dca – Gripshiftslide

DCA :: King Of The Hill

Grant — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 07:04:11 +0000

Drift Challenge Australia has done it! The first official drift event held on public roads. In the beautiful town of Mt Gambier, South Australia an event was about to take place like no other!
One that would leave a mark while also opening up new possibilities in the world of drift.

Luke Fink has picked one of the most stunning venues to hold a street drift competition. Lake Valley is located just next to a well known tourist spot that is a crater from a volcano “Blue Lake.” It is such a cool location with the lake just near the pits and lookouts right around the venue.

With a full three days of drifting on the hill spectators and the town of Mt Gambier had a great opportunity to see drifting for the first time in this area.

I arrived on the Saturday morning to find many cars in disrepair. With the track opening soon I was surprised that these cars were not being worked on. Kris Griffith had blown an engine on the Friday and was planing to do a full engine swap after drivers briefing! Remarkably he knocked it out of the park completing the job within four hours and was drifting the car just after lunch.

Stewy Bryant had a radiator leak in his green Cefiro on the Friday and spent the early morning re-installing the fixed radiator for Yoshinori to drive. Yoshinori heard that Luke Fink was running a street drift competition and he instantly booked a flight from Japan to come and compete against Australia’s best drifters.

Just like Initial D or an Option touge battle streams of highly modified Japanese cars were carving their way through the dense forest.

In the morning briefing drivers were instructed to not use their handbrake. The judges wanted to see full commitment with wide lines into the clipping points to allow the chase driver to get on door during the battles.

With drift practice on the Friday, qualifying on the Saturday and the main competition on the Sunday this gave drivers plenty of time to get used to the track.

The track conditions quickly started to change with light rain at first making the track really slippery. The one driver that was not fazed by the weather conditions was the local bus driver!

That’s right; along with 500kw monsters going sideways down the hill was the local bus route. Every thirty minutes the track action would stop to let a bus through; this is something I have never seen before and may never see again on a track.

The technical layout of this street course combined an up hill section with a steep down hill into the largest corner of the layout at the end of the track. The elevation changes and the tight track all combined to create a drift course that requires full commitment from the driver. Any mistakes and a driver could see himself bouncing rail to rail bumper bowling his way down the hill.

Bus loads of people kept arriving despite the rain as nobody was going to miss the wet and wild action. Many drivers struggled in the wet weather condition not being able to get traction. Not being able to get into third gear meant that a lot of drivers had to stick to ringing out second gear.

After light rain and a brief bit of sun it suddenly poured down for the next 3 hours. The on track action had to be stopped for an hour so the flash flooding could drain off the track; just like the cricket we had to wait for the pitch to dry up.

Lots of media had turned out to see Australia’s first street drift event! The small army of orange vests i.e. the media could be seen recording every moment and when their real cameras ran out of batteries they resorted to using their phones, not wanting to miss a second of the action.

Despite being told not to use their handbrakes the drivers were forced to use them, because of the weather and track conditions, just so they could get around the track safely.

By Sunday the weather had cleared up and it was business as usual. With the grip returning to the track the divers started to get comfortable and more confident as the day wore on.

With so many of Australia’s biggest names in drift fighting it out for a position in the top 32 it was hard to pick the top qualifier of the day. Many great drivers where knocked out of contention. Those who adapted to the ever changing track conditions found a spot in the top 32 with Blake Patterson taking the 1st place in qualifying.

A short practice season in the morning allowed the drivers to hone their skills before they were paired up in the battle tree for the top 32 competition.

The special guest driver for this round of DCA was Shinji Minowa. He is a well known driver from D1GP driving for TEAM POTENZA. We thank him for coming all the way from Japan to help make Drift Challenge Australia a memorable event.

For DCA Jason Ferron installed another turbo with a smaller front housing and larger exit. With a quick re-tune thanks to Chequered Tuning Jason was able to lift his torque and response which made a good difference against some of the best drifters in Australia.

