However, in one demo run on a 300m circuit he designed himself, the Drift King actually came to an embarrassing halt in mid-drift at the first curve pin. 

As the crowd gasped in disbelief, Tsuchiya spun back to the starting point. There would be no mistake the second time round. Zooming in at 100kph, he commanded the GTR into a sideways position at the first curve pin. He glides it to the opening of the second curve pin and snaps it back into a sideways angle again as the car hurtles dangerously close to the tyre barriers. At the last moment, he brings the car back into a straight line and exits as the crowd cheers him on. 

Later, Tsuchiya gives a post-mortem of what went wrong.

“The engine just stalled,” he shrugs.

Through his interpreters, he explains that a malfunctioning third gear was the most likely cause. 

Slip-ups notwithstanding, riding with the Drift King is an exhilarating experience.

Orgasmic, I’d say. One gets the impression that he is completely in his element as he kicks the clutch and switches gears, quickly and with ease. 

Datuk Ahmad Nawawi, the exco for the Selangor state council, also went on a demo ride. He describes his ride with Tsuchiya as “scary”. 

“I knew that I would be okay because he is a pro but after the ride, I felt a little off balance,” says the slightly dazed but exhilarated politician. 

Later, Tsuchiya says he had not gone all the way with the demo rides.

“I was only putting in about 75% of my abilities,” he shrugs.

While Tsuchiya may have been a daredevil in his younger days, it looks like age has mellowed him a bit. Safety comes first.