It was 2019 last time we saw Drift Cadet put on a drift demo at Meguires MotorEx. So why has it been so long between events? Well we all know the answer to this one…COVID. That’s right I said the C word! regardless it was great to see Drift Cadet bringing drift to the uninitiated crowd.

Adding a live action event to Meguires MotoEX has made the event so much more than just a car show! Bringing Drifting to those who have never seen it before really blows peoples minds.

The speed and action of drifting really gets the crowd going! Even though some die hard burnout fans think that drift is just like doing a fishy up the street! Its more than that!

If your a fan of GSS you will know 90% of our content is drift! Why? because its our favorite form of motorsport. Although we love Rally, Time Attack and Circuit Racing.

Daniel Prior is a gun behind the wheel, his 370z is so loud and angry! not to mention grippy, the car really gets down and booggies!

Big car show means big crowd, Drift Cadet did a great job selecting some of the best, most consistent safe drivers for this event.

Mr Engineered to Slide, AKA Nigel Petrie. A name that is well know around the internet for a good reason, not only can he build and engineer a car from scratch but he is also one hell of a drifter!

We all know that JDM prices are soaring! And seeing Dean Newcomb throw his S15 around like a toy scares me! Although we love to see these cars in action they are now becoming rare and the parts to fix them even more rare.

Motorsport is not dead! people love it but with the distractions of social media and life many people don’t get a chance to see live Motorsport anymore. This is also a reason why its hard for some drift event to pull a decent crowd.

Now to secure a big crowd at a Drift event you have to spend a big wad of cash to advertise. Social media is still king, to reach an audience these days you have to compete against all the other events. So to even let people know that there is an event on you have shell out more cash than ever.

In the future I think we will see more of these type combination events or pairings. Car show and big drift event together or Major car event plus smaller car event combined.

With the prices of all things on the rise it is a certainty that many events will join forces. More the merrier right? Whatever keeps drift alive is ok with us!

Justin Gruener’s newest addition to his fleet of performance vehicles is this super tough R32. This was the cars first event for Justin and it did not disappoint.

Everything was going great until the clutch started slipping, in true fashion Justin decided to drive around the issue and take it easy on the car to prevent more damage happening.

“Two hot boi’s” Well I think that’s what the kids say these days! What I’m trying to say is that these two boys are super popular online.

Its for a good reason, their S chassis are some of the nicest looking low Silvias in the Victorian drift scene. These boys can also steer! Their cars are not just trailer pony’s!

A historical figure of sorts the 180sx of Nigel Petrie has been in this form for at least ten years! The car still turns heads! The 180sx has been engineered to drive low, Nigel intentionally moved the rear sub-frame up so the rear wheels can tuck and have enough travel to drift well.

Ben Loft is a quiet achiever! Some call him the ladies man of the century.. I’ve herd many rumors that he has millions of fans on social media and has turned down offers to be on the Bachelor TV show.

But its not only the girls that find Ben hot! the boys find his car rather exciting as well. Ben is part of the infamous SR20 tribe and many people in the crowd lined up to hear its sweet sounds.

The smoke the noise and the battles are what was making these kids get rowdy! Im not sure if they had ever seen drift before but one thing is certain, they loved it.

Nigel’s fabrication online courses are a massive success and now he has started his own Youtube channel to document all his adventure’s! check it out here and be sure to subscribe!

The battles between Matt and Ben were intense! They really had some door on door action, the passengers who were lucky enough to get a ride along got the best seat in the house.

The owner of the worlds largest Hoshino racing wheel collection was in attendance at Meguiars MotorEX, otherwise known as Matt Russell.

Gavin having not as much power as the other car’s in the field was having to grip up to catch the faster cars, but once in front he dictated the pace.

Kumar a scholar of the drift game was putting on an absolute clinic for the unsuspecting MotorEx crowd. He kept pushing wide and getting as close as he could to the plastic barriers which was fun to watch.

The late Drift demo show had less of a crowd as the spectators tended to see drifts in the morning then looked at the car show. Because Melbourne Showgrounds is a big place it takes a long time to complete a full lap of the venue.

Top Chef Michael Greenhill cooked up a storm for the demo drivers, then put the Drift Cadet V8 ute through its paces around the car park kidney course.

This was a great event, good crowd great energy and a great bunch of people. Drift Cadet always do a superb job of organizing these Drift demo’s. We can’t wait to see more demos like this at other big events around Australia.
Thanks for reading,
Grant

Bonus Video

A grand opening that has been a long time in the making! Why? because of Covid that’s why! Finally Pete and the Drift Cadet team were able to share their new headquarters with everyone.

HachiRoku Motorsports is another new venture for pete, not only will he be running Drift Cadet out of this premises but also HachiRoku Motorsports. A place where car groups hang out or get their Toyota 86 fixed!, Pete is an expert mechanic when it comes to the 86.

When you own more than 6 Toyota 86’s then you gather some serious knowledge over the years! Running Drift Cadet for many years has taught Pete so much about the 86, especially the performance side of them.

More than just a workshop and drift events company, they also sell tiny cars! yes that’s right. If your a fan of 1/64 cars or just collect Hotwheels Pete has you covered with a great selection of rare and collectible JDM favorites.

I’ve heard that our friends at onesix4garage even supply them with wheels and diorama goodies to spice up your diecast collection. Pete and Linh have a great amount of their own collectible on display within the HachiRoku Motorsports workshop.

