Malaysia Autoshow 2017: Karting Slalom Competition To Attract Young Racers

The upcoming Malaysia Motorshow 2017, which takes place from 9-12 November 2017 will also host the first ever Karting Slalom competition in Malaysia. This new karting discipline aims at providing a low cost and safe platform to unearth young talents who have an aptitude for motorsport.

Speaking at the media introduction event, CEO of MAI, Datuk Madani Sahari added, “Karting slalom is a new category designed by the Commission International de Karting – Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (CIK-FIA) and is targeted at young people who have never competed in motorsports before.”

First introduced in Germany a few years ago - Karting Slalom was envisioned to teach children, as young as eight years old, the basics of safe driving that are applied directly from racing to driving on public roads.

Karting slalom is similar to Gymkhana discipline. Participants have to drive around a tight, technical course which emphasises dexterity and precision over outright pace.

Speeds will be limited to just above walking pace and only requires a small area of tarmac to be set up, in addition to two karts, safety gear, cones and timing equipment

The three competition categories are grouped by age, entry fees are as follows:

Each driver must complete one lap practice session, followed by a heat which consists of two laps using two different karts. This is to eliminate any inconsistency of go-kart performance. Time penalties are incurred every time a participant displaces or knocks over a cone (+2 secs) or drives in the wrong direction (+10 secs). The final classifications based on total driving time for both runs plus penalties.

Two separate days of competition will take place at the Malaysia Autoshow 2017, on Saturday (11th Nov) and Sunday (12th Nov). Prizes will be awarded to the top three scorers in each category on each competition day. Trophies for overall winners over both days of competition will also be handed out.

The Karting Slalom competition will be organised by Kelab Kart Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan (KKS), which is an affiliate of Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) - the national authority for 2- and 4-wheel motorsports in Malaysia. Participants are advised to wear full-length trousers, proper shoes, a long-sleeved jacket and full gloves, helmets will be provided by the organisers.

Separately, CEO Madani also confirmed that 2017 Malaysia Autoshow will host several new model launches and new product introductions from participating aftermarket and lifestyle brands. MAI expects a crowd of around 200k visitors in total at the 2017 Malaysia Autoshow.