KUCHING: Sunday morning broke bright and warm over Kuching, and by 8 o’clock, the car park was already a sight to behold.
Rows of gleaming bonnets caught the light, each one crowned with a flutter of Jalur Gemilang and the yellow-red-black of the Sarawak flag.
This was the Autoshow and Car Gathering — the centrepiece of the final day of Torque of Borneo 2026.
The diversity on display was the point. Proton Sagas nudged up against lowered Toyotas. Perodua city cars shared the tarmac with lifted 4x4s.
Some bonnets were showroom-clean; others bore the fingerprints of years of careful modification.
Every car told a story, and every owner was eager to tell it.
For the serious enthusiasts, the real action was in the details.
One pale blue sedan drew a small crowd for what lay hidden in its boot: a full air suspension compressor setup — twin tanks, colour-coded lines in pink and teal, a Powercosy amplifier, all arranged with the precision of a workshop showpiece.
It was modification as art.
Inside the hall, the Borneo RC Drift Grand Prix 2026 was generating its own electricity.
A full-scale drift circuit had been laid out across the floor tiles, marked with blue tape and flanked by safety barriers.
Tiny cars — some no bigger than a shoebox — tore around the circuit at improbable angles, their rear ends trailing as their drivers worked thumb sticks from an elevated platform.
The crowd leaned in, phones raised.
On tables near the track, an exhibition of remote controlled (RC) vehicles drew just as much attention as the racing itself: scale drift cars with custom liveries, mini 4WD racers, a sand buggy, an off-road crawler modelled on a classic Defender, and racing saloons finished in sponsor decals.
Each one was a miniature labour of love.
In an adjoining space, a very different kind of competition was unfolding. Dozens of players in club jerseys had gathered for the carrom championship.
The boards were worn smooth from years of play.
Fingers hovered, then struck. Discs scattered.
The room hummed with the quiet intensity of a game that demands stillness amid noise.
But perhaps the most unexpected delight of the afternoon came from the smallest participants. The Fashion Show competition drew children from KEMAS preschools around the city to the red-carpeted stage in front of the Torque of Borneo backdrop.
A little girl in a traditional baju kurung stepped forward, poise beyond her years. Beside her, a boy donning a waistcoat and beaded necklace worked the runway with the confidence of someone three times his age. The audience erupted while taking pictures of them.
By the time the sun began its descent over the Kuching waterfront, the final rites of Torque of Borneo 2026 were underway.
Trophies were handed out for the autoshow, the car gathering, and the carrom championship. Cars began to roll out. Banners were furled. But the sense of something shared — a Sunday spent in common cause — lingered.
Three days. One carnival. A city reminded that the things people build together — communities, cars, friendships — are worth showing off.
