On July 5th the Nissan Factory in Sunderland would play host the the Extreme Torque Show and Drift Outlaws Round 1.
Three seperate arenas were laid out with plenty of action for the public to experience throughout the day. We headed to the Torque Arena first to check out the morning practice session of the Drift Outlaws.
The track layout had the cars launch infront of the crowds before a long left handed corner that tightened before transitioning into a tighter right corner, the track finished with a 90 degree left turn.
It was a great layout for both the drivers and fans, the clipping points were placed around the outside on water filled barriers, this rewarded the drivers that were willing to get closer on each run.
The outer clipping points also promoted close battles as the chase driver could get right on the lead drivers door, all of this could be seen from the spectator banking.
After watching some of the morning practice it was time to head over to the Urban Arena. Setup in the arena were several obstacles and jumps ready for a mixture of urban sports, ranging from BMX to Parkour.
These talented riders showcased their tricks for the gathering crowd.
After they had impressed the crowd it was time for the Parkour guys to demonstrate their skills, jumping and running around the arena, demonstrating some incredable balance.
The Extreme Arena was up next, here a selection of riders would demonstrate their skills on motorbikes, from burnouts, wheelies and 360s to freestyle motorcross.
We headed back down to the Torque Arena in time to catch the 1500 horsepower monster trucks crushing a few cars.
Soon after it was time for the Retro class of Drift Outlaws to run their battles, where Gordon Issac would emerge victorious in his Nissan S12.
Some of the other cars in this class included Peter Green in his E30, Clive Littlechild in his AE86 and Tom Simpson in the Ford 100e.
The Newskool class followed, this is made up of cars that were designed after 1988, so its full of Skylines, S-Chassis and BMW E36/E46s. This isnt a bad thing as the cars vary massivly in every way, take William Rose and ‘Mook’, his E36 compact. Its at the lower end of the spectrum for power and styling but he drivers it like a mad man, at the other end of the scale is Micheal Marshalls E92. This car is built to the moon with a 2JZ engine and Liberty Walk bodykit, although that doesnt mean he drives it any differently.
The Top 32 battles were all entertaining to watch but a few stand out. The first is how Damien Haskett drove the PS13 for the first time during the event, its only running around 400HP but he took the battle to Martin Battye in his insane S15.
The other battle that really stood out was William Rose and Brad McQueen, both drivers chased hard getting within inches of hitting the lead drivers car.
In the end it would be Matt Carter taking the top step on the podium, followed by Brad McQueen and Micheal Marshall.
If you would like more information on the Extreme Shows then click HERE or for more information on Drift Outlaws click HERE
