Ender Esenyel – Gripshiftslide

ADGP Round 3 :: Sydney Motorsport Park

Grant — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 05:57:44 +0000

Round three of the Australian Drift Grand Prix was set to be a very interesting round in the series after a not so predictable 2nd round in Western Australia.
The last round saw some fresh names on the podium at the end of the day, Matt Harvey took 1st, Victoria’s own Matt Russel taking 2nd and Dale Campaign scored 3rd.
So coming into the third round the championship points weren’t in anyone’s favor so all the drivers were going to be pushing their cars and their abilities to the absolute limit!!

The drivers are split into two classes, state and national. Those in state can try and earn their place into the national series which is usually reserved for those competing in all 4 rounds.
The schedule remains the same as any other round, one full day of qualifying and then a full day of competition.

Both days were scorchers with temps in the high 30’s the cars and spectators were feeling the effects of the sun all weekend long.

This was going to be an exciting round for us as we were cheering on our very own Jason Ferron who has become quite the wild card with some fantastic battles under his belt.

With every drift event held in Sydney there is always a heap of local talent present track side, something must be in the water here because they always have the best looking drift cars in the country.

Simon Michelmore was one to keep your eyes on with a fresh build completed in a new shell his S14 should be more competitive than ever!

The usual suspects of the national series during the drivers briefing.

Ryan ‘Slide’ Cummings is easily one of the best looking cars around.

With his fare share of mechanical miss-haps in the last 12 months we were hoping Ryan would finally have his day.

With last minute prep complete the drivers got ready for the practice sessions followed by qualifying.

Jarrad Klingberg took out the number 1 qualifier not only in his state class but was the highest score of the day beating Insane Drifters Agges by just 1 point!!

Agges put down one of the cleanest qualifying laps we seen in the competition. Here’s a video of the very solid run. Click here.

Levi Clarke in the stupidly photogenic V8 powered S15 pulled out number two qualifier in the national class and third highest for the day.

South Australia’s Jack Widdas scored a 67 which left him in 3rd place.

Cameron Mote took 3rd place in the state division with a score of 59.5 which would have put him in the top 10 of the national class to give you guys a comparison.

Matt Harvey missed the beat but still landed in number 7 spot.

Unfortunately Elliot Wylie had a spin and scored a zero. Points aside we have a big soft spot for this Laurel, after the epic David vs Goliath battle at last years Formula D event here in Melbourne where Wylie lent this car to Tom Monkhouse to go on to take 2nd place against Daigo Saito

Insane drifter Papa was also at the opposite end of the points only scoring 34, off a 4th place win form the previous round Papa had his work cut out for him.

It seems that the heat was getting to both the cars and the drivers with several spins and some break downs.

Ben Purtel was in fine form qualifying just half a point ahead of Andy Gray! Which landed him in number 9.

Nic Wilson was sporting a fresh make over on his wild looking Toyota Saloon. The JZX90 Chaser was wearing the wing of all wings built by Victorian specialists Topstage Composites.

Hit N’ Run drift crew’s Pistol Pete was out in force in the bedroom poster worthy 6 liter V8 equipped S15, yes it sounds as nice as it looks.

The only rotary of the competition was not off to a good start missing out on a spot in the 16 of the state division.

The drift Syndicate VE was still looking fresh after Max Orido put it through it’s paces during WTAC last year.

Steven Bramford placed 10th in the state division in his gorgeous sparkly Silvia.

We were drawn to his car like moths to a bug zapper, the electric blue paint was stunning from every angle!

Day 2 was the business end of the competition with the battles taking place and the usual affair of the pit walk and drivers signing session.

Klingberg’s hood art was being proudly displayed after yesterdays number 1 score.

Levi’s S15 is an astonishingly detailed car, we love the chrome elements on to the wing.

Ender was sitting mid field with a score of 47 from yesterday, his first battle was against Nick ‘The Drift Kid’ Coulson in his black VE Ute.

Ender straightened up on his chase run and then called a 5 minute rule after having issues with his gear selector.
On the lead run the 2J swapped S13 powered up the hill but Nick was right along there with him taking the win from Ender.

