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By Denis Edward
Mr Wong then harboured dreams of becoming a racer. He fed his need for speed at the Kallang carpark races - the only form of legal motor racing here back then.
He travelled around the region to race against other speed enthusiasts, driving limited-edition Ferraris and Lamborghinis belonging to his friends and company, among other race cars.
But Mr Wong, who has also driven the McLaren MP4-12C and Ferrari 430 Scuderia on regular roads too, says the point is to know where the limits are.
"When you speed on public roads and risk the lives of others, you've crossed the line," he says.
Mr Wong, who stopped racing more than five years ago to focus on his business and now drives a Nissan GT-R, says that true "petrolheads" also make the effort to know the limitations of their cars.
For instance, when driving a Ferrari, they would not use the third gear on normal roads, as it is usually meant for highway driving.
Older Ferrari models have six gears, while newer ones, such as the Ferrari 599 GTO, which was driven by Mr Ma, has seven gears and can hit top speeds of over 300kmh.
Mr Wong says that drivers should start to slow down, especially when travelling at high speed, at a distance, in metres, three to four times the speed at which they are moving.
So if a driver is travelling at 100kmh, it would be ideal to reduce his speed 400m from the stop point.
"Experienced drivers who understand their cars would know when to slow down. It's better not to drive at high speeds when you don't really know your car."
Mr Ng Chwee Ping, 37, a human resource director, says he takes his fast cars to tracks in Malaysia precisely because he wants to know their limits and how to respond should something go wrong.
He goes there about once in three months with friends who also drive fast cars.
 
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