I embarked on my motorsports journey in 1997 with my first race, the Perlis Car Park Sprint, which was organised by the Perlis Motorsports Club. At the time, I was studying at the Universiti Sains Malaysia while my father, who was a teacher at the technical school in Perlis, prepared my car for the race, a Fiat 124 Special T.
With my Fiat 124 Special T, I emerged as the winner of the Perlis Car Park Sprint Racing competition. To give you an idea of the car’s specifications, it boasted 155 bhp, weighed 830kg, had a 186bhp/tonne ratio, and was equipped with a 4.3 final drive. The car was equipped with a Full Race Cam from Kent Cams, twin 40 DCOE Weber carburettor, and had been lightened and balanced with a blueprinted engine, race pistons, race valves, race extractor, lightened flywheel, cam pulley, polished, gas flowed, high compression, new valve guides fitted, all porting work and polished, reshaped combustion chambers assembled with valve springs and a few other nitty gritty tunings.
The car had been expertly tuned by Jasmi Motorsports and E-Motor, and several modifications had been made, including the use of fibreglass doors (except for the driver’s door), a bonnet, and a rear boot. Additionally, a direct cold air duct had been installed, which led straight from the left light into the big airbox designed and produced by Jasmi Motorsports. However, the throttle cable had to be changed between races due to the hard and harsh heel and toe treatment that I subjected it to.
The Fiat 124 Special T was a joy to drive, with a true short throw gearbox and ultra-negative camber setting for excellent turn-in. Originally green, the car had been repainted red.
The positive impact of motorsports on one’s character
Recently, my team and I had another victory in of the races in the Kcar Global 24-Hours Endurance Race, along with seven other drivers, which reflects the essence of teamwork. I would like to share the blessing Allah SWT has bestowed upon me and my team, and how the activities we engaged in and the teamwork we exhibited can be applied to achieve success.
When someone who is passionate about motorsports gives a lecture, guidance class, training, or sharing and coaching session with students or workers, I try to connect it with motorsports. We can view it from a perspective that extends beyond the boundaries of a mere sport. The elements of the racing system in any “Halal” motorsport contribute to the formation of a positive self-structure.
Below, I would like to share how the application of motorsports characteristics can help improve self-ethics and work ethics, and eventually add value to entrepreneurs, students, and workers.
- Motivation for each crew and the driver is driven by high self-motivation without anyone lecturing them. They are not driven by money, political parties, or external factors. With self-motivation to race and fight, they remain focused and determined.
- Discipline. The discipline required to meet the requirements of preparing a vehicle for racing, as well as the discipline needed to build physical and mental strength, is rigid. It arises from self-supervision and not from a boss or leader.
- Punctuality. Time is crucial because failure to be punctual – that is, being too early or too late – results in a penalty. There is no punch card or excuse letter from the employer. However, each driver and crew member must take the initiative to be on time, and waking up at 3 am or not sleeping is common and does not require HR or human resources to monitor.
- No Surrender. The “No Retreat No Surrender” attitude is evident, and they will not admit defeat but will continue to strive for success.
- Expand Networking. For those involved in this sport, directly or indirectly, your networking strength increases. It benefits you in terms of getting help and input and improving human relations.
- You Don’t Need Perfect Conditions. Crews and drivers always face imperfect issues and agendas, and this situation increases their mental and physical strength to adapt to a given situation.
Motorsports build a good skill set for those involved, including crews, drivers, organizers, and other individuals involved.
For schools, universities, or employers, the encouragement of motorsports should not be viewed as merely a racing component, but as an ecosystem for character-building programs for everyone involved. Human resource development can also be absorbed through the application of the existing system in the sustainable motorsport ecosystem.
From one side of the planet to the other, fans have consistently had areas of strength for an extreme love for motorsports. Yes, the majority of the time, it’s all about powerful vehicles and their high speeds. However, the majority of people are unaware that there is significantly more to it than that.
You learn important life lessons from the motorsports you enjoy the most, even if you don’t realise it. It is the same regardless of whether you are discussing Motocross, F1, or rallying. Furthermore, stop and think for a minute: The goal isn’t everything. Instead, motorsports teach focus, teamwork, healthy competition, and a host of other life lessons.
Life Lessons from Motorsports
We are going to take a look at some of the life lessons that can be learned from any of your favourite motorsports in this article. You should be able to gain a much deeper appreciation for motorsports as a whole if you open your eyes to those lessons.
Concentrate On The Task At Hand
Concentrating on the task at hand is the first life lesson that motorsports will teach you. From the second that the green banner is waved and the race has started, all motorsports colleagues know that there’s no space for the interruption.
Everybody has a job to do, and nothing else matters for the duration of the race. In order for the race team members to perform their duties efficiently, all issues, distractions, and even personal disagreements among team members are pushed to the side. That is a valuable life lesson for everyone, including students pursuing an education in motorsports. Yes, you probably already know how important teamwork is. More importantly, you must concentrate on the task at hand when your team is working on something.
Since nothing else matters, you won’t deal with your disagreement with your teammate until after the job is finished.
A life lesson about winning and losing
No matter how skilled or fortunate your favourite racecar driver is, there’s generally a likelihood that they could fizzle and lose the race.
What does that show us as motorsports fans? It teaches us that no matter how successful we have been in the past, we should always be humble. Even if we’ve done the same thing a thousand times, we should always do it as well as we can and with diligence. Aside from that, if we know that we gave our best effort, even if we lose or fail at what we are doing is not so bad.
Consider it this way: If you know what it’s like to lose, you can only appreciate your victories. The majority of people have never attempted to defeat true winners.
“DNF,” or “Did Not Finish,” is one of the worst outcomes in motorsports
You must complete what you started. In many motorsports, a negative stigma exists for anyone who fails to finish a race they started, regardless of the reason. DNF is such a serious matter.
Because at least the racer can say that they completed the course, it may be safe to say that finishing a race in last place is not as bad as a DNF. That is a valuable lesson for all of us who go about our daily lives. You see, a lot of us have a tendency not to finish what we start. Some people give up halfway, while others are afraid of failing and refuse to start.
Sadly, that is not a decent disposition towards any of our life’s interests. Very much like in motorsports, completing any objective that we start involves self-pride. Even if you failed at something or finished last, at least you can be proud that you made it through. Remember, you never really failed so long as you tried and succeeded.
Never Underestimate Your Competitors
This lesson about humility is somewhat related to the previous one. Never underestimate your rivals, no matter how much of a champion you may believe you are.
You can easily find a plethora of motorsports videos on YouTube that show the leading driver underestimating their rivals. In the end, what do you think happens to those drivers?
Believe it or not! Generally, the dark horse, or the misjudged contender, figures out how to surpass the main driver as of now and takes the triumph. The existence example here is basic: regardless of who you or your rivals are, always treat them with respect.
Constant Improvement Is Critical
Lastly, but certainly not least, one of the most significant lessons you can learn from any motorsport is this: The key to success is constant improvement. Engineers put in long hours just to make millisecond-by-millisecond improvements to their performance.
You see, whether you want to boost your own performance or the performance of a race engine while learning about motorsports, you should always aim for day-by-day improvements.
Why? Because accumulating all of those minor enhancements will ultimately result in greater victories. You will be the best at anything you want to do in the future if you can just get better than you were the day before.
Regardless of the kind of motorsports you enjoy watching, it’s important to pay attention to the small things. At the point when you keep a nearby watch on your number one driver or hustling groups, you’ll gradually begin to find the examples that make them such a fruitful, superior execution group in any case.
These lessons are useful because they demonstrate how you can perform better in your own life.
