Three Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Started WORDS Charles Ng IMAGES Larry Chen

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I love driving. Yes, I love it to an extent that I had enough courage to give up my stable desk job at 25 and turned this passion of mine into a lifelong career.

Six years have gone by since then, and looking back, it has been a roller coaster ride. I went from small local drift events at Adams Kart Track in Los Angeles to the FIA World Touring Car Championship, one of the biggest racing series on the planet. Of course, there were times I wish I could have done things differently but hindsight is always 20/20, and lessons learnt are lessons for life. In motorsports, experience makes up a large part of success; driving skills alone won’t make the cut. Knowledge in handling situations is far more important. For those of you who are thinking about getting into the business of racing, here are three things I’ve learnt, that I wish someone had told me back when I started…

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You Can’t Always Win

You might picture yourself standing on the top of the podium, holding a trophy and showing off your gleaming white smile. But the reality is, most of the time you will just be sitting in the car with your head in your hands regretting a mistake you made. Being a professional race or drift driver, you simply have to learn to deal with losing. You have to accept the fact that there is only one winner in every race and that means most of us will be a loser at some point in our career. There were times I was too disappointed and frustrated from the race results, and refrained from seeing anyone including some potential sponsors, that in turn cost me some great opportunities. All I can say is that never dwell on your negative feelings as that will only stop you from going forward. No pain no gain. There is always next time!

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Being Unprepared Can Really Hurt

Yes, you are young and hungry. You believe you’ve got all it takes to impress the world and you are so eager to make a name. So you take whatever opportunity that comes your way. You might feel like it’s the opportunity of your lifetime and it is too good to let go. But I can say that from my experience, chances are you might not make it and end up ruining your name. In fact, if not done right, that could also harm your sponsors too. And what’s worse is that the next time around, it will take double the time to make people believe in you again. I have made some wrong decisions by going into races with the thought of hoping to win something and ending up losing even more. So in the first place, never jump into any race without knowing the ability of your equipment/car and the competition. Get 100 per cent prepared before entering a competition; test the car until you are 100 per cent comfy in it and get sufficient support from a team that you have been working with for a while. That might take some time and lots of work, but believe me, in the end you will find your patience and dedication all worth it.

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Think You’ve Got What It Takes? Don’t Wait!

My final piece of advice to any aspiring driver: get into the business early – don’t wait if you think you have got talent. Give it a shot while you are still young. Right now you still have the luxury of giving up part of your life for your passion with no great consequences. Things change as you grow older so go for it while you want it so bad. I waited till I was 25 to enter my first drifting competition. Thereafter, I have been spending a lot of time playing catch up to all the other guys. It has been an exhausting and frustrating journey and I was on the verge of giving up several times. But I am very lucky that I have some great support that keeps pushing me forward.

Simply put, preparation is everything! If you think you are all ready, just go for it. Good luck!

Charles Ng
Instagram: charlesngracing

Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
[email protected]

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Formula DRIFT Cancels China World Championship Round

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Long Beach, Calif. – September 29, 2015 – Formula DRIFT announced today the cancellation of the final round of the World Championship that was originally scheduled for December 2015 in southern China.

The Formula DRIFT team has been working very hard to make this event a new and exciting part of our Series, but unfortunately Irena World and Goldenport Enterprises did not meet their contractual obligations. Our ability to operate events depends on the mutual effort of our partners and without that, we cannot put our sponsors, teams and employees at any unwarranted risk.

Due to the cancellation, Round 7 at Irwindale Speedway will be the final round of the World Championship and will be worth double points for the World Championship contenders. We will also still honor our World Championship prize purse.

THURSDAY NIGHTS GO “SLIDEWAYS” at IRWINDALE Speedway October 1, 2015

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October 1st TND

Thursday night October 1,  Irwindale’s own Formula DRIFT open practice sessions will resume on the course that the entire civilized world now knows as the legendary “House of Drift” … aka: Irwindale Speedway right at the top of the 605 freeway.

2015’s action-packed Thursday night under-the-lights practices will be held monthly with events now set for:

  • October 1
  • November 12
  • December 10

Each of the Thursday night sessions will start with a (public invited) technical inspection for the competition vehicles at 3PM and drift practice will run flat out from 4 to 8PM. The fan gates open at 4PM and there’s plenty of close-free parking.

 Open to the public (fans can watch from the stands and visit the pits as well) admission is only $10 per person. These will be nights when fans can see some of the best of the best getting tuned-up for the 2015 season as well as catching the acts of some of new, upcoming Drift talent as they test their driving skills and machines against the established pros.

 Anyone can run their properly-equipped* car for $75 and they can register right at the track on Thursday night.

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