It wasn’t just cars and humans invited to the grand opening! Four legged friends were also on the invite list.
The infamous YOYO from SaintSide even made a special appearance!

Dunlop Tyres Australia are a major supporting sponsor of Drift Cadet. They help the Drift Cadet team to run drift demos at big events like Summernats and MotorEx.

I found some other interesting things hiding in the back of the workshop, maybe this is for a future AE86 project?

More than just and AE86, the driver of this very tidy AE86 is by far one of the very fastest GoKart champ’s I’ve ever driven against.

In a world where JDM car prices are hitting all time high’s! it’s great to see owners out and about at special events like this.

Dont mistake this for a Honda Prelude! It’s actually a Nissan S15. A very unique body kit! One I have never seen in the wild before.

Pete is well respected in the motorsport industry, he has run drift demos in nearly every state in Australia! His business Drift Cadet is one of the best ways to learn to drift in Victoria.

What’s an english vehicle doing at a JDM style event? Well rumor has it that its is owned by well known street wear brand that is infamous around Melbourne!

Food, fireworks and simracing! what more could you want at a workshop opening event. Pete pulled out all the stops when organizing this small prestigious event.

The Advan Oni is one of those holy grail JDM wheels! I would bet the wheels are worth much more than the R31 Skyline wagon they sit on top of! We love it!

Having driven many Toyota 86’s, I can confirm they are a little slow but with a turbo kit or Harrop supercharger they become the car you would of thought they would be.

More creative number plates! The new GR Yarris is a weapon and I would kill to have one, being a big 3 cylinder fan!

A super tidy interior! or maybe the dash mat is hiding a nasty crack in the dash… we will never know!

The classic panda AE86 will never get old! Its timeless! with pop up lights and a hatch! Its the type of car that can do anything and that’s why they are so classic. But mainly it’s the pop up lights!

Time attack WRX or daily? I’m not sure but it does look the business! One thing is for sure, you need down force when doing your local run down to the shops.

Racing seats in general have been suffering from Covid tax not as much as cars but they are becoming more valuable with age. So make sure you hide all your cool racing seats then sell them ten years later or better 20 years later.

Its not just boy’s that love the R34, believe it or not this one is driven by a girl! Brian O’ Conner would be proud!

Its hard to find an IS200 that has not done 300,000k’s and cooked! A car I wish I had owned and still wish I could get my hands on. A great looking car that has lots of potential and some of the drift build’s of these getting around the internet are insane.

The HRM – Drift Cadet workshop grand opening was a great event, Pete is one of the hardest working drift advocates in Victoria. He has moved mountains to arrange and be part of some of the largest events within Australia helping to promote drifting to the general public while also teaching newcomers how to drift.

Thanks for Reading,
Grant

Friday night drifts are always full of good vibe’s and fun times. A mix of drivers turn up to the Keep It Reet Friday night event’s with pro drivers and beginners shredding tyre’s well into the night. Below is a selection of my favorite photos from the event

You know something serious is happening when they shut down an entire street! Why? Because Saint Side that’s why! John street in St Albans is the location and with help from vendors, volunteers and Brimbank Council the party was on.
Along with the lowriders, cruisers, and vintage bikes were a special selection of cars handpicked especially for the show. Karl’s KE10 Corolla from the infamous JVN Garage was in attendance and looking sharp.


There were plenty of American low riders and Yank tanks on show including Lincolns, Mercurys and Chevys with something for everyone’s taste.

The show is not only about cars and bikes but also street culture. Showing off your new kicks with your favorite four legged friend was another strong theme of the day.

I have never seen so many custom bikes in one place with a massive collection of bikes that are not just your every day pushie.

The personal touches on some of the bikes are interesting and could indicate the owners origins or just be a representation of their favorite things.

Trikes aren’t just for kids! White walls, candy paint and lots of chrome!

So gangsta while being so cute! This is something an evil clown would ride in a serial killer movie.

One of Australia’s most E-famous S13’s. Yes it’s Oliver’s crazy low drift beast looking the part as always.

With so much to see in a street full of action it was hard to focus! Every year this show just grows and grows! It’s great to see what Mark from Saint Side has created over the last seven years.

The Saint Side crew is strong and loyal with many of their own cars on display plus performances from K-Star, Ali Belmont and resident DJ Rod G.

The Chevy Imapala steering wheel is almost bus sized but its size is relative to the size of the Impala; its one huge car! So many cool lowriders in one street.

John Street was absolutely packed with people! The atmosphere was electric and with this amount of people it felt like a live music festival.

With 120 bikes, 40 plus cars and 10 plus motorcycles there wasn’t much room for vendors in the street but Mark managed to fit everyone in.

This is truly an original Beetle with original paint job and rust but damn it was tuff!

The winner of Saint Side Excel Award goes to this crazy air bagged ride. There was a constant crowd around this bike all day along with the owner demonstrating how to lower and raise the bike with its crazy air bag system.

This is one hell of a custom trike with its widebody fiberglass shell, custom gear shift and a whole heap of chrome.

This crew took over the road and cruised down to the local milk bar and back rolling in style the whole way.

The show was a massive success! The bicycle raffle raised over five hundred dollars and all the money was donated to the charity Beyond Blue. Saint Side know how to put on a real show with lots of variety and a fun atmosphere. Not to mention they sell some of the best street wear around plus a massive host of custom bike parts. We can’t wait to see what plan for next year. We don’t know what it will be but we know it will be big!
Thanks for reading,
Grant
Saint Side