Putting it all on the line takes a special breed of driver. One that is not afraid to sacrifice everything to get their hand raised and to step on the podium.

In typical DCA fashion every driver turned it up to 11! Sunday saw top 32 battles like no other! Luke Fink was literally screaming on the microphone in excitement because of the close intensity of the top 32 battles.

As the intensity of the competition rose the drivers started to suffer under the immense pressure causing numerous spins and unforced errors leaving some drivers with copious amounts of damage.

Two of our local heroes from Vic Drift were up against each other in one of the first battles. Jason Ferron and Moe Elhaouli really pushed the limits. Jason Ferron after qualifying 13th fought his way through mutable re-runs advancing himself all the way to the top 8. There were no easy battles!

A drivers performance tends to change under the pressure of competition. Those who drive well in practice often do not make it to the top 8. The Top 16 battles really shake the field apart until all that is left are four of the most talented drivers of the day.

It really all comes down to the final battle on the final day of competition. Who can keep up the concentration and focus to take the win.

In the end it came down to Joel Donegan and Blake Patterson. The days driving had taken a toll on both cars with Joel’s suffering from gearbox issues leaving him only with 2nd gear to compete in the final battle for 1st.

Blake Patterson was the undeniable winner of DCA- King Of The Hill! he qualified first and continued his amazing form the entire weekend.

After the victory burnouts there was enough time for a final expression session. This is where all the drivers are invited to use up there remaining tyres and go wild for the crowd.

Running drift trains of up to ten cars was really an amazing sight! To say this event was a success is an understatement. Luke Fink has proven time and time again if you bring the best drivers you get the best competition! He continues to break new ground in the drift community bringing a breath of fresh air to a sport that has needed a shake up for a long time.
Thanks for reading,
-Grant

DCA :: Walls festival

Grant — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 09:09:10 +0000

They say practice makes perfect! Although when the track layout gets changed and new obstacles get introduced things get interesting. Drift Challenge Australia was back again to take over the Thunderdome! With big names like Matt Field, Chelsea Denofa and a host of Australia’s best drivers. Luke Fink has taken DCA all over Australia and the brand is starting to gain momentum with help from our friends at Vicdrift DCA is really starting to pull bigger crowds.

The Elhaouli brothers sitting eagerly on the start line were ready to take on the interstate competition and defend victoria against the foreign invaders. Coming off the back of a win at the Jamboree drift competition at this very track was Moe Elhaouli in his newly refreshed V8 Rocket Bunny S13.

The track started to get dirty very early in the day with plenty of cars off due the technical track layout. The clipping points on the track were set rather high to increase the driver’s angles but many drivers had trouble carrying enough speed into the higher parts of the corner to really hit the clipping zones.

As the day wore on the drivers got more confident and comfortable with the track layout running full drift trains with low and high powered cars!

Thomas Sabo is no stranger to drift competitions, regularly attending VicDrift events throughout the year and placing well in many events.

Passengers are a big feature of dca its the only event that allows and encourages passengers to ride along during qualifying. They not only get to see the track up close but they also get to see the drivers at work.

Unfortunately the only real high speed section of this DCA layout was the initial back section. From the start line up the bank and down into the first corner was the fastest part of this track layout.

Amongst the various cars entered into Wall’s Festival there was one that stuck out of the pack, Katie’s carbon fibre 180sx with its sneaky SR20DET.

The raw gloss Carbon fibre look is really aggressive! Not the type of car you would expect a lady to be driving.

From up high on the bank you could see one of the major clipping points, many drivers found it hard to push right up to the fence and get inside the zone.

For such a challenging layout there were not that many incidents. Until the drivers got too confident and some even launched and mounted on the last corner barrier.

Going three deep into the finish line right in front of the crowd! With our driver Jason Ferron heading up the back of the train! Just like synchronized swimming everything has to be on point to pull off this massive feet.

Transport problem solved! no more walking! these classic Honda pocket bikes were awesome! Later in the day I saw them dragging each other in the car park for bragging rights.

