Winton Practice Day – Gripshiftslide

Drift Cadet :: Bringing Drifting To The Masses

Grant — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 12:54:50 +0000

The popularity of drift within Australia has gone through many phases and the ability to get into the sport has changed. Despite the national drifting series dwindling, statewide competitive drifting has increased, so the question is what is being done to further the culture of drift?

How should the sport foster talent of newcomers? Or even inspire the younger generation? Those kids who haven’t even got their licence yet! How often do you see drifting of any kind on TV? Yes it’s easy to find on the internet, but only really if you go looking for it, and especially Australian drifting.

The culture of drift in Australia is missing some vital things to increase the popularity of drift as a whole. Where is the Auskick for drift? Where are the heroes of the sport and what are the incentives?

The barrier of entry is too large in Australia. There is no easy way to go to a track, acquire a drift car and test
your ability against others; especially if you’re just trying out the sport. Not to mention the now infamous “drift tax”
stopping people from affording cars that were once cheap and capable.

Therefore the amount of drifters are low relative to other countries. The reason being accessibility to the sport and equipment.

Thankfully Drift Cadet has created an entry point into the sport of drift. Not only do they provide the car, they also have Victoria’s best competitive drifters as coaches! With three different levels- beginner, intermediate, advanced. From skid pan to the track, nothing is left out.

One of the greatest features of Drift Cadet is the ability to just arrive and drive. This really puts Drift Cadet on the map as one of the best drift schools in Australia. Better yet there is no cost of owning a car, maintenance, or repairs and no towing the car back and forth from the track.

From viewing drifting through the lens for so long I thought it was time to actually get in there and have a go.
To say I was excited is an understatement! My only drifting experience thus far was wet roads and an over boosted MR2 Sw20 or doing roundabouts in a Honda Beat with over-cambered rear wheels and cheese cutters showing wire on the outer edges.

The Subaru BRZ’s are the cars we were learning in. So why did Drift Cadet choose this platform? Because with the number of BRZ/86s manufactured in the last five years you can most definitely speculate that they will become the new S13 in the local drift scene. So what mods are they running? Well here is the kicker! Basically nothing!

The setups run on both cars are as follows; Kaaz 2 way LSD, Shockworks coilovers, bucket seats, lock spacers and tyres matched to the wet surface of Winton skidpan. If you’ve ever heard the saying “keep it simple stupid”
then you will understand the philosophy of Drift Cadet.

I was so suprised on how well a standard car puts up with such punishment. The BRZ/86 is such an underrated car and the fact is that most people never get to test the full potential of these great cars. The first lesson we had was to perform donuts around a cone on the skid pan. We were instructed to get the car in the high revs then dump the clutch and keep the car in a controlled donut without losing drift.

All the hours on Assetto Corsa drifting on the online GripShiftSlide server helped out and the donut came with ease, yet mastering the figure eight did not come easy. I found out quickly that speed and weight transition are things that translate very differently in the real world. They say that with time you are able to feel what is happening with the car using your bum?

Quickly I went from doing well to constantly spinning out and it was a combination of things I was doing wrong.
Both instructors gave me plenty of pointers yet I was too pig headed and excited to fully implement their instructions.

After learning how to implement the clutch kick and handbrake into the mix I successfully
pulled off a couple of figure eights but often built up too much speed and would spin out.

Breaks in between sessions gave me and the students time to watch others on the skid pan. This also gave us the opportunity to sample the great coffee and snacks on offer from Amabelle Patisserie.

Time went so fast and before I knew it the day was over. I learnt so much yet the surprise of the group was a fifteen year old that made us all look like amateurs! He was cutting figure eights straight out the gate!

Drift Cadet is really the only independent group teaching drifting in Victoria and you also get a CAMS Speed Licence when you complete the beginners course.

When the lessons were over we were invited to go for a ride with the teachers. They didn’t hold back in pushing the BRZ’s to the limit at speed around the skid pan! It was a great way to leave us with a lasting smile.

