Vicdrift Summer Matsuri :: Fun In The Sun

So another 12 months has gone by in a flash but in all honesty it doesn’t feel like that long ago since we covered the last Vicdrift Matsuri at Winton Raceway.
What has changed in that time?

There were new cars and fresh builds and of course plenty of familiar faces. All of which were part of the extreme entry competition and even a burnout comp!!!
Hats off to the boys and girls behind Vicdrift pulled off another killer event that saw over 150 entries from drivers all over the country, flocking to try their hand at drifting in what is no doubt one of the best run events in the country. It was two days of non-stop action, burnouts, extreme entries and cash prizes, what’s not to love?


The weekend of skids started with the drivers briefing first up as usual at the crack of dawn on the Saturday morning.

After the usual affair of discussing the rules, timing and awards for the event, we rushed outside to get a few laps of the pits before we headed out onto the track. With Winton being such a big place, you need to plan your day so you don’t wear yourself out coming back to the pits all the time in between shooting the cars.

The newest car to the Team Chaulkin’ line up is David’s latest purchase, an R33 Skyline. The car has received a splash of visual enhancement for your viewing pleasure as it converts tyres into smoke.
The blacked out headlights and widened rear fenders all help add to the appeal.
Happy with what we had seen so far we decided it was time to go track-side.

In true Vic Drift fashion the track was ablaze with the screeching of tyres and the sound of engines on the limit in a matter of minutes from the mornings driver briefing in the hall.

We must have missed the ‘Bring your father to a drift day’ memo but Troy brought his old man along to put his S13 through it’s paces. Hats off to Mr Seguna behind the wheel!!

The amount of cars entered was staggering, with well and truly over 100 cars driving all day there were often large groups on the track at the same time and surprisingly only a few mishaps throughout the whole weekend!

With such a long list of cars there were bound to be some interesting entries like Andrew in his VS Commodore…

Or crowd favorite, Daniel and his VN wagon. The performances this blue family car pushed out all weekend was impressive to say the least. And all thanks to a friendly amount of forced induction with a turbo strapped to the side of the Holden V6.
The only failure we saw all weekend was the cooling system after some serious punishment during the burnout competition. But of course Daniel and the VN were soon back in action drifting again for the rest of the afternoon!!

Now if you guys follow our Facebook page, you would have noticed our infatuation with Stewy’s R32 from hell. Despite its looks, this car has one of the best setups for the purpose at hand… Drifting of course!

Beneath the menacing and rough as guts exterior you see here, there are years of love and knowledge which all help this car to out-perform many ‘prettier’ cars and sees it perform some of the most extreme entries in Australia!!

Plus we love the way the rear bumper lifts up like a cheeky flash from a girl in a dress on a windy day. C’mon gust of wind!

Local boy Matt Russel and his SR powered 86 hatch used the huge amount of track time to shakedown and iron out any bugs before the car will see a full round in the ADGP series later this year.

Without a ‘smorgasbord’ of stickers plastered all over the car, it often gets lost in the group at the larger ADGP events. We wish Matt all the luck throughout the competition season. So keep your eye out for this clean white Corolla coming to an ADGP event near you!

What was the weather like I hear you all ask?? One word – HOT!!!
What would a summer Matsuri be without the summer?! The day saw some near record temperatures and had Winton staff on high alert for grass fires.

There were just a handful of small fires on the track but the threat remained in our minds thanks to thick smoke from surrounding bushfires which made for some interesting lighting conditions as the sun set.

We spotted a few quick repairs in the pits over the weekend and it’s amazing what drifters can fix with some determination, zipties and tape. And all of this performed 100’s of kilometers from home!!

Chris’ suspiciously clean S14 was looking great on and off the track!

Some of the interstate guests at this years event included the infamous Hit and Run boys from NSW making the trip south to blaze some tyres and generally run amok!

We loved the rawness of this v8 swapped S13 from the HnR crew. The switches and sheet metal interior reminded us of the Nascar racers from the states.

A bum only a drifter can love! If we showed this image to regular car enthusiasts they would be forgiven for thinking it was unfinished.
There is a certain amount of beauty that we can appreciate in the ‘progress’ look a lot of cars seem to be rocking these days.

This image caused quite a stir amongst our fans when we posted it, Stewy’s Skyline is certainly one that divides people.

