S’pore still on Formula Drift radar despite not being part of calendar

SINGAPORE — Though Singapore is currently not part of the annual Formula Drift Asia (FDA) calendar, it does not mean the Republic is off the motor sport’s radar, said FDA founder Marcus Lim.

Speaking to TODAY, Lim said that like Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore was not taken off the calendar because of a lack of fans.

Instead, logistical constraints mean the company can host a maximum of four events each year, given its small team of five hobbyists who organise the events and outsource many aspects of running them to other firms in the host countries.

The FDA is also keen to expand its reach as far as possible, said Lim.

“We want to come back to Singapore, but to some extent, our manpower resources are limited,” he said. “We kind of have to pick and choose at the moment. We had a good run in Singapore five years in a row and, of course, are looking to come back at some point.

“Now, I just want to make sure we get the Japan and Australian markets right as well. I love Singapore, we are Singaporean and it’s still a Singaporean organisation. And typically, like all companies here, we have to go global and this is what we are doing.”

Formula Drift made its Asian debut in 2008 at the Changi Exhibition Centre and the following year, it went on to become a regional championship with races in Malaysia and Thailand as well.

This season, the organisers have added Fuji and Okayama in Japan, and Sydney in Australia, to bring the number of locations that FDA is held in the Asia-Pacific region to seven.

It costs about S$500,000 to stage the event in Singapore. But Lim insists neither that nor sourcing for suitable venues is an issue.

However, the company’s priority now is to find places where there is growing pool of young talent who will inevitably increase FDA’s economic potential.

“In Singapore, we have a lot of events going on, but the talent pool has not caught up with the level of events to some extent,” said Lim.

“This is something I want to make sure that we can get aligned before we come back again.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY EMMANUEL PHUA