Along with Ivan Lim, Jansen has made a name for himself in the local drifting scene with commendable finishes in Formula Drift Asia events.

When he is not behind the seat of his smoking drift car, Jansen also competes in endurance races like the Sepang 1000km race.

He loves all things related to wheels and has a strong affection for off-road cars and remote-controlled cars.

At the Goodyear International Drift Series held in Putrajaya and Malacca earlier this year, one was probably expecting Jansen to be burning rubber on the track.

Instead, he was one of three judges at race control. Why the sudden change in role? SingaporeSports.sg finds out from the man himself...

Q: Is this your first time as a judge?
A: No, I have judged for a couple of grassroots drift competitions before.

Q: What made you decide to become a judge instead of competing?
A: For the experience and also because my car was not ready for competition.

Q: How does it feel being a judge? How different is it in terms of pressure compared to a competitor?
A: It feels odd initially, to be driving and judging my fellow competitors. There’s no pressure being a judge; I was practically dying to get behind the wheel and be one of the competitors actually!

Q: Do you prefer to be a judge or competitor?
A: I prefer to drive of course!

Q: Some of the drivers are your fellow competitors when you compete; now that you’re judging them, is there some form of conflict of interest?
A: No, I think they are glad that I’m judging. As a driver myself, I am able to understand what’s going on and also, am more aware of the limits of their cars.

Q: What do you think makes a good judge?
A: Consistency in scoring is of highest importance.  Staying objective and being neutral to all competitors is very important too.

Q: What are some of the challenges for a judge?
A: To maintain full 100 per cent attention to each and every competitor. It can get a tad tiring when they are going through their individual qualifying runs! :p

Q: What does it take to be a judge? Would it be better if he used to be in the sport competitively?