Drift (in) Australia; What now?

[PuGZoR]

Hey sportsfans,

After asking Mr Young about what his future conquests consist of, just thought I'd make a more dedicated thread on what the hell is going on in terms of national competition in Australia.

So, after going strong in 2006, and not really expanding at all after that in 2007 and 2008, 2009 bought Drift Australia to a pretty big halt. Instead of the multi-round series a national competition should have, instead a single round is being run in Sydney. I'm not going to go on about the incompetence of the organizers to have a contingency plan for sponsorship, etc, but more concerning is simply, what happens now?

According to the DA website, they've been bought out by the organizers of DriftFest, which was successful from the reports I've heard. More entertainment based with DJ's, girls, etc. They hope to rebuild it into a national competition again with a multi-round series in 2010, according to their press release.

Let's face it, no one has really been happy with DA. But, there are quite a few questions to be asked regarding the future of the sport in the country.

Will Ninety Degree Entertainment (the new owners of DA) keep with the DA name, rules, etc? Or will they actually adapt it to what the growing sport needs at the moment, instead of an idealistic competition suited more to where the sport is established? Has anyone else heard of another national drift event that could possibly fill the void currently left by the stagnant DA brand?

So many questions, so few answers. So, any rumours going around? Eh eh eh?

[Delazy]

i know greg personally and have spoken to him in regards to this...

i think the plan is still to have DA as the national competition with a few minor changes, but DA will also be getting behind the grass roots competitions and supporting them on a much bigger basis than Drift Australia did previously...

in his words "without grass roots we have no DA"

i personally look forward to seeing wat he does, guarenteeed to be 100 times better than previously...

in the meantime state levels are getting more competitive and professional than ever... as seen here in tasmania, but i also know QLD and SA is boom like never before, WA is picking up there game, victoria seem to be heading towards a good thing now with a few organisation postition changes...

im fairly sure the one round of DA is soley being ran to pick the 2 Australian representatives for the Redbull Worlds assuming thats being ran again this year...

http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=2615

[ae86hachiroku]

I see DA as a massive plague to drift in Australia, it should go to the bin. There's no need for this bullshit franchise and such a constricting hold on it's competitors, absolute rubbish and isn't welcome to the nature of drift.

My local rounds here are suffering as well, with many consistent entrants beginning to pull out, our state round coming up this Saturday has only 16 entrants. :S. Unless something is done to promote a more Japanese styled approach to drifting (I don't care what you say, they got it right), drift in Australia is and always will fail.

[johl]

i think they should stop trying to compete with the supercars and trying to run this massive competition and what not, rather they should use the v8 supercar market.

it is only an idea and i know it would be a logistical nightmare but here goes.

they should run d.a at a few v8 supercar rounds such as bathurst, indy etc. the crowd are always going to be there, the sponsors are there, the money is there. have qualifying on the friday, top 32 on saturday before the long race, top 16 after, and then the finals on sunday between races.

do this for maybe 2 seasons and i think they will build up a massive fan base and alot more sponsors as they can see it is a real sport and the fans soon see ads for D.A and say to felow bogans "oh sick davo, those dorifta's have their own series now, should go check it out aye? it'l be fuggin sick aye"

my 2c

[AE86 Spoontah]

It's actually pretty bleak for drifting over here in W.A. We get plenty of drivers attending practice nights but when competiton time come's around all those drivers sit on the side lines. This has now forced the sponsors to pull out if $5800 min profit isn't met, and as a consequence, the top drivers are pulling out and plan on selling their cars.

[PuGZoR]

I don't actually think it's going that well here in QLD. Maybe on the street, but in terms of official track based competition it's pretty ordinarily.

QR no longer are organising DriftState, meaning QR is not used for any drift competition this year at all, unless someone brings something up. They're doing Friday night practices, and that's it. It's pretty bad, and I think that what really made me want to find out what's happening elsewhere, because it's looking pretty bleak.

