Grass Roots Racing – Gripshiftslide

Toyota 86 Racing Series :: On Track Until 2020

Grant — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 11:13:54 +0000

Way back in 2016 Toyota hatched a plan to bring the world a fun one-make series with their legendary 86 model.
The aim is to foster the talent of young up and coming drivers who do not have the dollars to race the open-wheelers circuit.

So why was I on a plane headed to Sydney? Well Toyota had arranged a special day at Sydney Motorsport Park. Everyone who attended the event was secretly hoping that Toyota would surprise us with the new Supra!
Unfortunately our dreams were not realised…

The event centered around the announcement that the Toyota 86 Racing Series was being extended until 2020!
This was great news and all thanks to a gang-buster two year program that has exceeded Toyota’s expectations.

Toyota’s 86 Racing Series started with a bang! Quickly they established the series as one of the most exciting one-make racing series Australia has ever seen!

Since 2016 the Toyota 86 Racing Series has been developing bit by bit with incremental improvements to make this series the best it can possibly be.

The affordable, grassroots motorsport series will be extended to 18 scheduled races at six tracks in four states! That’s up from the 15 races scheduled in previous years.

Neal Bates was on hand to instruct on the day and help us motorsport journalists get around the track safely. Neal has been instrumental in the setup of the 86’s suspension, handling; and full package that the drivers receive when they purchase and enter the 86 Racing Series.

So where is the new 2019 Toyota 86 hiding? No Supra? No new 86 shape? I was still hoping that Toyota would have a surprise up their sleeve.

For those who have already been racing for the last two years there is going to be no car update going forward until 2020. Toyota has confirmed that they will be staying with the 2016 shape and platform to lower the cost for entrants while keeping the playing field even.

Minor changes have been made for the 2018 season. These include a change to a Dunlop tyre that will give the cars more grip over longer races. The previous tyre they were using tended to fade quiet fast.

The other minor change is adjustable rear camber. This change was made to stop competitors complaining that some drivers seemed to have more rear camber than others.

This changes should help even up the racing and make the action even more intense! As with last year there are a host of guest drivers to keep the young ones on their toes.

These include drivers like Jonathan Webb, Leanne Tander, Warren Luff, Steve Owen and rising star Harry Bates.

This racing action will make your palms sweaty and may even give you flashbacks of the original v8 Brutes Series. One thing is for sure the racing is aggressive and fast paced.

The 2018 action starts on April 20-22 at Phillip Island and then they are off to Townsville in July. Yet the most exciting event, apart from Mount Panorama, is the awesome new race track in South Australia. This will be held at the Bend Motorsport Park at Tailem Bend in August.

The series prize pool has been increased to $150,000 with competitors finishing the year from fourth to eighth places also now sharing in the cash.

The top three will continue to receive $50,000, $30,000, and $15,000 respectively.

There are rumors on the grape vine that Toyota are running the 86 Racing Series until 2020 because that is when they may be introducing the new Toyota 86 to the world; but we will have to wait and see if this is true.

Along with the experience of driving the Racing 86 around Sydney Motorsport Park we were also given the opportunity to have some fun on the skid pan with the new 2018 86 GTS.

The Toyota 86 is truly the do anything car! Great as a daily and great on the track! It is the best choice for this one of a kind one-make series.

If you want to see more 86 Racing action make sure you keep an eye on Toyota Racing Australia for updates.
We can’t thank Toyota enough for giving us the opportunity to experience the 86 Racing Series first hand on the official 2018 press and media day for the 2018 86 Racing Series.
2018 Toyota 86 Racing Series race dates:
April 20-22 – Phillip Island
July 6-8 – Townsville
August 24-26 — Bend Motorsport Park
September 14-16 – Sandown
October 4-7 – Mount Panorama
November 23-25 – Newcastle
Thanks for reading,
Grant

Honda Nationals 2013 :: The Power Of Dreams

Grant — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:47:27 +0000

When it comes to Honda owners they’re usually considered the ‘black sheep’ of the car community and often shunned by other modified car owners for being too extreme with their love for all things Honda and their endless ramblings about the benefits of that magical thing known as VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control).

