CAR DRIFTER Ashley Wong has come a long way from her first drift training session.

After convincing Malaysian "drift king" Lim Kim Wan, to be her mentor and teach her the finer points of drifting, Wong, 25, couldn't have asked for a worse start when she showed up for the session in slippers.

That was on Dec 2, 2007. Wong remembers the date well, for barely a month later, she was competing in her first drifting competition in Johor, where she won the Best Newcomer Award from 14 other drivers.

Since then, she has been part of Team ISC, a drift team based in her hometown of Johor, and competing in various drift events.

Wong is in Singapore to partake in a drift demo at the Pit Building on Nov 6 and 7, as part of the inaugural Mettle Games beginning this weekend.

Stunts

Recalling her first drift event, she said: "I didn't think I was ready. When the announcers called my name, I was hiding in the toilet, afraid that I couldn't perform the stunts that I already knew how to do.

"But my mentor forced me, saying that if I don't compete, I would never overcome my fear."

Wong, whose best finish was at the One Malaysia Drift Challenge in July when she was crowned the Novice Champion, has had her fair share of accidents, but insists that "if a drifter does not hit the wall every now and then, he (or she) isn't really a drifter."

There have been no real injuries, however.

"In drifting, only your pride and your car get hurt," says Wong, who owns two Nissan S15s (affectionately named Little White and Pinkie) which she uses for competition.

Her interest in street racing began when she was 16; she would skip school just to watch the drag races around town.

That year, she bought her first car, a Honda Civic EG6, despite not having a licence to drive yet. But it wasn't until 2007, when the automotive engineering student met Lim, that her passion for car drifting materialised.

"There's a lot more to drifting than drag racing," Wong says.

"With racing, it's all speed and stability, but with drifting it's a lot of mental calculation as well.

"And you have to be real brave to drive so close to the wall at a fast speed."

Drifters receive points for getting the front and rear of the car as close as possible to a wall, a stunt referred to as "kissing the wall."

Aside from building up on speed and courage, Wong has also had to persevere through the gender bias in the male-dominated sport.

Said Wong: "It was difficult at first. There were some advantages like the attention I got from the other guys in my team. They would always look to help me first before anyone else.

Laugh

"But there were times when I would be looked down upon simply because I was a girl. Whenever I wanted to make additions to my car, the guys in the workshop would laugh and say I don't need to spend so much; I won't reach to such a high level anyway."

She doesn't receive such condescending remarks anymore, especially since she's now an established player on the scene.

Indeed, no one has challenged her on her title as "Drift Princess," which also serves as her official call-sign during drift events.

Attending school just one day a week at Despark Automotive College in Johor allows her to spend most of her time drifting at the purpose-built drift track in Nusajaya, where she burns through six tyres for every one practice session.

Said Wong regarding the maintenance of her drift cars: "On average, I go through one rear tyre every 20 minutes. And my clutch needs to be replaced every few weeks as well. You need a big budget for all the tyres and clutches."

Outside of the costly world of drifting, she says she also manages enough time for her social life. Though she remains tight-lipped on whether she's seeing anyone right now, she says her ideal man does not have to have a need for speed like herself.

"I get hit on all the time by other drifters. But most guys tend to be intimidated by me. Maybe it's because I'm independent, I race, and I finance my car all by myself," Wong said.

This article was first published in The New Paper.