Extreme Experience
Since Petronas’ first foray into Formula One in 1995, Malaysia’s national oil and gas company has paved the way to the country becoming the region’s motorsport hub. In order to help realise this objective, Petronas’s Formula Xperience Racing School was established in 2006 to help unearth the hidden potential of promising young racing talents, with the aim of nurturing these young racing talents into high-quality and professional race car drivers.
The programme is designed to help racing talents aged 15-18 years old to gain fundamental skills in single-seater formula racing and to aid their progress in realising a career in motorsports. Potential racers are given a thorough theoretical and practical focus to begin with. Naturally, one of the main areas is to equip youngsters with driving and racing techniques. Here, the very basic of race car driving such as choosing a racing line and right braking points are reinforced. Racing procedures at the start, overtaking and also racing regulations are conveyed in this module.
Thereafter, drivers are also taught the importance of understanding their cars. They learn how to setup their car and to understand vehicle dynamics of a race car. They will also gain valuable experience of working with an engineer to optimise the performance of their cars. Fitness is also a very important aspect.
Youngsters often forget that race driving is very demanding physically and the right diet and preparation for their body is just as important as the effort they put into their cars. Last but not least, young drivers are also taught that talent alone is not enough. A great will to succeed and the right determination is what often separates those with potential from those who actually realize that potential.
They learn to be organised and professional while also given training in handling the media and sponsors, such an important part of being a successful race driver in modern racing. Naturally, safety is also a vital aspect of that education. Besides learning how to handle a car during racing, young drivers learn the necessary precautions and respect for the dangers of such a thrilling but dangerous sport.
They gain valuable experience in using specialised safety equipment such as the formula rescue seat (FOS) and the head and neck support system (HANS). All this knowledge is put into practice in a purpose-built single-seat race car weighing about 500kg. Here, they get to experience racing on slick tyres, paddle gears and the importance of two-footed driving control. This is in addition to the sensation of driving these cars with an aerodynamic characteristic that is unique and learning how to understand the behaviour of such cars.
There probably isn’t a much better way to get your foot into the racing scene than Petronas’ Formula Xperience Racing School. Competition, as in most racing forms, is tough and only a handful are given the opportunity if they show outstanding potential. Among the former graduates to look out for is Melvin Moh. The 22-year-old from Subang graduated top of his class in 2006 and made a name for himself in the Formula BMW series with Team Holzer PFX before currently turning out for the Petronas Syntium Team in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series ST1 Class.
by Lee Chan Wai