Option1Garage are still running Archerfield, and very regularly. This is fricken great. My only gripe is that it's a very short and tight course (it was a go-kart track!), so it's more like a gymkhana than drifting. I've never actually slid it, and I know it's not an easy track for the drivers by any means because I've rode shotgun, but it's just a little too slow for what I'd like to be seeing I guess. I've seen some fkn great driving there though, I must say that.

Then there's Stadium Drift run by Raceline. Once again, done on a go-kart track (still actively used as that too) so is a very short track with not a lot of speed to it. Further more, it's just a big W shape really, but the geography does change elevation a bit so it's got that going for it. Once again, some absolutely great drifting there, but it has speeds closer to that you'd see in a gymkhana.

From what I've heard they won't be having drifting at Lakeside for a few reasons as well, which is very disappointing but understandable given the location.

So essentially we don't really have any major form of competition on our major track, as far as I know... I'm hoping Raceline or Option1Garage do some kind of deal with QR to get parts of their series run there, even a final or something would be good. The talent's here like in other parts, just no one's letting them shine...

[ae8zn6]

Thats lame about the comps in WA, I used to really enjoy them, who is considering selling up?

I can see that the comps aren't particularly enticing though, you'll always have the same 4-5 drivers in the final, so its not like anyone else can really win... But I always just went in them for the fun, get a couple battles in and then you still get a decent amount of track time in the expression sessions

[AE86 Spoontah]

Thats lame about the comps in WA, I used to really enjoy them, who is considering selling up?

I can see that the comps aren't particularly enticing though, you'll always have the same 4-5 drivers in the final, so its not like anyone else can really win... But I always just went in them for the fun, get a couple battles in and then you still get a decent amount of track time in the expression sessions

A mate of mine is good friends with Borneo and said he's selling up as is Banger. Clint has already sold his car and it's street rego'd coz i've seen it at a servo :DD

[marvis]

I'd rather that we didn't have big comps. I'd like drifting not to be mainstream(or less). It's already a pain in the ass, especially with people who don't know what the fuck they are on about. Little comps are the go.

Same with bosozoku.. Shit's starting to come up and people are talking about it, but not knowing what they are actually talking about.

[ae8zn6]

wow, its sad to hear that one of the best steerers in the country is selling up... I have videos of him easily drifting the entire circuit at barbs that are about 5 or so years old, and its not like he would have just started then either cause he was doing it with ease... there's no way he'll recoupe anywhere near what he's spent on that ceffy either, Furthermore without guys that are that standard it'll be harder to draw crowds which means it'll be harder to make comps (even with a full field) and easier for the track to make excuses to not run drift :(


Stupid non prime lenders

[Axentrik]

i think they should stop trying to compete with the supercars and trying to run this massive competition and what not, rather they should use the v8 supercar market.

it is only an idea and i know it would be a logistical nightmare but here goes.

they should run d.a at a few v8 supercar rounds such as bathurst, indy etc. the crowd are always going to be there, the sponsors are there, the money is there. have qualifying on the friday, top 32 on saturday before the long race, top 16 after, and then the finals on sunday between races.

do this for maybe 2 seasons and i think they will build up a massive fan base and alot more sponsors as they can see it is a real sport and the fans soon see ads for D.A and say to felow bogans "oh sick davo, those dorifta's have their own series now, should go check it out aye? it'l be fuggin sick aye"

my 2c

thats all good and well but drifting covers tracks in mass amounts of rubber.

[johl]

which provides mass amount of grip. after the v8's tear through on their practice and qualifying there is already heaps of rubber down and the onl thing the drifters will add will be rubber off the racing line

[ae71neo]

I think johls idea is fantastic.

[shift_rook]

me too, anyone got contacts in v8 supercars?

[Axentrik]

Errr johl rather than argue im just gonna lol

[doony]

barbagello gets drifted on pretty frequently...
:|
v8s still run there?f
do they or do they not, im not sure? id think so ?