So what happens when you invite all of these fanatics to one race track in regional Victoria located close to the NSW boarder? You get some of the most intense Honda build this country has to offer, some 110db of ear piercing, valve bouncing, limiter bashing adrenaline and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet at a racetrack!

The idea was simple, enthusiasts getting together for a once a year occurrence to celebrate all things Honda!
Winton was the racecourse of choice for it’s unique ability to cater for both novice and professional drivers alike, with very wide corners it is a forgiving track to learn on but allows those determined for fast lap times to follow a precise ‘racing line’ and see some blisteringly quick lap times!
The BYP Integra was the defending champion from previous years of the Honda National series (2011-2012).

The reigning champ was the car to beat with one of the best setup packages for time attack racing, just earlier that month the BYP crew set a new record for front wheel drives at Winton. The team won the Vic Time Attack series with an astonishing lap time of just 1:26.8670!!!
All things were looking good for the team to record some similar numbers, here the Integra is treated to a quick bath before it hit the track.

Before any racing could happen everyone was called on for a quick but informative drivers briefing.

It was great to see so many people racing for the first time, so meetings like this are a must so that the safety of other drivers and of course those precious cars are always maintained.

Drivers were also allowed to request an instructor for the first session so they had all the tools they needed to set some new personal bests which is what the day is all about really.

After the meeting it was time to walk the pits, first up we spotted a favorite of ours. This little EP3 Civic is always head turner and it’s always a pleasure to see another sticker of ours on a car!

Another Civic that gets our hearts racing is Trevor’s pocket rocket ED Civic, expect more on Trevor and his Civic that could soon!

Vyet’s S2000 is a simply car that crosses the boundary’s of street, track and show car all in one perfectly executed package. We have nothing praise for his car and his dedication to enjoying it to the fullest!
This was one of three cars representing Melbourne based Time Attack crew Nakama, these cars are all about looking great, driving fast and not holding back.

While not as polished or refined as Vyet’s S2000 this is another Melbourne based car that always has our attention, in fact we sometimes prefer the ‘driven hard’ look.
Brake dust, chipped paint and big thick slick tyres are a must!!

Inside is much the same affair, plenty of practicality and yet it’s still full of quality parts is perfectly functional.

The track was beginning to warm up after soaking up the morning sun so it was now or never for 60+ Honda’s to hit the tarmac!

To keep the amount of cars on track manageable, cars/drivers were grouped based on modifications and then moved accordingly based on their skill level to make sure there wasn’t an excessive amount of overtaking etc.

Some of the drivers took full advantage of the instructors on offer, here Pboi decided Elmo from Sesame Street was the best bet for chasing those few seconds of his PB!

Things didn’t take long to get serious, after just a few laps we started to hear that all too familiar sound of Honda’s on full throttle around Winton.

Just a few short laps into the first session for some of the serious cars, Michael Hack’s EM1 began blowing a small amount of smoke.
Unaware in the cabin Michael kept pushing eventually coming off the track slightly causing his control arms to bump into an already lose oil fitting as a result the oil pressure dropped suddenly sending alarm bells ringing and Mike pulled off track immediately!

After a tow back to the pits a later inspection found the source of the problem and everything was corrected and the oil was again re-filled.
Even though Michael had the green light to go back out it was hard to regain the trust in the car and push it to the limit, after all the last thing he wanted to do was drop more oil and ruin it for everyone.

We took advantage of Michael’s down time between session and filmed a quick interview which we will be cutting together and releasing soon so keep your eye’s peeled for that!

David Napoleon is young driver chasing his dreams, his car is rumored to have it’s duties soon restricted to track use only as his build gets more serious.
We eagerly watching as he continually beats his best lap times track day after track day. So far for Winton David’s tracking a 1:42.0350 with room for improvement as the car progresses to all out track spec.

Believe it or not David actually drive this EP3 Civic every day exactly as you see it here, wing, stickers and all!!

Another EP3 setting some quick time was Chris’s ‘JDMCVC’ with a 1:41.1030.

