By Terrence Voon

Speed counts for nothing without control.

Colin Teo, one of Singapore's home-grown drift racers, will tell you as much.

While driving home from lunch one day, the former biology researcher misjudged a turn and spun his two-week-old car into a bus stop.

Luckily, the only things wounded were his pride and the right side of the vehicle.

That was three years ago. Today, he can handle even the sharp sideway slides that drift racers are required to make at high speeds through marked courses. He can take corners in a way that few drivers would even attempt, as he puts his car through slide after slide at speeds of up to 100kmh.

Every other weekend, the 32-year-old makes a trip to Malaysia, where he fine-tunes his technique on a dedicated drifting circuit.

Tyres scream in protest, and smoke from the burning rubber fills the air, as the rear wheels on his car skid and slide through every turn.

To be in the driver's seat during all this, says Teo, is a deliciously hair-raising experience.

"I love the intensity of it all," he elaborated.

"The overall body sensation when the car is sliding is fantastic. It's a great feeling to be in control of a vehicle that seems to be out of control."

He still drives the same car. But it now bears little resemblance to the vehicle that charged into a bus stop three years ago.

New suspension systems, wheels, strut bars, roll cages, bucket seats and a larger exhaust pipe are just some of the parts that he has bought to 'primp' his ride for drifting.

The modifications do not come cheap. Add in the cost of the seven bumpers that he has had to replace because of minor accidents, and the total bill comes up to more than $23,000.

But as he pointed out: "If you look after the car, you look after yourself.

"There is no point having all the horsepower in the world if the rest of the car doesn't match up. Safety has to come first."

The lessons learnt from that embarrassing road accident in 2005 remain firmly etched on his mind.

Precision and control are everything. And drifters who take unnecessary risks could end up hurting themselves or other people.

"To drift properly, you must have perfect timing, throttle control and steering work," said Teo.

"You can't just copy what you see in the movies. Some of the stunts are just hare-brained."

The art of drifting has been popularised in recent years, with movies such as Initial D and The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift inspiring would-be road-surfers everywhere.

But Teo fell in love with the sport during an advanced driving course he attended in Malaysia not long after his accident.

After learning the basics of drifting during the course, he refined his skills on overseas circuits with his fellow enthusiasts. Since then, he has taken part in drift competitions such as the now-defunct D1 series in Malaysia and the Formula Drift Singapore.

He has also conducted demonstrations at car shows and charity events.

But Teo, who is expecting the birth of his first child next year, is far from being done with the sound and fury of drifting.

"It still gives me a thrill every time I do it," he said.

"You're never too old to learn and you're never too old to drift."

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 2, 2008.

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