I really admire Drift Cadet for putting it all out there and creating a platform for beginner drifters in Victoria.
Creating such a great day and driving experience has left me with skills that I will not forget.
If you would like to lean more about Drift Cadet check out their website or facebook page.
Thanks for reading,
Grant

VicDrift :: Drift Summer Matsuri

Grant — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:35:16 +0000

Its been a long time since i have been to winton raceway. Missing drift is what had inspired me to make the 3 hour journey to Summer Matsuri. With a host of wicked cars due to show up at the event and my gear all charged. It was only the road trip that stood in front of me.

Wanting to get to Winton early i jumped in the van at 4am, if you have ever made the trip before you will know that it is pretty much all straight roads. Boaring and mind numbing but rewarding at the same time.

With the sun quickly rising i ran around trying to capture some of drift cars bathing in the morning sunlight before there epic sideways adventures.

Soon this hybrid ford / r33 skyline would be smoking more than “Cheech and Chong” tires of course! Not only where people up early and working on their cars, they were also getting over the effects of drift party life.

When all the money is spent on the car their is not much left over for the drivers or the crew. That means that breakfast is cornflakes served in a halved 2 liter milk container.

Summer Masuri runs both saturday and sunday, this r32 was showing some battle scars from Saturdays long drift sessions that ran well into the night.

Matt Russells drift machine always looks good! it has recently just come back from ADGP in sydney. Although it has been competing against the best in Australia the car still looks straight and is here ready for a casual drift with Vicdrift friends.

This drift interior shows exactly what is needed for your average drift set up. Not everyone runs a heap of gauges and the main essentials are oil, water and boost.

With only an hour until the first session people were already queuing up for their tyres. Impatiently waiting to hit the track and burn some rubber.

The SmashBox Sliders were out in force and ready for another hot day of sideways action. Ryan and Elliott’s cars were looking strong and after surviving Saturdays carnage they knew the cars could hold out for another full day of drift.

Everybody assembled for the drivers briefing, with over 100+ people in attendance yoshi had his hands full instructing the large crowd. The drivers briefing is a good way of letting all the drivers know whats expected of them on the day and how they should behave.

Looking at this large line of people you wouldn’t think that drift is unpopular,but the sad reality is that it’s a fringe Motorsporat in Australia. Yoshi and the VicDrift team are trying to change the impression of drift in this country, doing this at a grass roots level is a long hard job.

As the sun continued to rise it was time to hit the track. With 4 different classes and variety of driver talent the stage was set for yet another awesome day of drifting.

In the drivers meeting there had been a warning about a rut / drop off near the start of the winding section of the track just before the main straight. Luckly most cars avoided this nasty edge by not running so wide out of the first corner after the back straight.

Trent and cat have been using every chance they can to test and tune cat’s new car. Now that the suspension setup is nearly perfect it was time for Cat to get some serious track time. While watching the Chequered Tuning VK shred tyres i noticed a few strange track exits on to the dirt. It turns out the car was suffering from an electrical gremlin which caused the car to cut in and out while in 4th gear,Scary stuff! Luckily trent found the problem and fixed it quickly.

Drift matsuri is a good chance for drivers to push themselves and their own boundary’s. Taking the chance to do extreme entry’s when there in not many cars on track is one one to develop your skills.

Some of the drivers would choose to power up the straight or slightly drift. Only the skilled ones would continuously drift from the bottom corner up the straight into end corner.

I didn’t matter what class the car was part of the simple fact was that everyone on track could really drift. When i think back to the early days of drift at winton there were plenty of drivers that just couldn’t drift.

This is one car that was definitely in the wrong class and should of been part of class A. Why? because Aaron was linking drifts like a pro at high speed while entertaining the crowd.

Sumner Matsuri is one of the best times to practice tandem drift and working on proximity in a competition free environment helps the drivers develop their proximity skills.

Given the weather all of the cars were coping with the thirty degree day. Although it was only twenty in Melbourne Winton often gets alot hotter than Melbourne.

Although some of the drivers may not agree with the organizers of vicdrift decisions they appreciate the facility of vicdrift. Respect is hard to earn but one person who completely surprised me with there hidden talent was Choonga.

Throwing hard and holding nearly every drift choonga would cut pro lines with speed and grace. Good high angle entry’s with plenty of power! The boy can drift. If he did more drifting and had some serious sponsorship he could easily be within the top 10 drifters in Australia.