We also got to see one of our previous feature cars out on track, it was of course Nity’s K20 swapped FD Civic!
You can check out the full feature here >> http://gripshiftslide.com/2012/01/11/double-ks-problems/

The great thing about a track day such as this is that it really didn’t matter what you were driving as long as you had fun out there!!
From stiff setup suspension…

To not so ideal factory shocks/springs, Honda did get the combination right for street driving and occasional track use though. This Type R Integra broke past the 1:50 mark with a fast lap of 1:47.3180!

It was great to see this bright yellow CRX mixing it up with the big boys out on track, this little car is a testament that setup is everything!
No engine swaps here just great suspension tuning and maintenance saw a quick time of 1:42.8340!

All eyes were on BYP and their Integra after setting a blistering time of 1:26 just a few week earlier for Vic Time Attack series.
The car did experience some gearbox issues so the car was retired early but did the team manage to set a fast enough lap to take home the win? Only time would tell!!

Half way through the day there was some issues with the tracks surface after this drop dead gorgeous S2000 unloaded a considerable amount of oil on the track, luckily the car made it back to the pits without any major mechanical issues.
However there was plenty of down time while everyone pitched in to clean up the slippery surface.

In the the extended break it was time for everyone to check over their cars, fluids, tyre pressure etc.

We did a full lap of the pits to see how the cars were going cooling off in the breeze. Michael’s Autosphere K24 swapped DC5 was looking suspiciously clean after a few sessions although we expect he was setting a good example and not driving too hard given that when he wasn’t behind the wheel he was busy overseeing that everything was going to plan, so who says you can’t run an event and race at the same time?!

This Integra was sporting a JDM front conversion and looked the part but something was not going to plan, the car just couldn’t get a full session in. We’re keen to see it progress in the future as it looked great when it was out on track!

Further up the pits the JDMyard team from Sydney had stopped to refuel both the car and their team.

The boys from JDMyard sure know how to build a quick car, this DC5 is their latest creation and no expense has been spared!!

Inside it’s all business with an intense shifter kit, Mugen steering wheel and carbon panels to block up any holes in the dash.

Everyone was excited to see what the NSW’s based team could muster out of their monstrous looking DC5 race car.

The team managed to coax a 1:33.3770 which landed themselves 2nd fastest outright and fastest N/A powered car of the day!!

It wasn’t all workshop builds that had us impressed, check out this immaculate S2000 with an engine bay full of make fast bits and a level of cleanliness that is boarding on obsessive.

We’re used to drift days here at Winton but looking around the pits every car was loved, there were no ‘track hacks’ here every car was treated well…

…Some more so than others, Pboi’s S2000 remand off the track after the oil spill incident, so we just got more time to drool over it.

By now the oil had really been soaked up so it was now time for many to try for that last chance at a quick lap time for the day.

Michael had regained his motivation and headed out once again after the oil fitting issue he had in his first session.

Despite giving it all he had Michael still didn’t manage to beat his PB of 1:36.3, he was still a few seconds shy but he knows the car has plenty more in it as his old PB was set with only 70% throttle!!
With brands like Hybrid Racing on board helping him out, it won’t be long till we see Michael at the top of the score board!!

Lap after lap we saw some very quick passes through the front straight of the course so we were really excited to see the leader board, did BYP do enough before their gearbox gave out??

Our favorite S2000 scored 4th fastest of the day with a blistering 1:36.0440! Well done Vyet!!

So did BYP break their previous record lap of just 1:26.8670??… No, the car had suffered and the gearbox gave out but they managed to cling onto the number one spot with a much more conservative time of 1:31.3800.
With two seconds between them and the JDMyard DC5 which is still an impressive feet though no new records were set.
All in all this was one of the best track days we have been to, with much the same vibe as one of the locally run EXE Crew track days the event was a huge success and a great spectacle even if you weren’t a die hard Honda fan.
The organisers really showed us what a track day should be and we hope that the event gains more popularity in the years to come as we had an absolute ball and who knows… Maybe next time we’ll be driving!!
A big thank you for the warm welcome we received from everyone and of course all the sponsors and volunteers, without you this event couldn’t have happened.
Full results can be found here >>> http://racing.natsoft.com.au/
For more info and post event details check out the H Nationals Face book page >>> https://www.facebook.com/HNationals
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.