It was a day filled with intensive racing actions at the Sepang International Circuit, where the 2014 Michelin Pilot Sport Experience (MPSE) was held. To inject more excitement to the event, new racing cars including the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Formula Le Mans and the Formula 4 open-wheeler race car were added to the fleet this year.

A total of three driving stages form the main highlight of the day, comprising of two driving activities on the main Sepang circuit, and one conducted on an off-road track with a rally car.

First up were the Toyota 86 and Renault Clio Cup. Both cars are stripped out versions of their road-going counterparts, and provided little or no creature comforts at all.

Shod with different genres of tyres, (the Toyota 86 had road tyres while the Clio Cup had racing slicks on), the on-track driving provided a good insight of how different types of tyres affect the driving experience in terms or traction and vehicle behaviour.

Next, we went off the beaten track in a Citroen C2 Rally, which saw a good amount of sideway actions. The highlight of the show, no doubt, was a session of hands-on driving in the Formula 4 open-wheeler race car. Weighing just 470kg, the 185bhp racer has more than enough performance to put the skills of novice drivers to the test. With very delicate controls and ultra sensitive to every driver input, it demonstrated how important it is to maintain optimum traction at all times.

Michelin also unveiled its latest top-of-range model, the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre, at the event. Conceived for ultra high-performance cars, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 bridges the gap between road and track tyres.

Designed in collaboration with carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Ferrari, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is one of the few models on the market that is offered as standard fitment on high-end sports cars, including the new Ferrari 458 Speciale, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series and Porsche 918 Spyder.

Currently into its ninth year running, the MPSE will be held for a total of 22 days between July and September, playing host to more than 3,500 participants at the Sepang International Circuit this year.