Drifting in New Zealand

Drifting History and Drifting Championships and Series in New Zealand

Introduced to New Zealand in the early 2000s, the drifting originated in Japan in the late 1960s. The sport now has a major following among the boy racing fraternity, and provides the young guy with a car an easy way to slide into motorsport.

• Motor Racing
• Automotive Enthusiasts

The Beginnings
The origins of drifting can be traced back to Kunimitsu Takahashi, a Japanese motorcycle racing legend, and the first Japanese to win an international motorcycle Grand Prix. After recovery from serious injuries in the 1962 Isle of Man TT, Takahashi took up touring car racing in the 1965, winning championships and fans with his aggressive cornering style. His technique was soon taken up by the boy racers of the day.

Keiichi Tsuchiya, a boy racer, and latterly a professional racing driver, began incorporating the technique in his repertoire in the early 1970s. Known as the 'Drift King', Tsuchiya's skills were showcased in the 1977 video Pluspy, an inspiration to many of today's professional drifting drivers.

By 1986-87 drifting had become popular enough to support competition, and in 1988 Tsuchiya and others began organizing the first drifting events.

In 1996, drifting landed in America at the Willow Springs Raceway in Willow Springs, California. Hosted by Option, the leading Japanese drifting magazine at the time, with demos by Tsuchiya and Japanese and other drivers, the event had an important New Zealand connection in entrant Rhys Millen, son of rally racer and vehicle designer Rod Millen.

Rhys was the second US Formula D Drifting Series champion, and has gone on to become one of the premier rally and drifting drivers in North America. His experience in drifting from the early days in the US is legend, and he has made significant contributions to the sport in New Zealand through his drifting seminars at Pukekohe.

Drifting in New Zealand
Drifting in New Zealand dates back to 2000. In 2003 a few drift teams established an informal organization to promote the sport and manage events in a safe manner, and the D1NZ New Zealand Drifting Championship was established under this umbrella.

Competitive drifting in New Zealand has expanded rapidly since 2003, with four series running concurrently throughout the year. Most drivers compete in more than one series.

Drifting events generate major media interest, and coverage is extensive. Events are widely reported via TV, radio, magazines, websites, Bebo, and text messaging. Each series has become an advertising magnet, attracting all nature of sponsors, both for the series itself and for the participating teams and drivers.

In April 2007, the position of drifting in the New Zealand motorsport scene was reflected in the ultimate stamp of approval - addition of 'Standing Regulations Covering All Drifting Events' to MotorSport New Zealand's manual.

The Series
Established in July 2006 with the backing of the Canterbury Car Club, the Drift South Series is part of the Club's annual calendar. Limited to the South Island, the Series comprises 5 rounds held between Ruapuna in Christchurch, the Levels Raceway in Timaru, and Teretonga Park in Invercargill.

The Drift Revolution Championship is New Zealand's sole knockout eliminator drifting championship. Run by Surge Promotions Ltd, the event consists of 5 rounds throughout the year held at Taupo and Pukekohe. Driftopia, run under the auspices of Drift Revolution, is a series of sessions for amateur drifters of all levels, tutored by some of New Zealand's top drift drivers.

The D1NZ championship is a drifting series for production cars. Established in 2003 to provide competition for a few drifting teams, it has since grown in stature and professionalism, and now counts a number of professional drivers and sponsored vehicles as participants. The series consists of 5 rounds throughout the year held at Ruapuna, Manfield, Taupo, Mystery Creek, and Pukekohe.

Established in 2003, and the NZ Drift Series is the granddaddy of New Zealand drifting championships. The first round of the first series was held at the Taupo Raceway in January of 2003, and the series now consists of five rounds annually held at Pukekohe, Manfeild, Taupo, and Mystery Creek.

The Teams
The sponsorship and prizes associated with the major drifting events attract large numbers of entrants - for example, the Pukekohe rounds of the NZ Drift Series, currently sponsored by Stil Vodka, frequently attract more than 30 teams.

A number of these teams, for example DriftCorp from Whangarei, and West Side Rotor (WSR) from Taranaki, have been around in various forms since the early days of New Zealand drifting.

Teams are typically informal groups of amateur drivers, with a few cars running, and 2 or 3 in various stage of completion. Fan interest is maintained on Bebo, with sites liberally sprinkled with cars, drivers, and babes, and via blogs and car magazines.

Both teams and drivers are frequently sponsored by businesses in the motor trade, and some teams, for example, Mag & Turbo Drift Team, take the name of their primary sponsors.

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Motoring images from Flickr: Porsche Drift, Traffic Lights and Motorway.