"Hello niner this is one, radio check over" ; "Niner OK send over" ; "One, are we ready to roll over"; "Niner, wait out" (Four minutes later) "Hello One this is Niner, all fifteen mighty minis are ready to roll. Move now out". Well this short radio conversation between the leading scout callsign 1 and the sweeper callsign 9, mark the start of the 300+km drive from Bukit Dukong to Kuala Klawang, Karak, Bentong and back to KL on roads that most of us have never been through. We headed back to KL and exited to Ulu Langat where the start of Sector One is to commence. We were just about a kilometer before the start point a cloud of white smoke enveloped one of the minis. Everybody stopped and when the cloud cleared the mini involved was the newest of the fifteen and the pilot was none other then Col "Geronimo" Zaki. A quick inspection revealed a burst oil pressure gauge pipe, spewing oil on the hot engine. Rudy, Nurul, Dr Sam quickly got to work to rectify the fault and in the meantime a backup car was summoned. Remedial was fast and the back up car was not needed.

Sector One was a seven kilometer dash through winding road up and downhill. The road was wide, the corners sweeping and virtually there was only two or three other vehicles throughout the stretch. CE took over the job of leading scout with LePunk in his lime green speed machine sniffing his exhaust. It was fast uphill and downhill. One particular victim going in the same direction was an old arch rival, an Alfa Romeo Guila (Me think). He was no match for any of the minis. At the end of Sector one we were rewarded with the scenic Semenyih Reservoir.

Sector Two was from Semenyih Reservoir to Kuala Klawang, approximately a distance of 70 kilometers. Jack was leading followed by Barry, Roseland, Lee, Pang, Pak Lah, Ismail, Mat Shah,LePunk, Syed, Ismail and CE as the sweeper. This was hard driving up and over the main range from Selangor to Negeri Sembilan. The road was excellent and the lack of traffic makes driving the mighty minis sheer pleasure for the driver. But for the passenger it was a different story. Sofia was car sick and Papa Ismail had to stop when she threw out. The order of the day was that if a car stopped in the middle of nowhere all cars had to stop. Rumours had it that the place was infested with wild animals. Unfortunately Ismail was the second last car and only two cars stopped to fend for ourself. Sofia did what she had to do, what her Papa did'nt want her to do in the car, and we pushed off. When we reached Kuala Klawang all cars stopped for regrouping. A quick drive to the small town led us to a small coffee shop. Coffee break time and the twenty five or so of us related all our experiences on that stretch of road. You can see the sign of satisfaction on the drivers face having gone through that stretch. About thirty minutes later, the rear party of Dr Sam, Nurul, Zaki RV with the main group.

Sector Three was from Kuala Klawang to Karak via Simpang Perting, Durian Tipus, Manchis, Telemong and Karak. This part was a little tricky because there were lots of juntions and turning. It was a test of map reading skill. A map with all the checkpoints and RVs were given to all drivers. The distance was about 120km. The road was as winding as prevoiusly but this time it meanders through the scenic kampongs. The drive was excellent and we had little problems except when we are about fifteen kilometers away from K. Klawang. Because of the winding road the group split into two. The leader of the second group was over confident in reading the road signs and put his map aside. As a result the small group took a wrong turn thus missing a check point at Simpang Perting. However their little misadventure was exposed as the leading group, found to their surprise that they were already in front without having to overtake the first group. We RV at Manchis to refuel and after a short break started again. CE led this time followed by Barry in his machine with a V8 sound and Ismail in his 1300cc auto. The drive was fast along the winding road. Barry complained of sore arm having to brace himself against the door to avoid being thrown around in the cockpit. Ismail had a gala time shifting up and down the automatic transmission. CE was quite comfortable in the bucket seat well strapped in, but suffered deafness at the end of the sector. The whinning sound from his straight cut close ratio 1:1 drop gear at high revs were similar to that of the French Alloute helicopters. Lesson learnt - bring a pair of ear plugs the next time. The rest of the group had their own duel at the back of the pack. At Karak we regroup for a more civilised drive to Bentong about 40 km away. Lunch in Bentong was good as everybody was hungry. A quick headcount revealed that Badariah was missing. Loving husband Syed was quick to point out that she was out sick with hundreds of sweeping curves. Had to miss lunch for fear of throwing out what you put in.

The last Sector was from Bentong to KL, a distance of about 70 kilometers. The road was excellent, dual carriageway all along. But nobody dare to be adventurous as this stretch was notorious for speed trap. You can't believe it that the speed limit was 60kph down hill. If you shut down your engine and coast downhill you will exceed the speed limit. The Dispersal Point was supposed to be at the Gombak Toll House, but as everybody has a lot of their own stories to tell, we adjourned for teh tarik at Kg Pandan Restaurant, Taman Melawati.

All in all we had a good 300km+ drive with about 270km of winding roads suitable for fast mini driving. We would certainly recommend other mini clubs to take this route. More importantly it will be fun if the vintage and classic cars participate. The 15 mighty minis are too willing to play the part of marshalls.

Cheers.