[Axentrik]

Yer your right and there's been drifting at bathurst if im not mistaken. I guess it would be alright if they're swept inbetween. I was talking about all the huge chunks of rubber not the good kind that sticks to the track... drunk postings not always the best lol.

[ae8zn6]

Yeah, there is already a lot of drift demos that go on at rounds of the v8 supercars etc. Fairly sure that borneo and banga went out at the last round at perth to put on a show for the crowd in between races. (link found Clicky Clicky (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf8O1XU1TMw)) The biggest problem with that idea that I can see is that there is already a lot of racing that goes on at the v8s. Like don't they run the carrea cup rounds at the same time and I know they had the celebrity mini round at the last v8 round at barbs as well... So its probably already time compressed, so Id say if you were going to do it you would have to do qualifying straight away, so there would be no time to set the cars up etc. I think as it was several teams in the DA were having a whinge about not getting enough time to get their cars set up for the track... and superdrift got even less... Dunno how that would affect things

[H8CHIR6KU]

in regards to drift in wa, there wasn't much happening from alot of the smaller competitors. however on the weekend there was almost all the bigger name guys there so it can't be all that bad.

also there is a hell of alot more new people coming out to drift prac and so on so if anything i think it will just get bigger. it may take a bit of time is all.

there was only 25 competitors that made it past qualifying on sat at rd5 in wa, but there was also a shit load of regulars and other drivers that may have come but didn't just because short of cash or there cars werent ready.

if borneo, clint and banger did sell up i honestly don't see that as a bad thing. while i do enjoy watching them and they are great drivers it really will bring the rest of the feild closer together. and i think it will give alot more oppurtunities to other drivers who normally would have no chance against the bigger names

my opinion anyway. i think some people just prefer to think negatively about shit like this. theyre all like " omg its so dead", but as long as there are people enjoying it, it will be around.

[stefan]

yeh i agree with running with the v8s, if that happened itd open the sport up to alot of people who wouldnt pay to see it, i mean think bout all those v8 fans who wouldnt be caught dead at a jap style event, this way they'd have to see it and may even like it lol
that and like mentioned all the sponsorship and airtime and so on

[narchi]

Im not really new but i am to drift lol. Biggest problem i see are threads talking about drift dying. Im not having a go by the way but honestly something im seeing more of and im like wtf am i doing building a drift car atm.
Now drift might be getting less popular at the moment. But people have to remember that a lot of people that were earning bulk cash have lost jobs.

new people coming into drift are generally young ppl just starting out. Most think they are not worthy of competing in a battle yet.
I have to admit im a bit nervous of going down. Dont really wanna battle and have my car taken out or taking someone elses car out coz i dunno what im doing.

Its not just drift that i hear the comment about the guys that always win intimidate the guys just starting out coz they cant win. Well competing isnt about winning. Its about getting better so can take out the guys at the top one day. I wouldn't wanna go out be pretty average and win. That doesn't tell me im ne good.

People need to worry less about what the scene is like right now and keep getting down to drift as much as possible. Whether to watch, practice or compete. So that these organizers dont close the drift scene down for good. Then when money actually pics up again and we start seeing more people spending money on drift cars then we can watch it boom.

Organizers also need to think more on how to grow as opposed on hey crap y isn't ne1 coming. Oh well just keep on doing what where doing if it doesn't get better then we wont run it nemore.
I know advertising costs money but u gotta spend money to make money. I saw 1 ad for the Drift comp in WA this weekend. How are ppl suppose to know its on? I dunno what its like in the other states but advertising is shocking in Perth. Not just for drift but other events to.

Neway just things Ive noticed as a person starting to get into drift and things that go through my head reading all this.

[Ae86sam]

Raceline are running a series that will have rounds from Cairns to Adelaide. The first round was held at parklands last sunday, the next round is in tamworth this sunday. There is another qld round at QR in april i think also.

In regards to the running with the V8's.. Not very likely to happen.. They are a Cam's and the organisers are mental about drifting.. When we do the ontrack demos at indy and sandown they freak out over the radios the entire time.. Good idea but it would fail hard as drifting requires alot more time to run than a typical start finish race. We need to get people on and off the track constantly so very very doubtful..