Everything about it looks wrong, this is what makes it so awesome.
If you don’t understand this and don’t see what everyone else sees then try not to take it so seriously and enjoy it for a car full of character and fun.
Remember fun? This is what drift was about before sponsorship and competitions.

Another interstate guest down from NSW was Oliver and his CA powered 180SX.

Esther is one of the latest female ambassadors for drifting in Melbourne and her car is certainly helping encourage not only the girls to get behind the wheel but the boys to step up their game in the visual department.
This car looks great!!

As we mentioned earlier there was an ‘extreme entry’ competition on the Saturday. Held on the main straight of Winton, the aim was to hit the first corner with as much speed and angle as possible.

Jason Dewar took the win in his monstrous V8 swapped S13 and let me tell you, the sound and angle was absolutely savage!

Jason Ferron did very well but missed put on 1st place… Not to worry though as he picked up the win for the burnout comp and best tandem battles alongside Trent Jacotine.

Extreme entries have to be one of our favorite aspects of the sport, seeing a car with the wheels on full lock while still traveling some 140+kph completely  sideways is actually one of the most peaceful and almost majestic things to watch.

From the moment that the car transitions into the slide to exit the corner, time itself slows down and it really is one of the best things that drifting has to offer.
How these drivers hold the angle at such high speeds and then navigate the corner without spinning off into a fiery ball of death is beyond me!!

Still the most exciting car to see hit the extreme entry comp was Stewy and his R32 Skyline.
Every run without fail there was absolutely no holding back from Stewy and this made for some truly jaw dropping entries!
After the extreme entry comp, the team and I decided to call it a day and eagerly headed to the hotel with food and drinks in hand.

Bright and early Sunday we headed back to Winton Raceway and had our fingers, toes and every other body part available crossed hoping for a cooler day.
Alas, this didn’t seem to change a thing as yet again we were treated to skin melting temperatures.

Day two saw a couple of cars hit the track that had been in hiding or that had only managed to make the trip up for one day.
Most notable for us was Bill El Haouli’s LS2 swapped S13. Built by JAK Motorworks, the car belts out a healthy 350 rear wheel kilowatts!!

Bill put every single bit of that power to good use and the freshly built car performed effortlessly all day!!

Aaron managed to get his little Corolla three wheeling, an impressive feat in anyones books!!

The day went on without any troubles and spectators were treated to endless displays of tyre punishing drifting. If you have never made the trip up to Winton for a Vicdrift event we strongly suggest you fill up the car and bring some snacks and head to Benalla for the day!

The latest GSS feature car was out stretching it’s legs and the car looked just as good as when it was originally shot for the feature…

Maybe just a little bit dirtier, full feature here >>> http://gripshiftslide.com/bmw-e30-rb30-drift-frankenstein/

Battle damage!! Rough panels make for the best photos because you can literally see the texture of the crunched and rippled panels!

Jason’s 5.7 litre tyre killer up close and personal. This is one of the best sounding drift cars currently running.

Elliot from the Smashbox Sliders was carving up the main straight in his recently completed purple S14. The car has a host of parts from Slide Industries. Be sure to check them out!

Something unique to Winton is the bridge that sits over the main straight, sometimes it is extremely hard capture a great shot with the cars screaming underneath you with debris flying up and the whole structure shakes with each pass.

Occasionally you get a shot that is at least usable.

Back down on the ground we got prepared for the burnout competition and waited for the last drift cars to come back in.

The burnout comp saw some interesting entries, from an EA Falcon and VN Commodore to an Nissan S13, R32 Skyline and even a Laurel!! (Pictured)

The win went to Jason in his yellow R31 Skyline but we enjoyed watching these particular tyres final moments on this VE Ute.

Back to the pits we made our final sweep before packing up a

It’s amazing how much punishment these engines are dealt over the weekend and they just keep purring away session after session!

Stewy made a quick stop on his way into the pits to pick up some pieces that became disconnected from the car while he was out having some fun.

So how do I sum up another killer Matsuri event by the boys and girls behind Vic Drift??
The people! Without the support of fans, drivers, friends and family the sport would be nothing.
So thank you to those that burn every pay cheque into their drift car, the guys and girls that travel hours to each event, the team that constantly deliver with sold out track days month after month.
Thank you and thank you for reading our little article!
– Gwyn.