Renndrive On the Beach - day 1&2 June 2024

1 of 2 annual 4d3n drives with the hardcore Renndrive Porsche Thailand group

What do you do when Renndrive Thailand invites you for one of their two annual roadtrips?

In our case - we jumped at this rare opportunity as they allocated just 4 spaces for our small Malaysian contingent. The 4d3n route planned involved 3 beachside stops, starting in Nakhon Si Thammarat, then heading to Krabi and finishing in Phuket. Total drive distance starting from Penang was approximately 1600km.

We set off from Batu Kawan, Penang at about 2pm, and arrived just in time for dinner at Sichon Cabana Resort with our Thai friends. Photos of the cars on this trip would have to wait till the next morning....

Come morning, while the guys were having breakfast, we took a walk around the carpark and were left slightly speechless. 3 brand new 992 Dakars in various specs/trim were on this trip to be run-in. Every generation of 911 from 930 onwards was present in special trim, or with tasteful (and expensive) modifications. All Boxster/Cayman generations except the 987.1 were in attendance too.

For a Porschephile, it was a special feeling chasing, and being chased by all manner of Porsches. One thing in particular I deeply respect about the Renndrive group is their discipline when driving together. Everyone is in constant contact with walkies, people take turns leading and sweeping, and there are no dangerous maneuvers throughout each sector of the drive.

I was slightly concerned for one of the Dakars with all the roofrack gear exposed at >120kmh; but the owner confidently assured us nothing will detach. He promptly demonstrated at a higher rate of speed.... point proven.

A short 30mins after leaving Sichon Cabana, we arrived at Beach Mountain Club for coffee via Khanom National Park road (Route 4232). The last 2km leading to the cafe was a stunning coastal road with tremendous elevation changes. Due to the slightly rough road surface, we drove at moderate speeds up to only 40km/h - this gave us the best opportunity to soak in the views overlooking the Gulf of Thailand.

We set off again after about an hour, for our first refuel of the day. About half the cars needed a top-off before the 230km run to Krabi. Crossing the peninsula, we used Route 44 - a dual lane carriageway separately by a huge median. Our Thai counterparts informed us that this is the fastest section of the drive, where we could maintain a 'high rate of speed'.

We arrived at Klong Jilad pier, specifically the HM Lanta Warship Museum - for a photo opportunity. Everyone parked up neatly and the RD film crew sent their drones up for some aerial shots.

At 530pm, we reached our final and overnight stop for the day - Tup Kaek Sunset Beach Resort. This is a regular stop for the Renndrive crew, having been here in years past. In true off-road fashion, all the Dakars again parked together on the beach for a good photo op, and a well deserved cooldown before Day 2.