Who said coloured smoke tyres were dead? Sydney’s Drift Mob Anthony Bilic was frying them up the hill until he hit the dirt.

Blaze Unit’s Jabbit was looking good against Agges but unfortunately gearbox issues meant Jabbit couldn’t continue giving the Insane drifters driver the win.

In a battle of Aussie VS Import, foreign driver Andy took the win in his Toyota Chaser against Hayden Buckham in the blue VE Ute.

Papa was pulling out all the stops on his chase run against South Australian Dale Campaign…

Dale fought back on his chase run forcing a re-run. Which put the pressure on Papa…

Causing a spin which meant Dale went through in the grey Sileighty.

Klingberg’s winning streak didn’t stop taking the win against Jason Ferron thanks to some of the most aggressive driving we saw all weekend!

Schembri vs Michelmore was an extremely close battle which meant another one more time giving Simon the win after both battles.

Rob Whyte in the Achillies 350Z fought a hard battle against Dale and it was too close to call, after a one more time re-run Rob took the win.

Levi came back strong after several issues earlier in the day, however Chris in the Red R32 was hot on his tail.

The battle of the V8 swapped Nissans was won by Levi after a very, very close fight.

Matt Harvey’s little KE Corolla was all over Ryan ‘Slide’ Cummings S13 during the chase run, Ryan’s straighten up during Matt’s lead run sent Ryan home for the day.

Matt just couldn’t close the gap on Michelmores purple S14.

On Matt’s lead run Simon was just centimeters away in the S14, Simon’s performance gave him the win.

It seems that Beau Yates just hasn’t had enough seat time in his new 86, Beau spun on both his lead and chase runs.

Josh Boettcher was in the middle of a tough battle with dale when he missed a gear, according to the judges the pair would have gone again in a re-run if Josh didn’t miss shift.

Schembri stayed glued to the door of the GH Haulage Cefiro piloted by Justin Codr, Schembri took the win.

Nick and Jack fought hard and the judges called “one more” time, the second battle saw Nick Coulson edge away from the 31 Skyline giving the Drift Kid and the VE Ute the win.

Matt Russel fought the good fight in the little AE86 but lost against the might power thumping away under Levi’s bonnet.

Michael Prosnick was ahead after an awesome lead run away from Whyte, however on the chase Prosnick straightened in the NASCAR styled S13 and lost.

Simon and rob pushed so hard the two cars collided.

After a brief break the judges reviewed the on board cameras and deemed Simon to be at fault giving Rob the win.
Simon’s S14 was towed back to the pits were the crew rushed to get him back up and running for his final battle.

Now in the pointy end of the day cars were crashing left, right and center! Andy Gray had a huge hit with Levi Clarke, both cars needed to be towed back and the teams began mending the damage in a hope to get them both back out.

It seems you can give drifters a busted car, a pack of zipties and tape and they become master panel beaters. Levi Clarke was back out in force for a dramatic final battle with Rob Whyte.
If you look closely you can just make out Rob’s car in the smoke behind Levi’s car.

Rob over corrected and straightened up handing the win over to Levi Clarke, giving Levi his first podium finish in the series.

To end the epic weekend of skids, heat and dramas was a heap of trophies and ice cold champagne ready to shower the winners in.

All the cars looked worse for wear, you can’t be afraid to break a few eggs to win.

The winners of the national series.
1. Levi Clarke
2. Rob Whyte
3. Andy Gray

This was by far the most exciting round of the series yet and was a true show of great sportsmanship with the top 4 battles all ending in collisions and all the teams lending a hand to repair the damage to finish the show.
Ben Purtell lent his front suspension components to Simon Michelmore while Rob Whyte’s team helped repair Levi’s car before their battle together that decided the number 1 finish for the day!!
Where else would you see someone help their opponent out to effectively help them beat you?
Drift is only going up in Australia.
The next round returns to the Thunder Dome here in Melbourne where the top 10 all have a shot at being the series winner for 2014!!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.
All photos courtesy of Robert Mochetti | Full Motion Photography

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.