I have never seen a Corona drift before but I like it. Although it may be slightly heavier than the KE70 it is a smart choice for a good, low cost drift build that will turn heads.

What’s a Drift Matsuri without the traditional Drift Matsuri Burnout competition! This year there was a special guest from Summernats; yet the car that stole the show was this Starion with an incredible rollback burnout that had the crowd screaming like school girls.

Not only was it good at burnouts this old Mitsubishi could skid. With plenty of flair and deep drift lines the Starion really was entertaining to watch.

Track time is the name of the game. If you want to be better at drift then Vic Drift Matsuri is the best way to get some serious seat time. This event is one of the best places to see new emerging talent. Fresh cars, new drivers and a friendly atmosphere! Vic Drift really does know how to put on a show so if you have a taste for drift make sure you attend a Vic Drift event this year.

Vic Drift :: April Members Day

Grant — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:54:24 +0000

Winton Raceway was once again host to another Vic Drift practice day, being a members only day you have to hold a current club membership to be able to enter.
I believe the popularity of drifting in Australia is finally on the rise. After seeing the amount of cars entering and supporting the club, we are in for a good future.
With so many people traveling 2-4 hours and spending their hard earned just to drive on a practice day, it is a very good sign, not just for the Vic scene but Australia-wide as well.

The level of skill of the drivers is getting better each and every time I attend one of these practice days, there are always plenty of spins and people heading off track too to keep us on the edge of our seats.
But throughout the day, every driver shows so much improvement and most carry that on to the next event, getting better each time.

The weather was beautiful with hardly any wind at all, this made for some interesting shots as the smoke would settle on the track and create some creepy backdrops.

Justin Powers has recently made the switch from behind the lens to behind the wheel and he is killing it!

The car is looking great with all the Insane Drifters livery, loving the sticker location Justin.

The thing that surprised me was the amount of smoke the cars were getting. Normally on a practice day there are only a handfull of cars that can ‘bake’ the rear wheels. Not this practice day though, everyone was showing off!

Entry speeds were also pretty impressive, this of course got a few drivers out of their comfort zones and a few left the track…

Dirt drop!!

Dirt bomb?

There were a few moments with almost ‘Drift Train’ groups linking corners in succession. It looked great seeing some very different cars and drivers of multiple skill levels ripping up the track together.

This R33 was easily one of the most consistent drivers all day, the setup must have been perfect for the day.

Each lap he looked as though he was the happiest person at Winton that day and with all that smoke in your rear view mirror, who wouldn’t be?

As I said before, the smoke made things pretty interesting.

Someone that was going absolutely berserk, was Troy and his rotary powered Corolla!

I always get the same funny feeling seeing this car out on the track. When you look at an ant scurrying across the ground they look unnaturally fast… that’s the sensation I get when Troy’s tiny AE86 flies past!!!

Although, I think it might be because this car is actually scarily fast, while the exterior isn’t as crazy as the engine bay but the interior is perfect!
Clean and functional.

Unfortunately Troy had an incident with the little hatch on one of the last laps of the day, the AE86 ran wide through a corner and became airborne off the rumble strip.
When it came down, it came down hard!! There is a lot of structural damage underneath and we are hoping along with Troy that it can be repaired.

Jason Ferron’s V8 swapped R31 sounded tougher than ever!

This is what this car does best!

Adam ‘Silky’ Graham was going well all day in his S14 despite blowing a turbo in the afternoon!!

Michael Prosnik in the Supreme Caravans 180SX.

The car is performing just as perfectly as it looks, since it’s makeover.

Everyone convince your parents to buy a caravan from these guys, help them because they have done a lot for the Victorian drift community.

Billie’s Sil80 is back from its hibernation, running a new engine setup.

Billie and James are still ironing out some teething issues but it’s nice to see ‘Ziptie’ back in action.

Whats this? ‘Ziptie’ has a brother? Yes!! Billie and James have got their Cefiro track-side now as well!

This Falcon Ute was actually going pretty well all day, no massive angles but the car was sideways every chance it had.

However it did have two wall taps. This was the worse of the two but luckily the Winton safety crew were quick to act!

