With an aim to promote the Retro Havoc event and the Malaysian car culture as a whole, Engku Mohammad Hadri Engku Hassan set off on a 31,000km journey across 25 countries in his trusty Toyota AE86, fondly known as the Hachiroku which literally means 8-6 in Japanese.
The idea was conceived back in 2017 but only materialized in August last year after Hadri managed to secure sponsorships from companies such as F Tuned Suspension, Yokohama Tyres, Reza Auto Parts, Roaming Man as well as Tourism Malaysia (which explains why the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo is emblazoned across the bonnet.)
Hadri was not alone on the trip. Riding with him was navigator Sharmila and special mechanic Abdul Rahman. The team took almost two years to get everything well prepared for the journey and this included planning the best route and acquiring all the necessary visas. Of course, the car itself had to be prepared as it would be driven on some of the world’s harshest roads.
As part of the schedule, Hadri would also visit and drive on some of the world’s famous tracks including the legendary Nurburgring, considered Mecca for petrolheads. So he did what most of us would do – ask for feedback from Japanese racing driver Akira Iida. How’s that for preparation?
From Kuala Lumpur, Hadri and his crew drove up to Thailand before crossing into China via Laos. The team spent 16 days in China before making their way to Mongolia to enter Russia. In Russia, Hadri managed to bring his AE86 into several circuits such as the Red Ring Krasnoyarsk, Kuzbass Ring, Kazan Canyon Ring and ADM Raceway.
Hadri and his team made their way to Europe through Estonia and Latvia and drove through Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Along the way, they met some friends from various car clubs and garages and made some new ones too. Without any major break down, the trio managed to arrive in Germany and Hadri got to fullfil his lifelong dream of driving on the Nurburgring.
The team continued to France, where they visited the Le Mans museum and track together with a local AE86 owner’s club. After 96 days of driving, Hadri and his team ended their journey in Holland.