What is an old Ma60 Supra doing driftting? Good question! this is not your average Supra! It is more a hybrid fordyota! Inside you will find a Falcon straight six with a massive turbo hanging off the side.

The Supra had so much torque that it launched its rear end into a barrier! Losing its big wing which meant no track time for an hour or two while they fixed the damage and got the car back on track. This car had traveled a long way to be here and was not going to end its day after one hit! He is one of many Tasmanians that made the trip out to DCA.

Luke Mudde is just 1 of many south ozzys at Walls Festival, his car is looking as good as it had on the very first round of DCA.

Michael ‘PROZ’ Prosenik had come straight off the plane from NZ to compete in DCA. Known as the Potato! Prosenik’s practice car was called into battle as Dazza his competition car is still in NZ.

In the same way a lion chases a gazelle Stewey Bryant chases his prey! As the prey is pushing its limits, making mistakes Stewey is gaining distance and proximity.

Ripped out of place only the wire remains! With no night drift happening tail lights were not really needed.
Qualifying pulled all the drivers into order with our local hero scoring the top position.
1 – Michael Prosenik
2 – Matt Harvey
3 – Josh Robinson
4 – Stewy Bryant
5 – Tom Sabo

Saint Side had a custom show bike show down near the pits. The quality of the bike builds were unbelieveable! from Rat style to Bling there was something for everybody.

Only a concrete barrier separates the drivers from finishing and returning their runs. This is such a great setup because the crowd gets to see all of the action in one spot.

Great to see the fans supporting us! at one of the events we most enjoy! if you like the look of these snapbacks you can get them from our online store.

Wisefab has really made the impossible possible by creating the ability to get more steering lock where there hasn’t been before.

The proof is in the pudding, this s15 was hitting angles a lot harder than many other cars on track with its impressive Wise Fab setup.

Matt Harvey ended up being the winner of walls festival, the boy has skills! take a look how close he is to the wall without any real damage.

With a great crowd and plenty of action Justin Gruener took out the $500 venue voucher for the Watergardens Hotel 60 Minutes to Win it!

This was the last round of the current 2015 DCA Championship. We look forward to seeing the 2016 season for DCA and we know there are bigger and better things on the horizon for this new drift promotion.
2015 Championship Results.
1st place Thomas Sabo
2nd place Brodie Moore
3rd place Stewy Bryant
Final Round Results
1st Matt Harvey
2nd Chelsea DeNofa
3rd Luke Broadbent
Thanks for reading,
Grant

DCA : The dome, round 3

Grant — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:28:04 +0000

DCA has been making its’ way around the country and has finally landed in Victoria. Everyone was excited to see Drift challenge Australia at the dome. And after seeing DCA at Raliegh raceway earlier in the year, I had some idea of what to expect.

There was a considerable line to get in to Calder Park, despite the early morning start. Once through the gates, the drivers scrambled to roll their cars off in time for the drivers briefing. The infamous battle master Stewy Byant had made the long tip to Victoria and was looking fresh, even if the car wasn’t.

Peering in through the window, I spotted a monster tacho along with many other gauges… but no speedo? This worried me! What kind of badasses were we dealing with? With lots of interstate drivers competing at the event, the mix of cars was inspiring to say the least.

Chelsea DeNofa, a well know Formula Drift driver from the United States, was the special international guest at round 3. This was the first time Chelsea had seen the car he was driving and he was a little underwhelmed with it.

In all the events that have been held at Calder Park Thunder Dome, never have I seen such an unconventional track layout. At first I was shocked, then confused, but once I saw a few cars run the track, it quickly grew on me! It was not the conventional FD Asia / ADGP layout we are all used to, it was something new with components of old track layouts

Simon Michelmore is never one to shy away from competition. This weekend he was driving his backup car, the R33 Skyline as his competition car was getting a much needed overhaul.