I’m a big fan of Roman’s 180SX, the car looks great at every meet scraping it’s sump on the cats eyes as it drives on the street.

On the track that very same car at the same height slides like an animal!!

More R31 goodness, there is just something cool about four doors sliding!

Another car I haven’t seen much of before was this “kicker” 180SX.

The 90’s graffiti look grew on by the end of the day too!

Ender Esenyel about to head out for his last track day before ADGP’s in Tasmania.

I think it’s safe to say Ender is loving his new tune, the SR20 is now making 325KW at the wheels!!

Ender’s S13 is probably the most photogenic car in the drift scene at the moment, no matter what colour, parked or driving it looks great!!

It was lucky that Ender had this chance to take the car out as a few laps into the day the car started to misbehave, thinking the worst he retired the car to the pits.
After a day or two of hunting down the cars ‘gremlins’, the problem was solved by swapping out the crank angle sensor.
I can’t wait to see how he goes in Tassie for the first round of the ADGP series.

Ibi Kunduraci smoking up a storm in the Transcar S15.

In the last 12 months I have seen this car progress, it’s always looked great but it’s performing so well now.
Great work Ibi!!

Mrs Vic Drift herself, Catherine May!
After the new addition of one solid looking roll cage, Mrs May seems to be feeling invincible on the track.

Every time I looked, Catherine was either sideways or smoking up the rear wheels.
Much more consistent driving from Vic Drifts #1 female driver, awesome stuff Cat!

Another driver constantly impressing me is Nick Bennett of Team Tuffcore fame, being a close friend of mine I’ve been able to see the effort going into building this car and to see him enjoy it is priceless!!
Well it’s actually $40, for a high-res copy 😛

Despite some issues with the engine/tune the car performed well and made good use of those rear tyres!

Now my pick of the drivers would have to be this guy in this fearless silver KE Corolla, seeing this car drift the entire straight was definitely my highlight of the day.

The car just did not stop drifting, great driving!!

The sun faded a lot earlier now that summer is over, leaving you with this sun set and smokey haze as everybody packed up to head home.
Another great day by everybody, despite a few bad eggs wondering around the pits and taking other peoples belongings it was a great day to skid.
I hope everybody enjoyed themselves and these photos, I’ve mixed things up a little with my editing for these. Being a practice day I thought I’d practice with my camera too, let me know what you like and what you don’t like about them.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Grip Shift Slide :: 155 Days In 30 Pics.

Grant — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:24:55 +0000

In less than just 48 hours 2011 will be over, bringing with it a whole new year of race days and feature cars that will be gracing these pages for your viewing pleasure.
In just five short months we have grown from the very humble idea between Grant and I in our seedy motel room in the suburbs of Sydney last August, to seemingly overnight having a blog covering local events and cars with over 1100 followers on Facebook and 1000’s of visitors each week.
Here is a quick look back on what Grip Shift Slide has done in 2011…
Five Months, One Hundred And Fifty Five Days… Thirty Photographs.

Pan Speed RX7 – World Time Attack, Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney.
Having a project like this has helped us meet some amazing people and gain access to some pretty incredible events, shooting at the World Time Attack is easily my favorite automotive experience. ( besides riding shotgun with Nigel late this year)

Jawsh Rogers S14 – Winton Raceway, Melbourne.
Shooting regular drift days has become a big social event. Each time I attend one, I seem to talk to someone new and find myself in an ever growing circle of friends.

Mad Mike’s Red Bull RX7 – Tectaloy Drift Challange, Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney.
I’ll never forget the haunting sound of Mike’s quad rotor screaming in the distance as it approached the first corner that night.

R32 GT-R – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
Along the way we have snapped some pretty interesting cars even just in the parking lots at some events.

Ken Block Australian Tour – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
Seeing some of the biggest names in the automotive world perform live was a huge buzz for us, to capture a moment like this makes it all worth while…
What with all the angry girlfriends, late nights, long drives and all the costs involved.
We still get a smile on our faces looking at these photos.

Australian Drifting Grand Prix, Round Two – Queensland Raceway, Queensland.
Sometimes we simply can’t afford the time off work or travel expenses, we thankfully have some very talented friends across the country.

