On Speed with Leona Chin

The annual KLue Blue Chilli Awards recognises a new wave of young and talented individuals who are set to blaze the trails in their respective fields, be it the arts, business, fashion, social work, education or any other industry.   Basically, it seeks the next HOT name in Malaysia with great potential to succeed! Today’s featured finalist for 2009, is:

-Leona Chin, 23, Drift Car Racer

Leona Chin gives Rachel Chan a lesson on drifting:

1. Tell us all about the Red Bull Rookies. How did you start off with it, and how was it like being featured on 8tv’s Phat Rides?

Red Bull Rookies is an All Ladies Team (4 Ladies) sponsored by Red Bull Malaysia. We were chosen during the Red Bull Female Driver Search, and we had shown potential in racing and we raced in the 2 endurance races in Sepang ( Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race 2008 and Sepang 1000km Race 2009) ,for 2 consecutive years already.

It has been a fun and exciting experience getting featured on a Local Car Show such as 8tv Phat Rides which is making Malaysian Motorsports industry grow, i’m proud that Malaysia has their own car show now.

2. Why is the team all female? Are there many female drifters/racers in the scene?

That’s because RedBull wants to provide the platform for women as they believe in doing things that are unique and there are so many men in this industry already.  Drifting and Racing are 2 different Motorsports actually. There are only a few female drifters in Malaysia and there are only a handful of female racers, but a female who can both drift and race is really rare, and I’m proud to be one of them.

3. What’s the income like? What are some of the items you need to become a drifter/ car racer?

Income from Racing and Drifting is not as high as you think it is. Car Motorsports in Malaysia is still in the growing stages. But as a female in this Male Dominated industry, sometimes people are skeptical towards female and racing together, but I’m here to prove them wrong,

To become a Car DriftRacer or we call it “drifter”, we have to get a Rear Wheel Drive Car for a Start, and learn basic techniques on drifting such as doing Donuts around a Cone and from there doing a Figure 8 around 2 cones.  Watching videos about drifting on the web helps too.

4. Is the drifting scene currently encouraging to female drifters/racers? Do you think it will be easy for them to enter and succeed in the scene?

Yes, I think that for females to enter and succeed in the drifting scene may be a bit tough but it’s possible. I really hope that more females can get into the drifting arena and we can have our own female drifting competition.
I think that getting sponsorships for female drifters or racers is easier than males because females attract more crowd in the racing scene compared to males and that’s what sponsors are looking for – more exposure.  I know the number of female drifters in Malaysia is growing and I encourage females out there who are interested in motorsports to come and join the fun.

5. How do you get ready for the adrenaline rush each time you go out there?
I have to be mentally prepared and also stay focus on my target and goals before I put on the helmet.  “It’s me who controls the car and not the car that controls me.”

6. Being a real-life drifter, do you ever play any computer games about racing?

Definitely, I love car racing simulator games and I would often go to the nearby shopping mall arcades to play the simulator games – “Battle Gear 3 and 4 “- whenever I have free time on my hands, or even play the Sony PS2 car racing games at home or at my friend’s shop called Motorsports Playground in Sunway.