Report – AMG Ultimate Experience Sepang 22/23 April 2006

The AMG Ultimate Experience Asia series of events was officially kicked off on the 22nd -23rd April in Sepang, Malaysia. The event was held over a period of 2 days and its purpose was to serve as a platform for the participants to experience a modified SLK 55 AMG in a race condition.

The “official” hotel was Pan Pacific KLIA and this was where all the participants as well as the crew members were housed for the weekend.

The tyres were provided by Michelin and their branding was clearly depicted on the safety car.

As AMG Experience Asia – Sepang was the inaugural launch of the event series, it was decided that the driving instructors who would be conducting the training, would have to be of a satisfactory standard. As such, 2 AMG instructors (Danny Pfeil & Wolfgang Kaufmann) who have considerable racing experience were recruited for this event. It can be said that the event which went smoothly and was incident free was in no small part due to the excellent work of the instructors, the technical team and the event company. Safety was the key issue of the weekend.       

Due to the official rules and this being a high speed event, all participants were required to wear protective gear. A merchandising corner with helmets, racing suits, footwear, and gloves was set up to cater to those who did not have the necessary equipment. 

On both race days, before the participants were allowed on the race track, they had to attend the Driver’s Briefing. This is where the drivers were introduced to the key personnel, the race event sections, the rules and regulations, scoring points and the race format (For more detailed information please refer to appendix 2).

Once the event started, lap timing was taken for every section of the race and all the drivers were kept up to date with the latest lap times through copies of the timings. The top 3 drivers of the each day received a trophy as their prize while the champion of the day received an additional bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue label, sponsored by Johnnie Walker.

A pre-dinner cocktail and welcome dinner for the guests was planned on Saturday evening. This provided an opportunity for both the participants and the organisers to get together. It was a buffet styled dinner and it was agreed that Johnnie Walker could take this opportunity to introduce and serve their flagship label, Johnnie Walker Blue Label. A representative from Johnnie Walker was also present, giving the guests a brief history of the label and the best way to consume it.   

The 2 day event ended on Sunday after the endurance race, with most of the participants heading home after an exciting weekend.

In summary, AMG Experience Asia – Sepang, can be considered a success and feedback from the participants revealed that they had enjoyed themselves and they look forward to the next event in the calendar, which will take place on June 24th & 25th at the Sentul Racing Track close to Jakarta, Indonesia.