Australian Drifting Grand Prix, Round Two – Queensland Raceway, Queensland.
Having someone else shoot for our blog was a little nerve racking at first, but sharing the love and workload was a great success with some absolutely top shots and event coverage.
We hope to have more friends involved next year to help bring more content and exclusive cars from interstate.

Tech Sport Evo X, Track Battle Round One – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
At each event we attend, we try and focus on getting that one shot, that shot that makes or breaks the whole day.
All these photos are our favorite shots and memories thrown together to make the whole year!

Agess’s 180SX, Australian Drifting Grand Prix Round One – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
We have witnessed some well deserved victories along the way, capturing a moment like this really shows just how much some of these guys want to win.

Papa’s 200SX, Australian Drifting Grand Prix Round One – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
It’s easy to forget that all theses people pour their blood, sweat, tears and heart and more often than not gain nothing in return.

KE30 Corolla, Classic Japan – Yarra Park, Melbourne.
Sometimes I would be taken out of my comfort zone taking photos of cars I hardly knew, to say this year has been a learning experience would be a massive understatement!

Ender’s S13, Drift Attack – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
A massive motivator has been finding our photos being linked and shared around the internet.

Stirling Wright’s R33, Drift Attack – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
The support we have been getting from fans, drivers and event organizers has been overwhelming at times.
Just a few months ago we were ‘no-bodies’.
Now we are ‘no-bodies’ with our stickers on some cars!

Nigel Petrie’s ETS UTE – Engineered To Slide Headquarters, Melbourne.
Having the chance to shoot one-on-one with such an awesome build was an extraordinary experience, seeing the craft that goes into such a build was out of this world. Particularly seeing that it was built in a not so extraordinary space made it feel like such an achievement.

JZX100 ‘Camry’ – Winton Raceway, Melbourne.
Trying to get a photo while an owner of a car looks on can be a little awkward at times, as most owners are pretty protective of their cars.

Hardtuned.net Charity Cruise – Docklands, Melbourne.
Holding a massive camera is a great conversation starter and helps when introducing yourself to the owner of a modified car, as approaching almost certainly offends.

JDM Style Tuning, End Of Year Meet – Docklands, Melbourne.
Every event we attend, we get the same sense of excitement looking for a car that catches our eyes.

Azza Bird’s 180SX – Winton Raceway, Melbourne.
We are a pretty determined bunch here at Grip Shift Slide, we don’t take “NO” for an answer…
Sometimes getting photos has required leaping of fences, trekking through vast valleys in the forrest or simply walking around a bloody huge track.

Rob Roy Hill Climb – Melbourne.
The year has brought us some interesting cars and racing events, with Rob Roy Hill Climb and Vic Rally being high on that list.
We never truly get to appreciate some of the classic cars doing what they’re built for… Driving really fast!

JDM Style Tuning, End Of Month Meet – Docklands, Melbourne.
Meeting owners and finding cars to feature has only been a recent development of our site, so far we have been met with open arms and met some very interesting people.

Q Scan’s GT-R – World Time Attack, Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney.
Seeing incoming traffic from countries all over the world has also put smiles on our faces, eagerly checking site stats early in the mornings before work.
It keeps us going through our boring 9-5 days at work, just so we can get home and edit some new photos.

Tom Monkhouse’s 180SX – Australian Drifting Grand Prix Round One, Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
Sending stickers across the country and occasionally the globe has kept us very busy offline, not only do we get a thrill seeing our stickers on a car but the small amount of profit helps us get to events and buy our camera gear. every cent helps!

Classic Japan – Yarra Bend Park, Melbourne.
Our Facebook page has been a massive success during our time online, with loads of fans eagerly checking each day.

Holden Hurricane – Autoclassica, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne.
We hope that flooding you guys with tons of pics from each event keeps you entertained between boring status updates, logging on and seeing the network of fans grow and comment as people tag each others cars has been a great thing for us to watch.

VW Scirocco – World Time Attack, Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney.
There hasn’t been a single dull moment working on the site, there is always something happening behind the scenes.

Pile Up #4, Hot Rod Show. Doncaster, Melbourne.
2012 will see the launch of our online shop, making it easier to grab stickers and future merchandise.

