sportiness of the car. It also handles very nice on track and for daily driving. It’s such a pity its profuction has stopped.”

Although Chin’s hobbies are badminton and bowling – she even represented her school and college in bowling competitions – motorsports is her obsession. She enjoys both drifting events and racing cars, but drifting is what she holds close to her heart.

“So far, my greatest achievent is recognition by Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya from Japan when he visited the Sepang Super GT drift demo. After coutless participation in loval drift events, I managed to meet him in person. He even shared a few pointers with me.”

“In circuit racing, I have a great track time record of two minutes 29 seconds during the Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race Qualifying session. My team qualified second place in the class on the grid in 2008.”

“However, my most exciting experience was when I did a tandem drift side by side with Malaysia’s Prince of Drift Tengku Djan in a TV3 Shoot. We were door to door. It was unbelievable!” said Chin.

“Since female drifters are a rarity, it’s not easy for them to enter the scene,”said Chin.

“It’s not that easy. You need a lot of practice, a good car that you can rely on and a good team to help you with the mechanics of the vehicle. The most important thing is to have good sponsors to back you up financially because this kind of motorsport is expensive and sponsors can help to boost your personal branding when you compete in races.”

“In return, you help to boost the sponsors’ brand, which I believe is a win-win situation because there are very few female drifters in this male dominated sport and they will attract bigger crowds.”

Chin added:” As a drifter and racer, my role model is professional NASCAR driver Danica Patrickm who has many endorsements under her belt. I am amazed that she can overcome such high speed and even win some of the races.”

Chin seems to have the whole package — brawn, beauty and brains. She finished her Diploma in Advanced Driving Instuction UK in December 2009 and also has an Honours Degree in Business Management majoring in Finance from Northumbria University.

Source: Kunang Magazine, March 2011, Pg 12-13.

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