Touge Master Drive to KKB

The weekend early morning time, the best hour to drag your sheets above your head, to pull your legs in to the warmth and continue snoozing. More so when its about 5am and there’s no reason for you to be up until 9am. Even more so when there’s a nice shower taking place outside. Not for these bunch though. When everyone is asleep, these guys are wide awake in their cars, warming them up and driving towards the fabled Sungai Dua Petronas station.

The Touge Master’s are a good bunch of weekend drive enthusiasts comprising of various car groups like the 208 GTi Club, Fiesta ST owners, and others. Previously they had organized a drive to Genting Highlands which we took part in the Peugeot 2008 PureTech. This year, their drive takes place from Ulu Yam and towards the picturesque lakeside spot at Kuala Kubu Baru.

What attracts us to the Touge Master events though is their level of organization. Just like us, they do not believe in embarking in a royal rumble style, free for all touge driving style. All participants are segregated into groups with lead cars and are set off in batches. They even employ communication methods using the car’s signal for a safe overtaking maneuver. Needless to say, safety is their main priority.

The participants for the day’s drive were prompt in arriving, with almost all of them readily waiting for the morning brief by 6.30am. We were the latecomers this time. We wasted no time in jumping into our cars and setting off towards the meet up point. It was a wet morning earlier but the roads were drying as we proceeded towards the Ulu Yam village. Traffic was mercifully scarce leaving at such an early hour. With the lovely misty weather and empty roads, our turbocharged 208 GTi hatch was riding along happily, in sync with the tarmac. On days like this folks, on days like this.

The meet up point was like a camping jamboree and car show at the same time. Parked right next to the lake, the view was nothing short of spectacular. Thanks to the heavy overcast, the temperature was low and it was the perfect weather to loiter around ogling the other cars parked. This time the drive saw a large number of Lancer Evolution turning up. In the age of A45’s and Golf R’s it’s nice to see the OG that introduced the whole 4wd-turbo-for-the-whole-family format still alive and kicking some serious ass.

Along with the Evo’s there were some oddities in the group, like a beautiful Forester STi and its modern derivate, the GLC43 AMG. Also in the group would be an Elantra turbo. Its high time we pay attention to the Korean performance offerings. Especially since most of their cars are now being developed by serious talents with amazing CV’s (We are indeed talking about THE former M-Division orang kuat Albert Biermann ) and are tested to perfection on a Germany based ‘Touge’ course called the Nurburgring Nordschleife. I mean, there was a time people laughed at the prospect of a high performance Honda or a Mitsubishi that could out accelerate an M car, yet look how times have changed.

After the mandatory 360 Degree shot and drone shot’s, we proceeded to leave the spot. As we sat down for breakfast in a rustic eatery just at the edge of the Kuala Kubu Baru town, I could not help but to reflect on what Mizi, one of the founders of the Touge Master group had to say about the drive. Motorsports and Trackdays can be costly especially when you are taking part in them repeatedly, so Touge Master’s hope to bring back the old school fun of driving on the B Roads. This is exactly why Route Hunters support the Touge Master cause as we promote the very same thing. If done responsibly, our countries B Roads can be a lot of fun for enthusiasts. Hope this sense of responsibility transpires to other enthusiasts so we can enjoy the freedom these B Roads give us for a long time. Till the next drive.