JDM Style Tuning, End Of Year Meet – Docklands, Melbourne.
Designing T-shirts is something we have been doing of late and hope to have something out early next year.

Rob Roy Hill Climb – Melbourne.
Onwards and upwards, we have our sights set on some big things next year and hope to become a household name when it comes to modified cars in Australia!

Nigel Petrie 180SX – Winton Raceway, Melbourne.
Definitely up on my list of people to thank for the year is Nigel, from the first time I spoke with him he always had a moment to chat.
Suited up in race gear and in uncomfortable warm weather he never seems a million miles away, happily chatting to fans and other drivers.
Without Nigel’s friendly and helpful nature, we would not have had such a great success with this site in the short time that it’s been online.
Thanks for all the help along the way, here’s to another great year of drifting in Australia.

Lotus Exige, Rob Roy Hill Climb – Melbourne.
We hope you have enjoyed looking at these photos as much as we enjoyed taking them.

Mitsubishi Evo VI, Calder Drags – Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne.
From everyone involved here at Grip Shift Slide thank you and have a safe and happy new year too!!
We’ll be back with a feature car or two in the first few weeks, until then…
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Vic Drift :: Last Bash For The Year

Grant — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:33:52 +0000

Vic Drift’s last members day of the year was a great catch up for old and new friends, I only managed to take photos in the earlier sessions but this left me with plenty of time to catch up with some of the guys…

Like Stirling Wright and his beast of an R33 Skyline up close, look at those teeth!

Comes complete with speed holes!! After a quick chat with Stirling I learned that the holes are necessary to vent all the smoke that ends up in his cabin mid drift. See here…
The car has tubes in the rear and this lets all the smoke in, Stirling has a few more tricks up his sleeves to help. He really isn’t fussed by all the smoke tho and enjoys the show it puts on.

Bryan Lambino of ‘Frush’ fame’s clean 200SX.

Waiting for track time

Matt Russlle’s new Sprinter, same chassis and same wheels but can it drift?

Yep!!

Polished wheels are my favorite wheel to take photos of, they always look incredible in an action shot.

It’s amazing how much angle Nigel’s 180SX can get in the seemingly straight sections.

One of the most dedicated looking drift cars I’ve seen in a long time.

KE Corollas are killing it at the moment, I really want to see some more at the track.

Two of the mad men in R33’s, having a bit of side by side synchronized sliding.

Nigel doing what he does best, I love how early he initiates his drifts.

Bryan getting some great angle first thing in the morning.

It’s amazing how much clearance these cars don’t have!

This Chaser is awesome, I couldn’t keep my eyes off it!

Very clean, not a massive fan of carbon wraps but this is a nice touch.

The “Camry” badge finishes it off!

Back out on the track this R33 was killing it, very consistent lines through the back section of Winton.

There was a couple of new cars I had never seen out, this 200SX was getting really good as i headed back into the pits.

Plenty of cars repping some “Frush” love, their site is coming soon so be sure to check it out!
http://www.frush.com.au/

A new car out on the track, Vas’s RX7 replacing his white 200SX. Loving it mate!

Love this photo, it’s like time has stopped!

Here is the track monster S13 again, really looking forward to seeing this car in some 2012’s competitions.

Stirling giving the thumbs up.

Drift Tek’s seem to be the wheel of choice for a heap of the street cars. i counted about 5 cars running them!

The early morning rain didn’t help keep the cars clean,

A massive plus to not taking photos in the afternoon meant that I could go for a ride with Nigel in his very quick 180SX.

This hand break gets quite the workout down the back straight of Winton!!

The last drift event in Victoria for the year was by far one of the most laid back I’ve been to, being a members only day it was really a big catchup/fair well before the year is out.
I hope you like the handful of pics, there’s a heap more on our Facebook page. check it out!

Can’t wait till next year kicks off, with events like Drift Matsuri and ADGP we have heaps to look forward too!

We still have plenty of things happening over the break, some more feature cars and a few meets coming your way!

Thanks for reading,
-Gwyn.

Winton Part 2 :: Going Sideways

Grant — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:40:16 +0000

The action at this weekends Vic Drift day was so good that we had to have two posts covering the day!
Here is my favorite shot of the day, Nigel Petrie tearing it up in his 180SX.

