ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
The D1NZ national drifting championship has come to Upper Hutt, with a purpose built temporary track.
“Build it and they will come” was Brendon White’s approach after building a temporary concrete drifting track in Upper Hutt.
D1NZ managing director White had wanted to bring the National Drifting Championship to Wellington for some time, but was unable to find a suitable track and venue.
With about 100 truckloads of cement covering 500 square metres, the D1NZ team put down their own track over the dirt surface at the Wellington Family Speedway in Te Marua, Upper Hutt, for the first round of the NZ Xtreme Motorsport Series on Friday and Saturday.
ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
Drivers took to the newly laid concrete track at Te Marua, Upper Hutt, on Thursday evening for a practice run.
Drifting is a motorsport code first popularised in Japan in the 1970s. Drivers oversteer their vehicles with a loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through corners.
Competitions are judged on line, show, angle and speed.
SUPPLIED
Freshly laid asphalt at Wellington Family Speedway in Te Marua, Upper Hutt. The track will be used for the National Drifting Championship this weekend.
White said Wellington motorsport fans had been starved of large events in recent years and he wanted to bring the multicode motorsport event to the capital, headlined by the drifting championship.
The event also includes Rally X, UTV racing and supermoto racing.
“We started a process five years ago trying to get into Wellington, but the contours of the land don’t really lend itself to motorsport.
ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
About 500sqm of concrete was used to create the temporary racing track in anticipation of the NZ Xtreme Motorsport Series and D1NZ National Drifting Championship.
“After the demise of that awesome Wellington street race [in 1996], we were like, ‘We’ve got to get multicode motorsport back into Wellington’.”
Temporary concrete tracks have been used by D1NZ at other grounds such as Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, where the track is pulled up after the event.
At Te Marua, the track was laid over the inner field and part of the regular dirt track. The concrete on the inner field, about half of the total drift track, would be retained for future events.
ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
Dimiti Amos loses his rear wheel during practice.
Speedway operations manager Kevin Hadley was impressed with the new track, and was excited to see the speedway being used for something different.
He said the concrete track added another string to the speedway’s bow – its only revenue was earned hosting 15 speedway events on the dirt track every summer.
“It’s a bit different. It’s been a real eye-opener for our club. I hope it brings a few more people into the speedway.”
ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
Amos checks his car for damage afterwards.
The new concrete track opened up the possibility of holding driver training and other events on the inner field, while making it easier for the drifting crowd to set up in the future.
White was also looking forward to an ongoing relationship with the speedway.
The prospect of the event returning looked good, with organisers hoping to sell out both days this weekend.
“We’ve definitely got that long-term strategic plan to be here over the next five years,” White said.
– Stuff
Source :Stuff.co.nz
Comments