Luke Broadbent’s Nissan Cefiro is never short on power thanks to his super committed pit crew. Luke is a strong performer and he has the talent and car to take him to the top.

A surprise number one qualifier was Warick Fitzgerald in his giant sleighing turbo mx5. He stunned the judges with the most perfect run of Saturdays’ practice. He also won a $250 voucher to Cartel Online for winning qualifying.

A great thing about DCA is the fact that passengers get to ride all day long, even during battles! This is good for the passenger and the balanced weight factor.

Shaun Gilbert is one experienced driver who has driven all over the world. Here you can see him battling Luke Mudde for a spot in the top 16.

Shaun has not lost any confidence since a recent crash at Ebisu Japan, where he flipped his car and ended up knocked out for 4 minutes. He is a true warrior, with so many epic battles over the weekend – he has to be one of the best chase car performers of the weekend.

Tearing it up in your street car is what DCA is all about! Fun drifting – with no bullshit pressure.

The top 16 battles where hectic! And with so much talent and so many big names, one star was sure to fall. The unfortunate driver to make the mistake was Matt Russell in his mighty 86 up against a Cefiro that had at least twice the power of the 86.

Two of the best and most exciting drivers of the weekend had to be Simon and Stewy. Always on the edge, with full commitment and plenty of flare! This pair know how to entertain the crowd whilst managing to look cool.

The Calder Park Thunderdome can be very unforgiving and running too low here can cause all sorts of problems because of elevation changes. Yet we have never seen an ecu loom jump out and get chewed before. This little mishap caused Simon most of Saturdays’ track time! Rewiring an ecu loom is no easy feat.

Guest driver Chelsea DeNofa learned quickly to drive on the right side whilst driving a foreign car and if that’s not enough, he also had to deal with a crazy tight track layout.

Chelsea’s skills where evident! With top level hair splitting accuracy, he was involved in many drift trains and epic battles over the weekend – he soon mastered the track.

With enough power to launch a satellite into orbit, Michael Bony created artificial clouds all day long! He didn’t impress the judges though, hitting clipping points while keeping things smooth is what the judges where looking for, not a power display.

Our man Jason Ferron was out in his trusty R31. Having competed in every DCA round so far, Jason knew what to expect. But the unexpected happened! The welds broke on his diff centre, which meant he had to qualify in Justin Stocker’s rb25 Cefiro. After qualifying, Jason luckily got his mate to retrieve a minispool from Jason’s house. The car was repaired in time for his battle against Denofa, in which Jason spun on the lead lap loosing him the battle. This will be the last time we will get to see the old blue R31 as Jason is upgrading to a wagon and we cannot wait to see him back on track.

Ensuing carnage where ever he went, Johnny from Manic Racing sure knew how to get the crowd going! Not qualifying on the Saturday because of car dramas really didn’t hurt his enthusiasm on track.

On Sunday he was out again being crazy and putting paint on every wall! Johnny literately drove the wheels of his R34 Skyline, putting everything on the line, pushing all the boundary’s and smashing a new shape into the car.

Mitchell Sanders after staring out in the ke70 and not being able to make it work the way he wanted, cracked it and told organisers that he would be late for qualifying. He went and did a 2 hour round trip to pick up the cClica that had sitting on his front lawn, untouched since driving it back from DCA round 2. Once back at Calder Park, Mitchell changed tyres, fluids and the car felt better than it ever had! After putting down a few laps to get a handle on the layout, it was time to put down a qualifying run. The run was good enough for 14th place and a top 32 against Aaron Dewar, which he went on to win before being defeated by Jordan Graham in the top 16.

There was plenty of action on and off the track. The crowd on Sunday was a lot bigger than the crowd on Saturday, yet the action was equally good on both days. The harsh drop off on the dome was damaging all the cars, especially people who hit it on weird angles, they were bending tie rods, snapping wheels and bottoming out suspension.
Below are a few sample videos of what it looked like to drift the dome at DCA.

http://photos.gripshiftslide.com/uploads/2012/02/2014/11/dca_train_1.mp4

Chasing Warick Fitzgerald within the drift train.

http://photos.gripshiftslide.com/uploads/2012/02/2014/11/dca_train_2.mp4

On board with Warick Fitzgerald.

http://photos.gripshiftslide.com/uploads/2012/02/2014/11/dca_train_3.mp4

The view from the middle of the track.

