Driftworks Japfest Demos.
We were on fire!
Quite literally!
This year at Japfest, we decided to once again bring something new to the crowds, to show how drifting has progressed once again over the 2006 and early 2007 season. We recruited a select group of drivers to make up a ten car display team.
The drivers :
Phil Morrison
Driftworks Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-t
370bhp
Ben broke-Smith (Bon Bon)
Driftworks Toyota Chaser JZX81
550bhp
Chris "Paz" Parry
NightSpirit Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno
150bhp
Julian Smith
Garage D Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-t
400bhp
Tony Green
Whifbitz FD3S Mazda RX7
500bhp
Chris Bradbury
JapPerfParts Nissan 200sx S14
400bhp
Steve Carter
D:mon Nissan 200sx S13
300bhp
Stephen Dunn
D:mon Nissan 200sx S13
290-300bhp
Jason Davis
D:mon Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-t
300+ bhp
Pete Barber
Mazda RX7 fc3sm
340bhp
We did two full fifteen minute demonstrations, and a session for competition winners to get passenger rides in a drift car, and I think it’s fair to say that every time we hit the track, we hit it real hard.
The crowds have come to expect a good show ever since I first drove there three years ago by myself. So with ten drift cars out on track, they were in for a good time.
Castle Combe is a very demanding track in itself, with a fantastic combination of high speed and technical sections. But throw in a load of nutty drifters to the mix, and you have yourself a real challenge, and a real spectacle.
The first drift demonstration, was actually the first time a couple of our guys had set foot (or tyre) on track, so we sectioned into three groups, so the new guys could familiarise themselves with the track, whilst us old hands bust it up off the bat.
As I mentioned before, Castle Combe is a challenging track, and it really will punish you if you get it wrong. So we still held something in reserve for the first lap whilst we got comfortable with some of the big changes to the cars.
Talking of changes to car setup, after an extremely unsuccessful time at the first round of the European Drift Championship, we had found a problem with the front upper suspension arms on the Skyline, which in the haste of bringing the car up to spec, had been refitted the wrong way round. So we fitted a set of our own Driftworks adjustable arms correctly, which brought the car back into spec from it’s insane castor angles. It instantly felt like a new car, and a lot more chuckable than previously. Basically it felt a lot closer to the way my S14 drove last year, and for the first time in a long time, I had a real big smile on my face on the lockstops in third gear.
The first demo went really well, with myself and Julian getting some nice close laps in. Poor Bonbon's car had a few teething problems in the first session. The custom pipe work for the hugemongus turbo and external wastegate was giving off massive heat, which the clutch master and brake master cylinder were taking the brunt of.
Chris Bradbury delaminated a tyre, which promptly blew out and took his rear bumper with it. The rest of the guys seem to do really well, and definitely buzzed off it.
Most important was the crowd response to what we were doing. The crowds at Japfest are awesome, really showing their love for what we were doing out on track, so as a sign of gratitude for their enthusiasm, I of course had to do my trademark rolling burnout down the pit access road. Which the spectators really love, and surprisingly the marshals do too.
The second time we were out on track was to give passenger rides to the competition winners. This was supposed to be a little more relaxed than the high pressure demonstrations, unfortunately it didn’t work out quite like that..
Again we teamed up into groups, and off we went with my group leading. Two laps in, and as we rounded one of the final corners, we saw a huge plume of fire extinguisher dust. When getting closer we saw it was Tony Green in the Whifbitz RX7, and the whole back end of the car was on fire. In the first session he had delaminated a tyre, which had whipped around a fuel line somehow, and this had just sparked, sending a fireball into the cabin. Tony had quickly brought the car to a halt, and him and the passenger had both ejected themselves in no time at all. They had found a Marshal's post with some extinguishers, and had most of the car out before the Marshals had even arrived. Fair play to them both for keeping their wits about them in an extremely hazardous situation, they definitely saved the car from total destruction.
The final demonstration.
We were a couple of cars down. Obviously no Tony Green, but also Julian Smith from Garage D, who had been really on it in the first demo, had seized the rear turbo on his RB26DETT. So it was a bit of a free for all, and as it was the last session of the day, everyone gave it their all, right down to the wire.
Bonbon's car was now working well. Admitidly with very little in the way of brakes, but who needs to stop eh!. He loved it anyway, and showed some serious speed and insane angle in the huge Toyota Chaser.
Chris Parry in the AE86, had been a little concerned that the 150bhp from his 4AG motor wasn’t going to cut it on the faster sections of the track, but he was really on it, impressing the crowd with his commitment and skill, and most importantly having a whole lot of fun getting used to some higher speed stuff in his 86..
The team D:Mon guys seemed to have a ball out there too. There was some carnage I believe, with Steve Dunn uncharacteristicly spinning out, which caused Steve Carter and Pete Barber to take and evasive line and actually hitting each other. I didn’t see much of Jason Davis on track other than following him real close as he held it well whilst doing a little offroading on the fastest corner of the circuit. I have seen some footage now, and the guy is absolutely nuts, again holding the drift whilst on the lockstops on the grass just a meter from the barriers… Brilliant!.
It’s pretty difficult to write an accurate article like this when I only get to see what’s through my front or side windows. But just seeing the carnage, and the response from the crowd every time we pulled back into the pits, I know that everyone of the people we asked to drive for us gave it their all, and put on an absolutely fantastic show!
Guys: Myself, the Driftworks team, and the Japfest organisers can’t thank you enough, and I can’t wait to get back out there again next year for Japfest, which is officially one of my favourite shows of the whole year.
Xx
Phil Morrison