Nigel was not the only one in the A group performing well, Thomas Sabo in this R32 Skyline was an absolute monster on the track.

This white JZX100 Chaser driven by Nic Wilson was incredibly smooth on the track, getting very close to the R32 above during a few tandem sessions.

My pick of the day – I’m a sucker for a tiny Trueno AE86.

Especially when they are as clean as this black example.

Can you imagine if someone put a Honda fwd K20a motor and mounted it in an S13 and strapped a turbo charger to it?
Wait… they did! What an awesome machine and the sound was not what I was expecting, but my god it was tough.

This Black Sil80SX has so much character and presence, topped off by the fact it was the only car driven by a female on the day.
I have a huge amount of respect for Billie, way to go!

Here’s the A class boys getting nice and close.

Even the B group were trying their luck at some side by side action.

The rain made for some interesting grip conditions on the track, luckily drifting requires less grip so the drivers were loving it!

Until this happened… This brown R31 Skyline tried its best to avoid a grey 180SX that had spun out moments earlier.

The 180SX took the brunt of it, the drivers make it look so easy sometimes you forget drifting is actually pretty dangerous stuff.

As the day went on our stickers started popping up everywhere. A big thank you to all the drivers who grabbed one and slapped it on!

Nissan Silvia with a side exhaust, instant win!

By the middle of the day most cars had gone through a set of tyres. I think this car needed to head into the pits for a fresh set, check out the sparks!!

This S13 was a solid performer with great angles all day long!!

Billie at it again, seriously how good does this car look?!

I’m not going to lie, I like this 200SX a lot! Showing a lot of the A class boys how to do it.

Here’s the S15 with the side exhaust again, this thing was loud… really loud!

Some of the A class drivers weren’t all that far behind Nigel in terms of skill, thanks for chucking the sticker on Nic!

Amazing what fresh tyres can do.

While most people would have this clean 180SX Type X in the garage, this owner prefers to use it for some high speed fun.

Tuffcore boys out in force as always.

Including this Onevia, the driver is getting better and better every session. way to go Mikey!

Nigel getting ready for a wet lap, does that sound dirty?

This 180 had some steering issues after it came off the track rather suddenly. The Winton safety crew jumped in to action to get the show back on the road.

Full lock! Thanks for the sticker love Jawsh.

Operation smoke screen.

Plenty of girls representing team Tuffcore on the day, loving the gram lights on this Onevia.

Nigel’s beast looking just as good off the track.

It’s all business in here, Defi gauges, Nardi wheel and a massive gear stick!

One of my last shots of the day, Nigel really is one of the best drifters to come out of Victoria. Top job mate!
The skill level of the regulars attending Vic Drift events has improved so much I forgot it was just another practice day.Angles were more extreme and more drivers were going in for tandem action in the corners.
Thanks again for all the people rockin’ our stickers, was great to get some photos with ‘gripshiftslide.com’ on every second car.
Big thanks to Yoshi and the team at Vic Drift for another great day and of course all the Winton safety crew for working hard throughout the day to keep things on schedule.
Next stop… Drift GP!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Winton :: Wet 'n' Wild

Grant — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:36:13 +0000

The clouds rolled in and it rained! Then the weather decided to do a 180 and the cycle continued,
a great day for a drift practice..

Its an escort, you do not see these everyday. The mighty escort was back at winton again and pushing hard.

A sideways Hi-torque R33 was mixing it up on the track and looking good around a lot of new potential talent.

Entry class was full on, everyone was pushing their limits, some a little to far.

Did someone say professional? Pro class was totally dominated by Nigel from engineered to slide!

The chase was on! everyone wanted to mix it with nigel but he was to fast and too smooth.

Speed and angle, he had both !

The safety crew was kept busy all day with many guys breaking stuff and needing a tow.

Exhaust mounts who need them?

Many R31’s where out and about, and lovin it!

Splash goes the s15!

This guy did not want me to take photos of the tofu delivery vehicle.

Rain makes for better angle, the wet track made the intermediate drivers look like pros. Some where pulling of some amazing drifts.

p plater” with style, this guy looked really impressive the whole day and defiantly needs to move up a class.

