Summernats to hit full throttle in Asia

Buckle up world - Summernats is going international.

The once-infamous street machine festival will make the trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for four days from August 29 this year.

Speaking at the second day of Summernats 27 in Canberra on Friday, festival co-owner Andy Lopez said the Malaysian version would be built upon similar principles of the Australian festival, which has received a family-friendly makeover in recent years.

Mr Lopez said Malaysia had a strong base of motoring enthusiasts, as could be seen in its support for the races it hosts in the Formula One and Moto GP.

"One of the most attractive things about Kuala Lumpur is that it's a regional centre, it draws on Thailand, Singapore and even Indonesia," he said.

"There's great car scenes in all of those countries, and it sits right there in the centre."

Chin Jit Pyng, founder of JPM Motorsports, who is running the festival in conjunction with Summernats, said they'd decided to go for a full-throttle, four-day Summernats festival in KL after a small trial last year.

Ten winners from Summernats in Canberra this week will get a free trip to the Malaysian festival with their cars to show Asia the best Australia has to offer.

Summernats 26 Burnout Champion Mark Schwirse, who will compete in the Burnout Masters this year, said he'd love the chance to show Asia what he's got.

"I reckon we'd be able to show anybody in the world how to do a burnout," he said.

And with Summernats the king of the tyre-shredding burnout, and Malaysia the sultan of rubber tree plantations - it might just prove to be a match made in heaven.

Australians who register for the Malaysian festival on the Summernats website will receive free entry.

Summernats 27 will run in Canberra until Sunday afternoon.