These are your top drivers for round three.
1st Chelsea DeNofa
2nd Josh Robinson
3rd Moe Elhaouli
4th Jordan Graham
Round 4 is set to be one hell of an event with the promise of Ryan Tuerck as the special international guest. Drift Challenge Australia is really bringing the best drifters together into one competition. Luke Fink should be very proud of what he has created in his first year and we know it is only set to get bigger and better.
Thanks for reading,
Grant

Drift Challenge Australia Round 1 :: Raleigh Raceway

Grant — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 08:16:43 +0000

One of the most anticipated events of this year was Drift Challenge Australia Round 1. The brain child of a very well known drifter, Luke Fink, had promised a new style of drift championship. One that does not revolve around money and brands. A competition that is not full of uptight sponsor pressure. One that is fun, exciting, full of close battles, and amazing driver style.

After a 15 hour drive from Victoria I found myself at Raleigh Raceway, NSW. The cows that lived next to the race track didn’t want me to sleep much so I was awake to hear the first car trailer roll in.

As soon as I got in the gate I didn’t waste any time and quickly surveyed the cars that were competing. I was amazed when I came across this piece of history! Probably one of the only surviving cars from the hay day of Australian drift.

A rocker cover that almost looked like a beating heart stood out amongst the crowd. This mighty Nissan was ready to take on the best in the country. This was just a small taste of what was in store for the first day of DCA round #1.

Hidden up the back of the pits stood two very competitive cars that not only looked great basking in the morning sun but also performed at the highest level.

The quality of cars on show was absolutely amazing! Good diversity with style, presence, and character. Did someone say dish?

Briefing was held not in a special room with a fancy whiteboard but instead outside in the open air. The open briefing format allowed for everybody to take part and get involved. Using a tray of a ute for a platform Luke delivered the rules and the expectations for the day.

After briefing was over it was time to get on the track for the first practice season. A dummy grid was quickly formed as everyone was eager to get onto Raleigh Raceway and test out this go-kart track.

With all cars on track it was tine to see what Australia’s most talented drifters could do. All eyes were on track as the crowd built to watch what would be one of the most epic events held in Australia.

From the get go the practice battles were incredibly close. Our boy Jason Ferron took to the track like he had driven it many times. The course starts off tight and low speed then opens to a long straight into a nice sweeping corner.

The track then continues into a longer straight and into two very tight twisting corners that change levels rapidly. This level change combined with a high speed entry added a real complexity to the track.

Surprisingly there were not many car failures for the amount of cars on track. This is testament to the professionalism and preparation of these great drivers.

Before competition had started there was door on door action and the crowd was getting top level battles with no bullshit.

A huge practice session soon followed by the 60 minute to win it comp took up the majority of the first day.

This Nissan Cefiro, driven by Luke Broadbent, was sporting a new look with some Bliss n Eso inspired graphics along with a power plant that many Nissans seem to be adopting lately. V8s in general are the new go to engine in Australia and all around the drift world.

The crowd had a fantastic viewing platform on the side of the hill that overlooks the entire track. Some were even lucky enough to score a couch and have a comfy spot to absorb the action.

One of the cars that really impressed me was the Soarer of Jason Davis that was consistent with great angle. Getting a large car like this around a tight track is no easy feat although Jason managed to make it look easy.

The top 32 was being decided by the judges siting only 15 metres from the most complicated part of the track. They also doubled as commentators for the event giving encouragement and entertaining the crowd with their tongue in cheek commentary.

Jordan Graham in his bullet proof Sr20 powered weapon really performed well on the first day of competition and found himself qualifying in the top 32.

