With the drifting season starting back up here in New Zealand, everyone was anxiously waiting to hear the announcement of the first round’s location.
Indoors is not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of drifting, but I think that is exactly why the people who come up with ingenious ideas within D1NZ put forward Forsyth Barr Stadium. A large rugby pitch transformed into a mini drift circuit sounds like heaven for outsiders and that is exactly what it was. Shooting for the first time in such a unique location made for some amazing memories and beautiful reflections as we saw the cars push through tight corners under stadium lights and thick smoke. Large fans were used to keep most of the smoke away from the main circuit however the little that drifted through coupled with the sunset streaming through the stadium made for some different views of such a loud and aggressive sport.
Seeing all the cars again with most having new livery designs was incredible, especially seeing the cars finally come together and look so different compared to last year. Almost everyone who made it to Dunedin stepped their game up, with the likes of Dylan Woolhouse and Darren Kelly featuring new chassis and some unique designs applied. Dylan pushing his newly built FD LS powered machine around the track with some amazing lock and angle along with Darren charging through the practice sessions with his recently built but immaculate Nissan backed R35 GTR sure made most if not all the crowd and media alike stop and stare in awe. Finally seeing these cars plow through the indoor course and hearing their engines echo in the stadium made for something of a experience that I have no doubt most will not forget.
It was great to see the familiar faces like Daniel Woolhouse in his show car worth VF Holden which while it looked like it belonged in a show and shine, tore up the corners and clipping points with anger. Drew and Jodie were back to battle against each other and the rest of the pack with their well known machines and Nico Reid was back as a crowd favorite with his fresh S15.
While the practice day was all about setting things up in the car and getting used to the new layout/challenges, that did not stop any of them pushing their cars all the way to the limits which did see some catching the wall. Although damaging their cars was not part of the plan, it just goes to show that these guys leave nothing on the track except paint and rubber which is what the sport is all about, all in or nothing.
It was a brilliant test day which built a perfect round 1 final.
Full gallery below, please click the picture to be taken there.
