NekoPunch
12-21-2003, 11:50 AM
Weeelll, back on 11/30 I went to "Drift Skillz Test & Tune" put on by Drifterz Inc. and JDMRUS.com. It was FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!
Where was it? At Boundary Bay Airport, near Vancouver B.C. I had to wake up at 4am to make the drive up there, but it was well worth it. The weather was clear, cold and dry. The cost to participate was $90 (CAD).
Who was there? I counted about 15 cars total participating, quite a bit less than the 35 who pre-registered. My buddy Mattia and I were the ONLY guys there from the States, with the exception of a cool guy named Chris who showed up to drift his beautiful red E46 M3.
Let's see, there were four 240SX's including mine, all of them had SR20 motors. Also a black FD RX7, silver 350Z, some FWD car that looked like a Skyline, a monster Chevelle SS, Chris's M3, and a bunch of AE86 Corollas. There was also a special appearance by WRC driver Patrick Richard, driving a friend's Impreza 2.5RS.
What was the course? There were two courses:
A beginner course which was basically a small, tight gymkhana course lasting about 20 sec. We ran this in the morning, basically going one car after another. Since there was only the one run group, everyone got lots of seat time and you used up your tires fast.
In the afternoon we ran on the advanced course. It was essentially a medium-speed, wide hairpin curve with a long straight approach and a couple quick turns at the exit. You could enter the corner as fast as your courage would allow, and the pavement was nice and grippy. We ran this course by pairing up with another car, then going for about 5 runs each per turn. It was easy to get about 3 turns during the practice session.
After the practice session, there was a "showoff" where each car had a chance to "go all out" for about 3-4 more runs on the hairpin course. It seemed that everyone really pulled out their best stuff here. After that we cleaned up and went home.
Any accidents? There was one off-course. The red S13 lost traction on the advanced course and went off-course well into the tall grass. Luckily Mattia had a tow rope and someone had a Cherokee, so he got pulled out fine. Other than that, no major problems.
Overall, it was a blast. We got t-shirts. There was a BBQ. Some autocrossers showed up to watch the drifting. Ross and Richard, the guys who set up the event, were nice guys and fun to talk to.
Complaints? Would have been nice to have a skidpad set up. Border cops gave me a hassle trying to cross back into the States. Totally searched my car, and I got asked like 5 times whether I'm "into street racing". (lol)
Concerns? IF there had been twice as many drivers or more, I don't think we would have gotten enough seat time. It would probably be necessary to run both courses concurrently so that everyone would get all the practice they wanted.
Mattia, thanks for letting me use your tires on those last runs!!
Looking forward to the next event...
Where was it? At Boundary Bay Airport, near Vancouver B.C. I had to wake up at 4am to make the drive up there, but it was well worth it. The weather was clear, cold and dry. The cost to participate was $90 (CAD).
Who was there? I counted about 15 cars total participating, quite a bit less than the 35 who pre-registered. My buddy Mattia and I were the ONLY guys there from the States, with the exception of a cool guy named Chris who showed up to drift his beautiful red E46 M3.
Let's see, there were four 240SX's including mine, all of them had SR20 motors. Also a black FD RX7, silver 350Z, some FWD car that looked like a Skyline, a monster Chevelle SS, Chris's M3, and a bunch of AE86 Corollas. There was also a special appearance by WRC driver Patrick Richard, driving a friend's Impreza 2.5RS.
What was the course? There were two courses:
A beginner course which was basically a small, tight gymkhana course lasting about 20 sec. We ran this in the morning, basically going one car after another. Since there was only the one run group, everyone got lots of seat time and you used up your tires fast.
In the afternoon we ran on the advanced course. It was essentially a medium-speed, wide hairpin curve with a long straight approach and a couple quick turns at the exit. You could enter the corner as fast as your courage would allow, and the pavement was nice and grippy. We ran this course by pairing up with another car, then going for about 5 runs each per turn. It was easy to get about 3 turns during the practice session.
After the practice session, there was a "showoff" where each car had a chance to "go all out" for about 3-4 more runs on the hairpin course. It seemed that everyone really pulled out their best stuff here. After that we cleaned up and went home.
Any accidents? There was one off-course. The red S13 lost traction on the advanced course and went off-course well into the tall grass. Luckily Mattia had a tow rope and someone had a Cherokee, so he got pulled out fine. Other than that, no major problems.
Overall, it was a blast. We got t-shirts. There was a BBQ. Some autocrossers showed up to watch the drifting. Ross and Richard, the guys who set up the event, were nice guys and fun to talk to.
Complaints? Would have been nice to have a skidpad set up. Border cops gave me a hassle trying to cross back into the States. Totally searched my car, and I got asked like 5 times whether I'm "into street racing". (lol)
Concerns? IF there had been twice as many drivers or more, I don't think we would have gotten enough seat time. It would probably be necessary to run both courses concurrently so that everyone would get all the practice they wanted.
Mattia, thanks for letting me use your tires on those last runs!!
Looking forward to the next event...