Leigh Pidwell was another driver that really impressed me. He was really the first person to try big entries on the twisty downhill section of the track. He did not stick all of the crazy high speed reverse entries but it inspired others to go big. Unfortunately as exciting as his driving was he spun on his qualifying laps and did not make it into the top 32. I wish there was a wild card entry into the final four because he is one driver that could out battle most pros.

Catherine May was the only Victorian who managed to qualify. Talk about stepping up! Catherine beat three very seasoned Victorian competitors to the spot. She has reached a whole new level with her driving and soon her name will be up in lights like Kelly Wong.

Day 2 bought with it even more sunshine plus a few competitors that had been absent on Saturday because of stadium drift. Now that the drivers knew the track it was time for them to really push the boundaries.

Big wings are made to hold window banners that’s why they are an essential part of drift. While one part of the track was in the sun on the other side in the pits the cars were looking very cold.

Like a purple box of explosions this RB26 is looking the business.

Shaun Gilbert has a unique driving style that sets him apart from the rest of the field. Why you may ask? Well Shaun was driving the smallest car of the day and that meant he was able to get real close real quick. He was faster in the corners, while being very good at emulation and transitioning at speed. Not to mention doing all of this while hitting the correct clipping points.

The real star of the entire weekend was Naoki Nakamura. With every lap he just kept getting better and better. Nailing reverse entries and out battling everyone whilst looking like he wasn’t breaking a sweat! All whilst driving in Crocs.

Both Shaun and Stewy showed what DCA is truly about with serious close battles and plenty of flair. Re-run after re-run there was nothing between them. The judges could not believe how consistent their battles were with not one of them making any real mistakes. Stewy was lucky enough to come away with the win against Shaun.

The team drift competition was won by Naoki Nakamura and Miki Yabuuchi. Team secret drift almost took the prize but the Japanese duo was too strong with steady door on door performance every run.

Naoki Nakamura was the real hero of the weekend. He won his way to the top of the 32 drivers who qualified. Winning every battle with ease and with a car that was under-powered compared to the rest of the field. A real crowd pleaser with a style that no Australian could emulate. The only one who came close was the wild man Stewy Bryant who came a close second place.

After the main competition was over the drifting continued long into the fading light of the sunset. Even the judges of the competition got to drive on the track along with some of the organisers.

As first events go this was a success! Amazing atmosphere, no bullshit, and great driving. With several rounds planned for the rest of the year this series is going to be one hell of a spectacle.
If you want to see what this event looked like in moving pictures check out our video of the event.https://vimeo.com/100406521
If you want more info then check out the official Facebook page: Drift Challenge Australia
Thanks for reading,
Grant.
Final results of round #1
POS NAME STATE PTS
1 Naoki Nakamura JAP 110
2 Stewy Bryant SA 93
3 Shaun Gilbert NSW 86
4 Josh Hayward SA 79
5 Brad Green NSW 72
6 Steve Pembrey ACT 69
7 Samuel Ocvirk NSW 66
8 Trav Roberts QLD 63
9 Blake Peterson NSW 58
10 Christian Pickering SA 55
11 Josh Lewis NSW 52
12 Nick Coulson QLD 49
13 Todd Waldon QLD 46
14 Jay Duca SA 43
15 Dale Johnson NSW 40
16 Simon Michelmore SA 37
17 Grant Scott QLD 33
18 Jordan Graham SA 32
19 Sam Fulcher QLD 31
20 Nick Romboutts QLD 30
21 Jay Dimmach QLD 29
22 Mitch Sutton NSW 28
23 Mat Huxley NSW 27
24 Catherine May VIC 26
25 Justin Grimley NSW 25
26 James Morrison NSW 24
27 Jason Davis QLD 23
28 Kugan G NSW 22
29 Tim Johnson QLD 21
30 Dylan Roberts NSW 20
31 Angus Kidd NSW 19
32 Mitch Mahaffey NSW 18