Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring – The Sequel concluded! Tan Seng Yew heads to the Green Hell!

The second year of the Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring has concluded following a 2-month long campaign which included a virtual Nurburgring race in a BMW M3® on Castrol Malaysia Facebook where the top 20 finalists were selected to battle it out in a BMW at the exclusive Castrol EDGE Experience Malaysia-Nurburgring challenge at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS).

More than 4,800 virtual racers competed in a virtual BMW M3® via the Castrol Malaysia Facebook. The virtual Nurburgring race recorded massive success with over 390,000 virtual laps raced, equivalent to more than 9,700 hours of gaming time. Some of the stats from the virtual race were absolutely incredible, with the total distance recorded being a massive 47,000 km! That’s more than the distance it takes to travel around the world.

During the Castrol EDGE Experience Malaysia-Nurburgring Challenge, 20 finalists along with 10 members of the media battled it out in BMWs in the ultimate test of driving skills to win the coveted driving experience of a lifetime at the Nurburgring. The Malaysian representative would have the opportunity to push a BMW M3® at the Green Hell. Definitely not a virtual game no more!

The 1-day exclusive challenge kicked off with a theory session, followed by advanced driving training sessions which allowed all participants to sharpen their skills before battling each other out in a BMW 325i Sport. There were three modules, meant to prepare the participants for the ‘real’ challenge later on in the day (and to of course, prepare the winner bound for the Green Hell).

Among the modules held were Steering Dynamics, Straight Line Braking, Obstacle Avoidance and Understeer/Oversteer. The latter proved to be an interesting module as finalists had to disable the ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) to experience the ‘real’ oversteer and understeer experience. Exciting stuff indeed!

After a quick lunch, the challenge begun! Finalists were eager to show of their skills. All wanted to emerge as the “strongest” driver. They had to undergo three battles: Advanced Autokhana, Advanced Obstacle Avoidance and Advance Driving Over Skid Pad. For Advanced Autokhana, finalists had to veer around a course which included a slalom range. It was a test of precise steering and throttle inputs. Of course good hand-eye coordination couldn’t hurt!

Sounds easy? Well, not so, especially when the score cards consisted of both precision and speed! For Advanced Obstacle Avoidance, finalists had to slam on the brakes and avoid a set of cones at high speed. The cones were placed super close, making it tough for drivers to maneuver around, much less at the speed required. Points were deducted for those who hit the cones or was not going at the ‘right’ speed. Trust me folks, this one is tougher than it looks.

Finally, the challenge that kept drivers at the edge of their seats: Advanced Driving Over Skid Pad. In this challenge, finalists had to drive along an autokhana track which included a slippery oily hairpin (and with the ESP completely disabled!). Catch 22? Drive too fast and the car would oversteer, which would lead to the driver losing time. Drive too slow? Well, the challenge is based on the quickest time possible! The key here, is very fine steering and throttle inputs.

And to add to the already challenging exercises, the rain came down pouring making the track more slippery and even much tougher to maneuver. It brings out the skills and confidence of the finalists to tackle both sunny & rainy condition while battling it out on the track, just like the actual experience at the Green Hell where the winner gets to experience sun on one side of the track and rainy condition on the other side of the track at the same time. Unbelievable experience!

Finally, after a grueling day in which finalists battled it out tooth and nail, Tan Seng Yaw proved to be the “Strongest” and emerged victorious with a highest overall score among the finalists. This month, he will be heading to the Nurburgring to experience the legendary circuit with an iconic machine, the BMW M3® , equipped with a powerful 414 hp 4.4 litre V8 lubricated by Castrol EDGE that exemplifies just how strong the new Castrol EDGE engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™ can perform under extreme pressure, even under the most grueling and demanding conditions of powering around the track with maximum revs at times.

David Ng Chow Siong came in second, walking home with a cool Castrol EDGE Nurburgring Home Experience which includes the Castrol EDGE Apiga AP1 Professional Racing Simulator + Sony PS3 + Sony Bravia 40’’ LCD TV. All finalists walked home with something in hand, ranging from the Tag Heuer Kimi Raikkonen watch to various Apple products. The media prize went to Ian Khong, who won the new HP netbook.

The next day, 17th March 2012, the Castrol EDGE Nurburgring Car Club Challenge was held. The driving challenges were the same as Day 1, but exclusively for car clubs. Car club finalists included BMW Club Malaysia, Team Street, MY Forte Club, Lancer GT, Vios 07 Club, MyVI Motorsport Club, Saga Club Malaysia and Inspira Club. Each car club was represented by 3 members, whose points collectively would determine the winner. Bragging rights were at stake. It was no doubt a day of pushing the car and one’s skills to the limit.

After a day of intense steering and braking, MY Forte Club proved to be the most consistent and emerged victorious, winning their car club RM5,000 cash and bragging rights to be the ‘Strongest’. First runner-up was Vios 07 Club, winning their car club RM3000 cash and MyVI Motorsport Club coming in third with RM1500 cash. All finalists received a carton of Castrol EDGE, engineered with Titanium Fluid strength Technology™, Castrol’s strongest and most advanced performance oil.

Indeed an exciting 2 days for all finalists. Ultimately, there can only be one winner for the Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring: The Sequel. Next week, Tan Seng Yaw will head over to the Green Hell to drive the BMW M3® around 72 frighteningly fast corners, truly a lifetime money-can’t-buy experience! Together with other winners around the world, he will have the chance to power drift, floor it on the hot laps, weave around the slalom course, and receive guided instructions from BMW motorsport racers.

For those who did not come through, fret not. Head over to Castrol Malaysia Facebook to find out what other exciting activities that Castrol has in store for you. Who knows, you may stand a chance to win a dream trip to watch UEFA EURO 2012™ live in Poland instead!

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.