As dawn broke through Sunway City, the sunlight glinted off a fleet of 60 McLarens, gathered for the occasion of an inaugural track day which combined membership participation between the McLaren Owner’s Community Malaysia (MOCM) and McLaren Owners Club Singapore (MOCS). Before long, the hum and roar of the McLarens filled the air with mechanical symphony as the convoy embarked on an exhilarating drive towards the Sepang International Circuit – designed by Hermann Tilke and the host of 19 consecutive seasons of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Here, the McLarens were put through the paces, from a parade lap to a time attack. Across that time, the participants and owners also took time out to discover the McLaren’s Formula 1 racing official luggage partner Tumi’s 60th anniversary Tumi-McLaren limited edition collection, located at the first pit garage, a precursor of the day that was to come. This gathering of McLarens proved to be the largest recorded in Malaysian history, surpassing an earlier gathering of McLaren enthusiasts at the start of 2023.
Less than 12 hours before the track day, the participants of this historic event were found at the New York-styled Black Tap gourmet burger restaurant for the welcome dinner. Here, they indulged in a delicious array of burgers and fantastical Black Tap milkshakes. During this evening, guests got up close to the Glo Hyper X2 devices which were custom engraved with the McLaren Owner’s Community Malaysia logo. The welcome dinner evening ended with a high-octane DJ set at Black Tap to fuel the spirits for the track day ahead.
Following the completion of the track day, the evening gala dinner took place back at Sunway Resort Hotel, at its capacious triple-volume ballroom. At the foyer, the participants and guests arrived to a lively scene of McLaren’s Formula 1 racing team principal partner British American Tobacco (BAT) via Glo, official luggage partner Tumi and Bowers & Wilkins, which has partnered with McLaren since 2015 to provide the high-performance sound in the cockpits of the marque’s road vehicles. Taking the limelight for the latter was its Px8 McLaren Edition wireless headphones – with aluminium arms, Galvanic grey Nappa leather and subtle Papaya orange highlights. These headphones are also kitted with six-microphone advanced noise cancellation to eliminate disturbance and preserve sound quality.
In one corner of the room, Johnnie Walker Blue Label provided mentoring sessions of the Blue Label, with brand ambassador Daphne Tan offering insights into the blended Scotch’s mellow, smoky nose, as well as its vanilla, honey and rose petal palate and luxurious finish of hazelnuts, sherry and dark chocolate flavours. Upping the excitement for the evening was the raffle of a five-day/ four-night all-inclusive stay at Club Med Kani, Maldives for one couple at the resort’s top overwater suites from its Manta Exclusive Collection, worth over RM20,000.
As the evening gathered steam, the 170-plus guests were welcomed into the ballroom by event emcee Gabriella Robinson and succinct opening addresses by both the MOCM’s committee chairman Ng Choon Jin as well as the President of McLaren Owners’ Club Singapore Stewart Hine. Then, following an opening course of prawn cocktails and soft-shelled crab with mango salsa, the room provided raucous applause for Tan Sri (Dr) Jeffrey Cheah, founder and chairman of the Sunway Group, who also represented the ownership of the official McLaren dealership here in Malaysia. In his speech, Tan Sri Cheah outlined some of the key development goals as well as the effort in his eponymous foundation which invests billions in community and education outreach programmes.
On this positive note, the stage was set for Dasha Logan and her band to move the night into the next gear with her soulful voice and rendition of RnB and pop covers from some of the top Brit artists. The night invariably segued into an all-out party with plenty of good spirits, and the much-anticipated draws of some top lots from the evening’s partners with Bowers & Wilkins’ Malaysian country manager Timothy Poy handing out a grand prize of the Px8 McLaren headphones. Meanwhile, three lucky winners walked away with Tumi-McLaren premiums from a Toque sling and Velocity backpack to the Tumi-McLaren Aero International Expandable four-wheeled carry on (valued at RM9,330).
The loudest cheers were reserved for when Club Med’s South-East Asia Marketing Director Alice Nguyen pulled out the winning raffle ticket for the five-day/ four-night stay at Club Med Kani, Maldives for one lucky couple who were cheered up the stage. The night would then carry on with the third and final set by Dasha Logan who belted out Oasis’ anthemic ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ which had guests on the dance floor, capping the end of a two-day extravaganza and celebration of all things McLaren.
McLaren Owners’ Community Malaysia
Photos and video: Momenz Creation