Just Holding it on the edge of the road!

Tuffcore, enough said.

When it rained, it RAINED!

Best performance of the day, this guy started off not doing so well, but by the end he was hitting extreme angles like nigel and cuting sick all over the track with little to no errors.

Beached as bro!

The circuit was full the whole day.

Most photogenic car of the day!

The crowd was small, but spirits where high despite the rain.

Even up hill these cars where getting good speed.

The drifters kept lining up even after a long day when many of them had been up since the early hours of the morning.
It was a great day with lots of new talent and many different weather conditions. This Vic Drift practice day is a great lead up to the Australian Drift GP At Calder, we hope to see you all there!
– Grant

Random Snap :: Fire Breathing Skyline

Grant — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:07:55 +0000

It seems this R33 Skyline at Vic Drifts latest practice day had decided it wanted to be a dragon rather than a drift car.

This Skyline was shooting flames all day long, ripping up the track and leaving chasing drivers nervous.

The glow from underneath was the only sign this was not your average Skyline…

Stay tuned for next months Vic Drift event, the last chance for many drivers to get some practice in before the Australian Drift GP.
Held at Calder Park next month, it’s going to be huge!!!
See you guys and girls there.
– Gwyn

Vic Drift :: Practice Makes Perfect

Grant — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:44:34 +0000

Vic Drift held an open day at Winton Raceway over the weekend, with three classes of drivers and 30+ cars on the track. Things got a little out of hand at times…

The selection of cars was different to say the least, highlights included a Holden ute, Ford Falcon, WRX wagon and an old Mitsubishi Sigma. None performed quite as well as this full street trimmed Toyota Cresida .

The R31 Skylines were out in full force, with 5 examples on the track at any one time. None could match the smoke show that this green monster put on.

However this yellow Skyline was full of style, the car looked great dumped on steelies.

This grey Cefiro had a few mechanical problems early in the day, after lunch it was screaming through the corners sideways again. One of the loudest cars on the day!

The Team Tuffcore boys seemed to have a sticker on nearly every car. Although this Onevia was a little under powered, it still managed some serious angle.

This was the first outing for the Tuffcore R32, I will be keeping a close eye on this over the next few months. The owner, Nick seems to have caught a serious competitive bug in drifting motor sports.

Given the varying skill level of the drivers, spins seemed to be a common occurrence. Luckily the reaction time of drivers was fantastic and there were no major collisions.

The crowd was rewarded with a smoke screen after this S13 spun on the main straight.

The smoke show was soon topped by this Chasers spin in the last corner.

This little brown Sprinter reminded me just how hard these cars can be pushed.

Just look at the rear wheel!

One car suffered a serious oil leak, which meant the track had to be cleaned. Some boys from the crowd were more then happy to get some track time.

Not long after the clean up, the skid show was back on! I hope to see this s14 go up a class next drift day, the driver of this car pulled the best angles of the day!

Despite some questionable airbrushing on the bonnet… this car was a consistent performer.

The only Mazda on the day was getting some serious speed through the corners.

Finding some sweet vantage points around the track was a lot of work.

Sometimes the action got a little too close.

This was still moving pretty damn fast when i snapped this photo.

After a quick underwear change it was back to the cars. The sun was getting pretty low which made entries into the straight a little bit difficult for some drivers.

It was easy to forget I was watching a practice day, the speed and precision of some drivers was astounding.

Big fan of this Onevia, linking the corners better then some A class drivers.

This Chaser did great throughout the day, narrowly avoiding a smash later during some tandem action.

My “mad camera skills” were not enough to catch this tough Skyline spitting some descent flames from the exhaust, hopefully next time I’ll get a better spot in the M section of the track.

Another car rocking some Team Tuffcore sticker action, this 180sx was another strong performer.

With the sun setting fast, it was time to head back into the pits.

A truly impressive day of drift action. It was great to see performances from some relatively unknown drivers.
Given the level of driver skill, I have no doubt that some will end up as big names in the Australian drifting scene.
Keep your eyes peeled, we will be covering some of these cars in our feature section over the coming months.
Thanks for reading
– Gwyn.