Ever since the construction plans for Driftland were announced late last year I knew it would be inevitable that I’d end up at the Fife based venue in Scotland. While many had been complaining about the “remote” location of the venue (mainly Southerners) many others manned up and made the trip up for the track’s Grand Opening Weekender. While a handful of practice days had already been held at the venue to get a taster, hear feedback and make necessary adjustments it was the Grand Opening event that would see drifters from all over attending for two solid days of slipwheels on the UK’s (and, if I’m not mistaken, Europe’s) only purpose-built drift track.
With entry being open to drivers of all cars and talent (but with entrants split into classes to avoid potential accidents) there were some pleasingly amusing scenes to behold – how often do you see Matt Carter in his Falken 1JZ powered R32 lining up for a session with Mo of Superstyle Garage in his E36 Compact?
While Mo and Matt had both made the admirable trip from the South East to be at the event some drivers had a much easier journey to make. It was a pleasure to see Stu “The Hat” Lawson’s FC for the first time in a year or two – a stunning car and period correct in every way.
Falken weren’t the only BDC team to make the trip – Slide Motorsport were also in attendance with a trio of cars, one of which was this very nice SR20 powered FD. Some might say blasphemy – I say a practical solution to a 13B’s horrendous thirst and, in my mind at least, it that makes a daily drive FD a viable consideration.
Matt Stevenson was also smashing round in his BMW powered Z33 – no matter what he does with this car it always seems to keep going!
The Car Loan 4U guys were also present…
…with Joe Ankers going big straight from the off.
And in some cases, a bit too big…!
Alex Law was also killing it in his S14a – it seems like Alex has really got this car dialled in throughout the season and it’s good to see his endless quest for improvement is continuing to pay off.
The Garage FuckHouse 1JZ powered E46 found a lot of fame recently after its appearance in Ryan Tuerck’s Tuerck’d video and it’s certainly an entertaining car to watch. Stock bodywork, fairly normal ride height and full interior – the ultimate sleeper.
Ed (aka “Struggle”) had visited the track a few weeks prior for one of the aforementioned warm up days and, although the track had been run in reverse, his experience with the circuit certainly seemed to pay off right from the start.
It was good to see that, out of the majority of the slammed/silly/cool as fuck cars present, most of them had been driven hundreds of miles to the track, with Ed’s being one of them.
Can you see the sparks?
You’re probably wondering why there are so many pictures of this car. Well, as Ed rightfully proved, when you combine an abrasive track surface with 10 minute sessions, running new tyres is the way forward if you want to be on track pretty much all day. Other than Mo I don’t think anyone else in the expert group spent so much time on the circuit as others wasted their time waiting for part-worn tyres to be changed or swapping wheels.
Of course, there are some cars that make mince meat of a pair of brand new tyres in a handful of minutes anyway.
When they weren’t fannying around waiting for tyres to be changed…
…Alex, Joe and Matt were killing it on track, running in tandem for a full ten minutes every time they hit the blacktop. I can’t wait for the on-board footage from these runs to crop up.
With the sun starting to set in the Autumn sky it was time to call it a day, pack up and retreat to the hotel. Having been up since 3am and driven 260 miles to the track in Kevin the Pikey Truck with Alex I think we were both craving some greasy food and a good nap. The fading light made for some great photo opportunities though…
As the sun rose on Sunday morning it was time to do it all over again.
We kind of forgot to get an early night – Alien was on TV and the hotel bar stayed open just for us…
I spotted this immaculately prepared S14.5 when heading to get a breakfast butty – RB26, big single turbo (with what looked like a 4″downpipe!?), tubular front end and a full Driftworks/HSD/Geomaster suspension package all round. Studying the quality of the build was inspirational but, after watching the car on track, I think it would only be fair to describe the driver as a bit of a beginner. I don’t think it’d be rude to suggest that an E36 might be a bit more ideal for the time being…!?
With the morning prep done it was time to hit the track again, although this time it would be run anti-clockwise.
This meant that everyone had the chance to make big smokes as they came around the sweeper with their foot down, headed towards the wall and then down the straight to the hairpin.
It’s at this point I must give a special mention to Rich “Chunk” Newton, a guy normally seen judging at the BDC or smashing some BMWs to pieces at Birmingham Wheels! Having decided to enter next year’s BDC Chunk has certainly stepped up his game and can now be found behind the wheel of the ex-HKS S14a (as previously driven by Brett Castle). He gave it death all weekend though and even took home the fastest entry prize on Saturday (71mph).
Oh, and did I mention he only has one leg? I’ll just let that sink in as you contemplate how to drift with only your right leg. Being one of the friendliest guys in the scene I wish him all the best for next year!
Julian Smith was another driver who’d made the trip up from the South, bringing with him the Garage-D/Mac Tools R34. I definitely didn’t see him perform a sneaky rolling burnout through the local entertainment complex and leave many diners in Frankie & Bennies, McDonalds and KFC looking bemused whilst they enjoyed their Saturday night dinner…ahem.
The aforementioned Garage FuckHouse E46 wasn’t the only Scottish car sporting a fairly wild JZ conversion – this Rx-8 looked and sounded awesome.
The reversed track layout gave the drivers the opportunity to bunch up close through the switchback before heading into the fast sweeper – something the Slide boys were pulling off with aplomb.
Having a ton of horsepower didn’t necessarily mean more speed though. Matt Carter’s R32 sure made a lot of smoke once it got going…
…but it didn’t make up much ground in the process.
This E36 certainly looked the part – the white on white colour scheme (it usually rocks a set of Rota Grids all round) and correct stickers certainly made it a stand out Beemer.
With the steep embankments around the circuit it was inevtiable that there was going to be one or two smashes (we’ve all seen what can happen at Bihoku)…
…and unfortunately the Dori-Labs S14 was involved in more than one.
Thankfully the driver and passenger walked away from this one, but they weren’t so lucky the next time round. A roll cage for my S13 is in order before I hit up Driftland myself I think.
By Sunday afternoon it was becoming clear that quite a lot of cars were wanting to throw in the towel having been had two days of abuse hurled at them during some seriously unseasonable warmth for October (let alone Scotland!). Mo had to get dragged back to the pits having damaged one of his tie rods.
Joe’s Onevia was the next to suffer, with a broken steering rack and damaged offset rack spacer effectively ending his weekend.
Matt’s Z32 kept soldiering on though, endlessly killing tyres within minutes of seeing the track.
The reverse circuit certainly seemed more difficult to get used to, with the high speed entry into the hairpin proving tricky. Ed’s past experience with this layout clearly showed.
The long left hander definitely required some commitment though…
…along with running the wall into the hairpin.
Mint of Minty Fresh fame seemed to be plagued by issues all weekend in his Mx-5 winter beater. When he actually made it out on track he was certainly laying it down. It was good to see he had a roll bar installed too considering the aforementioned roll over – I wouldn’t fancy my chances in an open topped Mx.
With just a few hours left and with a broken boost hose putting paid to his chances of hitting the track again Alex and I loaded the Car Loan 4U S14a onto the back of Kevin and set off back to Manchester.
While there are still a few creases to iron out I think Driftland is the best thing to have happened to the scene in years. With such a dedicated, professional and friendly team at the helm and the backing to put their visions into reality I have no doubts that the track will prove to be a massive success story. Now if only we could have a few more purpose built circuits!
