Below is the introductory briefing by the head driving instructor. The others on the stage are also instructors.
Mercedes must have spent a bomb to organise this event. They took the whole circuit for the day and got KL Hilton to cater for the food!
Apart from the food, they also provide video games consoles for R&R! (see the lighted screen in the background).
We were then broken into 4 teams and moved to specific areas on the circuit for the session to start.
There were 8 exercises that we need to go through. The first is the emergency stop using the anti-locking break system and the braking-assist system. Below is the instructor in-charge of this first exercise giving his briefing. By the way, he is the only Malaysian qualified by Mercedes Benz to do this.
My yellow team. Average age, middle-age!
We got 7 cars set aside for us in this sector, a B200, a couple of C250, a couple of E300, a S300 and a ML300. It was nice when the intructor told us that these cars are not ours and hence, to be "used and abused"!
At first it was frightening to do an emergency braking exercises but it was exciting when once you do it.
Moving to the next set of exercises. Below is the view of the grandstand from the track itself.
This exercise teaches us how to take a corner without using brakes!
At last I got the chance to drive on the circuit!
High speed formation driving.
Slalom driving.
Institutor giving the finer points of car control using visual cues.
One of the participants trying it out.
Wet condition emergency braking exercise. The instructor told us that in a Merc, despite wet conditions, despite one side of the car (hence the tires on that side) is on wet canvas while the other is on wet asphalt, the intelligence computer in the car will do all the necessary work to ensure the car does not spin when the emergency brake is applied. In fact, he challenged all of us to do this exercise (driving at 90kmh) without needing to hold on the steering wheel!
This is a picture of him doing just that! The car was so fast that when I took the picture, the car looks compressed.
Below is the wet surface used for the test. The top part is covered by wet canvas.
Over 38 Mercs were there for us to try out.
An exercise on drifting. Only way to do this is with the car computer switched off!
The set of cars for our use.
One of the participants doing his thing.
The final exercise is a race around the circuit. It was VERY GOOD FUN!
Below is the debriefing.
Certificate giving ceremony.
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