Hot Wheels racing gaining popularity among kids in Sandakan
SANDAKAN: “I feel nervous,” said Faiz Ifami while looking down at his favourite Hot Wheels car in his hands.
When asked why, he answered: “I really hope my car is fast enough”.
The six-year-old stood in front of the Hot Wheels race track built by his father; a spot that he was very familiar with as it was where he put his car to race every weekend, the very place where he gets to spend quality time bonding with his father.
Faiz cheered anxiously as his red Ferrari raced down the starting line. Within seconds, his car reached the finishing line first before his 40-year-old opponent’s green car.
Faiz was very happy, but at the same time became more nervous because it was only the first round of the Open Base Category race.
He owns over 40 Hot Wheels cars worth about RM600 altogether.
“I am very happy to see my son having his own hobby and interest. I am even happier that I could use this time spent with him to bond with him,” his father, Jupridin Haji Rustam said.
Hot Wheels is not new to the people here, especially to collectors and sellers.
However, Hot Wheels Race is newly introduced to Sandakan, but it is slowly gaining popularity among the locals.
Jupridin was the first person to organise Hot Wheels Race in Sandakan.
He was the one who introduced the hobby to the locals during the Sandakan Vintage Festival which was held in February this year, when he invited guest racers from other parts of Sabah including those from Tawau and Kota Kinabalu.
There were over 80 racers who participated in the event that day.
Little did he know, the race that day was the start of a new hobby for many people of Sandakan, and it has become a weekly event that is anticipated by the growing number of Hot Wheels racers here.
Jupridin, who is self-employed, said that he started to be involved in the Hot Wheels toy car when he became one of the sellers in Sandakan.
One of his friends then suggested having a race during the Sandakan Vintage Festival, which he later did, but realised that it could become a hobby to a lot of people in Sandakan.
Seeing that his son also loves Hot Wheels racing, he decided to use his own money and time to plan and organise Hot Wheels race every weekend.
He spent over RM3,000 to build the race track with four other friends after he ordered the parts from Indonesia.
Starting with just a few local racers, the number began to increase when passers-by developed interest after watching the race.
While some people get behind the wheels to get their adrenaline pumped in a race, Hot Wheels race enthusiasts enjoy the same thrill while watching their speeding mini cars on the track trying to reach the finishing line first.
“For the racers, their cars represent them. They told me that they feel an inexplicable feeling as they see their cars sped to the finishing line along with the opponent’s car,” Jupridin said.
Some started with RM7 while other may spend as much as RM400 per car ordered from the United States via eBay, just to get into the race.
There were five categories and among them were Open Base category for cars with metal base, Open Plastic category for cars with plastic base, Open Card category for new cars fresh from the box, Open Truck category for toy trucks and weighing under 35 grams category.
Winners walk away with a trophy with total worth of over RM500, funded by Jupridin and independent sponsors including a local hardware companies.
“The age of racers ranges from five-year-old children to fathers of children of aged 50. To date, there are around 50 active racers who participate in a race weekly.
“It may take around two to three weekends until we come out with winners of all five categories” he explained.
As the race is held near Harbour Square at town here during weekends, many tourists, especially the Westerners stopped by to watch the race.
Witnessing the interest of tourists on the set-up and race, Jupridin said he hoped the race would gain popularity and could help to attract more people to visit Sandakan in the future.
Other than Sandakan, active Hot Wheel Races are held elsewhere in Sabah including Tawau, Kota Kinabalu, Papar and Beaufort.
Locals who are interested to watch the race can go to the Harbour Square (7-eleven) in which the race starts from 4pm to 6pm every Saturday and Sunday.