Ebized Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 With Darren-B, we popped down to the Kent circuit to see some drifting a first for both of us so a bit of a learning curve as the day unfolded. A few pics and vid compilation (from the pocket camera I had) to show a little of what we saw. Sorry for the quality of the pics but having found a relatively shadey spot to watch the action it was also downwind of the smokescreens being left that took time to clear. I was covered in rubber particles by the end of the day Good mix of cars but the Skyline variants dominated the day's runners Before the action pics - when I saw this in the paddock, surely a 350 owner who has put so much into under bonnet work ought to go down this route - looked stunning: For those (like us) who don't know the format - there are 3 classes which are semi-pro/pro/superpro. Each group of had 16 qualifiers from the Saturday and run in pairs to decide the final 8 then the final 4 and the first 3 from that. They get a practice run and two scoring runs - each taking a turn in leading. Speed ain't the objective (but it helps ) its more how good how each driver is against the other competitor in the pairing in style, so the more acute the angles but flowing from one drift to the next the lead driver can do then which has to be matched by the chasing driver and the closer he gets to the other car and mimics the line set by the lead driver the better he will do. Wheels off the track, spins etc get you marked down and the odd T-bone dosen't go down well with either the 3 judges or the other competitor! Tyres are obviously the biggest consumable - the Falken sponsored cars for example could only safely manage 3 runs on brand new tyres before they were shot They do get a chance to change tyres or otherwise fettle the cars between runs in just a 5 minute window they can claim once the other car in the pair has arrived at the start line. The competition started with the semi-pros going through to the super pros.... Got some usuful info info from the father of the young woman driving this - Kirsty something annd she did well. The pro class Super pro class This example had well over 1000bhp - jebus it shifted One main incident of the day in front of us. 2nd pic was after I ducked for cover with kitty litter being sprayed at us as the car hit the gravel. The Japspeed car (No.8) was the eventual winner Paul Smith whilst Stephen Biagioni who went off had borrowed that car for his runs after he blew the engine in his own car - ooooopps. And finally a vid of some of the runs. The last pairing shows the expected winner (Shane Lynch of Boyszone) in his twin turbo V8 having to take to the grass and knowing he had lost then promptly smoked the remainder of his tyres In the vid you can see the pair of cars from the start point and the scoring area ended just in front of us. Most impressive was the yellow E36 - a new pro driver from Belgium and you will see just how far back he started his 'initiation' as they call it on the approach to the first bend And the Mark 2 Escort driver he was up against was no slouch Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 The super pros compete at Trax which is the first Sunday of September at Silverstone which I should be going to again this year. I remember seeing Freddie Aasbo doing a backwards entry into one corner, it looks like he'd lost it but then pulled it back round for the corner. I went to see the zed that I now own on the way back from Trax last year. I was in one of the drift taxis at Japfest 2 also. That was fun, especially when he went off track and he got a bit worried. When I'd had the zed for just a couple of weeks I went up to the Nissan factory as there was the final round of the BDC held there last year. Shane Lynch's V8 is certainly loud, but although he qualified first but he spun out and then crashed on his 2 runs so was out in the first round. The team falken Nissan v35 is for sale at the moment: http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-cars-sale-private-sales/180404-team-falken-2jz-gte-675hp-v35-g35.html Watching/ hearing/ smelling drifting is good but I wouldn't want to have to foot the bill for the tyres! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippychip123 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I was here.... on the Saturday though, I have quite a few mates that compete in it but unfortunately only one qualified so I didn't bother coming back down on the Sunday. Great weather though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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