Vicdrift :: GK Tech Round 3, 2012

The forecast for the weekend was looking pretty grim, yet seeing as how this is the final event of the VicDrift championship for the year, so the weather was not going to put me off and hopefully the car folk of Melbourne would feel the same. As I got out of my car on that Saturday morning, the pro-class group were already lining up for their first run on the track.

There were plenty of new cars that I had not seen before and it is really awesome to watch how the scene has changed and grown in the short year GSS has been online. There are many more interstate drivers that have had made the trip down to Melbourne for a chance to battle the finest Victoria has to offer.

The insane drifters were out to play and they never fail to impress! I was able to get in nice and close on the first corner to get some shots of the morning action.

Not everyone got it right on their first go, with some coming very close to the sand trap.

It is very easy to build up too much speed into the first corner and this appeared to take many by surprise. Cat looked pretty bummed that she misjudged this one.

Peter Vouyoukas and his shmick looking R33 had some very clean runs and was about to keep up his speed too.

It was great to see Matt Russell getting his Ae86 sideways again. He was in good form and worked his way into the top 16.

Leigh Pidwell was killing it all day long in the trusty onevia.  After the events of the weekend, it is now sporting more battle scars.

One of the best parts of drift practice was seeing the pro boys go in 3 or 4 strong with minimal distance and maximum proximity.

Unfortunately there was little to no crowd.  It seems they just couldn’t compete with the lure of teh AFL Grand Final and the traditional BBQ’s and parties that go with it. Only a small handful of 100 or so people got to see some of the weekends best action.

After a wild scando on the straight, Team Chaulkin’s s13 was cutting the grass and chewing the dirt.

With such a long straight leading into the first corner, many chose to wipe off some of the speed and warm up the tyres with a little flick.

I am really liking the workmanship under the front bar here.  The oil cooler looked like it had been built in straight from factory.

The speed in the dry was amazing, I was just hoping the rain would hold off…

Even the pro boys drop in the dirt from time to time. This track official is just lucky he has some fence in front of him to stop some of the mud.

The only thing I hate about this car is the fact that it has no sponsors! All of the drifters need more sponsorship, it feels as though there is no money in drift within Australia, but plenty of heart.

The sky threatened to rain all day and eventually the heavens opened up and it continued to rain for a good 30 minutes or so, at which point the rain turned into hail, followed by more rain!

These true fans stood out in the pouring rain to witness some of Victoria’s superstars of drift.

The only good thing about the rain is that it helped to save some tyres for the drivers. The bad part of course being that the track developed patchy levels of grip that did tend to catch out some of the drivers unawares.

As the afternoon went on, the rain cleared and the sun briefly showed its face. This seemed to give the teams some time to inspect the cars.

Don’t worry, it was just a small flesh wound, it’ll buff out!
For drifters not accustomed to drifting along walls, it is a hard lesson to learn.

No panel was safe!!

Nigel’s 180sx always looks mint! I didn’t think it was possible, but it looks even better after it has just rained.

Did someone say epic front camber?

This car didn’t end up seeing too much track action. I’m not actually too sure what broke in this instance. It was a shame because over the course of the day, at least 30% of the cars broke something.

No more front bar! That means its time for lunch!

Some of the best touch parking I have ever seen! Sure beats using a brick or bit of wood to stop the car rolling.

This little Ae86, had a V6 Camry engine under the bonnet, not your normal choice of engine swap!

It is always a pleasure to see Jarred back with his KE70 Wagon, as it is one of the most unique cars on the scene at the moment.

Nothing could stop Leigh Pidwell! He is so fearless and has such crazy, high speed entries, he was definitely one of the favourites of the entire weekend.

After lunch it was time for the battles to start!

Nigel started off a bit rusty, but as the afternoon took hold he went from strength to strength, getting into the top 8, only to be beaten by Michael Prosenik.

Another crazy wagon that was out on track and it really showed the sedans how to drift!

Final results for round 3 of the GKTech Championship:
1st Place: James Abbott
2nd Place: Andreas Paraskevas
3: Leigh Pidwell

The overall winner of the VicDrift 2012 series was Andreas Paraskevas from insane drifters. With an outstanding performance all year, Andreas was not afraid to celebrate and later stood on top of his car’s roof with trophy in hand!
The weight of him and his trophy put a sizeable dint in his roof that was soon fixed by a swift punch to the inside roof.
With more action expected on the Sunday, there was no time to relax. Drivers and crew soon headed back to the pits to get the cars ready for the next day of competition.
Thanks for looking
– Grant.