I don’t think anyone saw this event coming when it was announced back at the start of this year’s season, with information being drip fed to the masses up until tickets went on sale. Highlighting both Anglesey’s popularity as a drift circuit and the fun that lay ahead, open pitlane track time tickets (of which there were 100) sold out in less than four hours. Isn’t that a first for the UK drift scene?
I arrived at Anglesey as the pits and paddock were being filled with the invited drivers that would be taking part in the night’s Driftworks Night Fight – something of which nobody has seen on track since Awesomefest back in 2011. The format would be pretty loose, with drivers being fired off down the pitlane and onto the fastest of the three drift tracks either in tandem or, in some cases, with up to five or six other drivers. It all made for some hilarious spectating and, in all honesty, it’s rare that I can stand in the same spot and happily watch drifting for two hours straight – that wasn’t the case on this occasion.
I ventured into race control during the Night Fight drivers briefing and it would be fair to say there was some serious talent in this room. From left to right: Mike Marshall, Simon Perry, Luke FInk, Buttsy Butler, Rich “Chunk” Newton, Rich Grindrod, Phil Morrison, Paul Smith, Jo Fletcher, a guy I don’t recognise and I’m going to guess that the man behind the pillar is Driftworks co-bossman James Robinson.
Drifting at night would require lights on your car, right? As it turned out some guys managed to forget this, although Wes took a slightly more over-the-top-approach…
I must admit, it was pretty cool walking down the pitlane as the cars queued with their lights on, facing the stop/start lights at the front of the line. It felt like a really intense streeto scene, only with more horsepower and fewer legal worries.
I’ve really missed shooting at night; it’s so rewarding to get right and the photos always tend to have a lot of depth and emotion to them if you manage to pull it off.
Keith Bart O’Shea’s 1JZ S13 didn’t know just how much abuse it was going to be dealt over the ensuing two hours.
And then they were off. I positioned myself at the end of the first straight but behind the cars as they entered the hairpin; I really wanted to get a shot of a drift train flying into the corner, possibly with streaked rear lights for added effect. I set about trying…here is Lassa’s Jo Fletcher and Simon Perry.
Wes’ car colour and extensive lighting made his car the easiest car to shoot – here he is chasing Rampstyle’s Gaz Taylor.
Alex had one pair of part-worn Maxxis MA-Z1 tyres to use (dug out of Japspeed’s “to be disposed of” pile). We all wondered how long they’d last with the best part of 400bhp at the wheels…
Here he is getting chased down by Brian Egan in his F20C powered AE86.
Despite his only forward facing lights being some LEDs on his wing mirrors (and a torch hastily strapped to his bumper later on) Brian was one of the most committed guys out there. The guy had no issues chasing anyone and everyone down, be it Julian Smith…
…to some of the other Irish guys (with Julian in tow this time)…
…to Marc Huxley and Ricky Emery (this time with Jack Shanahan in tow).
After a few runs in the Driftworks R32 it was pretty obvious that Phil Morrison couldn’t resist bringing out his freshly built JZX110 for its circuit debut. While there were still a few teething issues it looked absolutely fantastic and was definitely a car the crowd had been looking forward to seeing judging by their reactions.
And then I finally managed to get the shot I was after (albeit without streaked tailights). Ah well, it’ll do for me.
With the Night Fight over it was time to crack open a few beers (or a lot, as it turned out) and kick back until Sunday’s drifting.
After a whole one beer, Alex decided to jump on his roof. Alcohol is bad, kids.
As the sun rose and cars began heading out to the tracks I took a quick wander around the pits. This Bride themed AE86 was absolutely awesome, clearly taking direct inspiration from the original Bridge AE86s back in Japan.
As I carried on walking Ireland’s obsession with the Corolla became ever more obvious, these two savage examples (both being SR20 powered if I remember rightly) being a case in point.
I’ll post more pictures of this beauty another time.
Steve made the trek up to Anglesey from Kent in his street driven JZX90 Mark II, one of my favourite cars since seeing it at Lydden Hill last year.
How many times can you recall seeing two JZX90 Mark IIs on the same piece of UK tarmac? Yeah, this happened.
When the Irish invade an event, they clearly do it in style. This C34 Laurel was definitely unique, let alone stunning. All of the period correct interior touches were present and correct too.
I then made my way trackside to capture a bit of the action.
Paul Smith was getting rowdy in his 1.5JZ S15.
As was Rich Grindrod in his E36 BDC car.
Back in the pits I caught sight of Paz’s AE86. The term “period correct” don’t even do this car justice, although at the time it was being wheeled out of the Driftworks pit garage sounding very poorly.
Joe’s car was looking very cool now he has ditched his supply of R33 wheels in favour of these staggered Rota Torques. While doing such a thing is pretty much internet suicide in my books, the staggered 17 & 18″ setup does look very cool indeed. More pictures of this Onevia will be posted soon.
If there was moment from the open pitlane action I remember clearly, it was Steve entering the straight and initiating into the hairpin…
…closely followed by Phil in his JZX110. JZX showdown time! As much as the crowd wanted these two to get on each others doors, JZXs are hardly the sort of car you want to damage on UK soil thanks to the rarity of parts.
Despite a crippling hangover (I saw him fall over quite a bit on Saturday night…) Brian Egan was still driving flawlessly with outrageous commitment and big manjis – awesome stuff.
Throughout his time on track Ed spent the majority of it trying out entries such as this one…(and yeah, this one was a successful run).
With the open pitlane drifting continuing right through the afternoon until 5pm I enjoyed having a few passenger rides, helping out in the pits and simply just enjoying the action from the sidelines. As much as I wish I’d brought my car to the event and taken part, I had just as much (if not more) fun simply watching, enjoying the atmosphere and having a pretty wild Saturday night. Bring on Drift Matsuri 2014 – I can’t wait.
