THE 2015 edition of Torque On The Move (TOTM), which took place in August, was more than just the sixth annual instalment of this automotive telematch – it also coincided with this homegrown magazine’s silver jubilee. To make it one of our biggest ever, we created more challenges compared to the past TOTMs, thereby turning this year’s edition into a 25-hour-long event. As the previous TOTMs usually only lasted from four to six hours, participants not only needed more wits – they required more stamina, too.
Before teams could even tackle the five junctions, they had their hands full with four Pre-Event and 25 Bonus Challenges, which were released prior to the flagoff . Realistically, the only way for a team to complete all these would be to stay up all night! One of the Bonus Challenges was downright spooky – it called for teams to find a silver Hyundai Santa Fe parked along “The Seventh Path” in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. As Chang Weng Kit from Team 15 recalled: “We missed the car and ended up driving all the way into the cemetery… It was dark, quiet and windy – really scary!”
Participants who opted for a good night’s rest, however, probably had an easier time deciphering the riddles to the five compulsory Torque junctions on the event day itself. Awaiting teams at each junction were tasks designed to test not just their motoring knowledge but memory skills, too.
At the Goodyear junction, teams had to identify tyres via their tread pattern and name the benefits associated with each model. “I got to know and understand the diff erent tyres and their performance,” said Kel Poon from Team 35. Another memory challenge was in store for participants at the Tissot shop at Marina Square. There, teams had to memorise 15 watch functions and recite them in 25 seconds. As Elyn Chen from Team 20 put it: “Many brain cells were killed at the Tissot Junction, but the sense of accomplishment after finishing this challenge was simply amazing!”
Naturally, TOTM also featured a driving challenge. In this case, teams headed to the KTI GP Centre, where each member had to complete one lap around our very own Marina Bay Circuit in a (virtual) Formula One car. The high-tech racing simulators certainly stimulated S Mahindrajith from Team 56, who said his experience delivered a “good fraction” of race excitement. “It was the closest I’ve been to F1!”
Testing everyone’s automotive knowledge, on the other hand, was the Hyundai Junction. There, participants were given just 2½ minutes to write down eight correct features of the latest Hyundai Sonata. The tricky part was choosing the right features from the ones on the decals pasted on a Sonata model.
pasted on a Sonata model. Puzzle-solving has always been a part of TOTM. At the Laser Shades Junction, teams had to fit the Laser Shades onto the correct car windows in the shortest time possible. Team 43’s Shirley Lim found the challenge tricky despite it being “a simple matching game”. “I initially thought the Laser Shades were to be fitted outside the window! Overall, it was a fun and interesting challenge.” Coming in third were last year’s winners, Jared Lim and Benjamin Yap of Team 32. For their eff orts, they won a weeklong drive in a Hyundai model and a set of Laser Shades.
Second place went to Olivia Cheong and Ezen Ho from Team 29. Their hard work earned them a pair of Tissot watches plus a week-long drive in a Hyundai automobile. Outshining the rest of the field were Rayson Yim and Justin Mai from Team 34. Apart from a week-long test-drive in a Hyundai model, this team was also awarded a set of Goodyear tyres, a pair of Tissot timepieces and a racing simulator party at the KTI GP Centre.
Petrolheads always say that it’s the journey, and not the destination, that ultimately matters. Rayson Yim echoed this sentiment: “The journey to complete this challenge as a team was a most memorable moment. Thank you, Torque.” Spoken like a true petrolhead, indeed.