[Intense]

I'd love to see a state of origin style series. Local clubs have a small mini series where points and stuff are kept. Top 3 go into a yearly or maybe bi-yearly competition that is held at different states each time. Be good to see a bit of state rivalry going on.

[redsprinter]

+++++++1

hell yeah ... something like that would be awesome .

[doony]

does Danny Vahoumis drive for Miluc Cival ??
didnt he have his own shit in osborne park called JPC - japanese performance centre

[ae8zn6]

mulic civil just sponsored the WA DA contingent... so yeah, he was part of team mulic civil, although he did/does run his own store: JPC

[driftke70]

what i wanted to try and get going, was get one of the tracks on the sunny coast, like big go kart track or something ivolved, and have a 4 round series, where first round is like parklands for all the gold coast boys, then archie for the bris boys, then big kart track for the sunny coast, then hold the finals at qr. good mix of tracks, not TOO far apart, 4 events can be spaced pretty nicely, brings some variation to the field, as the sunny coast has a few good drivers, but most could never be bothered to drive to the tracks. Dont care about going on forums and having their cars in members rides and stuff. it could bring them out, have a bit of area patriotism.

da is pretty unnecessary, like you know, so what 2 aussies go over to america for red bull, i like drift as much as the next guy and i just really didnt care, i care more about the local stuff because its here, its relevent, and its pretty high class, it became a battle of who was the one who made this mistake, not the battle of who can drive the most impressive run.

[crackett]

i like drift as much as the next guy and i just really didnt care, i care more about the local stuff because its here, its relevent, and its pretty high class, it became a battle of who was the one who made this mistake, not the battle of who can drive the most impressive run.

YES! FUCK YES! Best call ever!

[Barrrp86]

i think its good that da is dead.
dont get me wrong, i used to love turning on the telly on a sun lunch to watch my favouite ausie "d1's" battle it out (it used to be on speedweek... every week!)

BUT i hated the V8 falcodore infuence.

i still see commo wagons with "caution, vehicle frequently sideways" and it makes me sad.
i do love a drift pig, (it's almost what i prefer) but roll-over drift is never appealing and every now and then i get told about some "massive drift" some retard managed that was nothing more than a big exit (or worse a single spinner "mums taxi" squeal).
I dont tell many people what i like doing in my car, because of what they then want to talk to me about. i can deal with dumbass questions like "what does an lsd do?" but i cant deal with the "how is that not a drift?" question/argument.

I liked it when drift was a mystery to most and a passion to few.

Sure, Hollywood did some serious damage to the scene (i'll leave it at that...). but when the showstopper for an event (anyone remember the "CAPA ute", among others) does not belong anywhere near the grass-roots you have a serious problem.

It is a shame that good things like drift battle magazine died, but the real fans are still out there and as long as there's drift practice nites/curly roads at nite the real sport will live on.

[Eircamae86]

Keeping it grass roots is the best way, drifting isnt as popular as most people think, ive seen the D1 trying to make it big in the UK & it fell flat with the D1 just walking away. Then multiple other attempt to get different series going.
Prodrift in Ireland have done the best job holding both an Irish an European series, they have a good fan base & sell shit loads of merchandise. They do put on a good show though with alot of emphasis put on each driver at the start of the events & between runs with the guys having their own tune & they all have to be introduced & do a few tricks etc,,, they do have very good commentators & make sure that everyone can hear/understand whats going on, which is something I have seen lacking at the few events Ive attended over here. That gold/sunnycoast/Brissy comp was a good idea

[Rice86]

they do have very good commentators & make sure that everyone can hear/understand whats going on, which is something I have seen lacking at the few events Ive attended over here.

Word...good commentators will keep you focused on whats going on out on the track instead of you having to block your ears to hear their nonsense yelling and laughter for no good reason

not much commentators are really connecting with the audience, hence they lose interest and just pack up and go home when all the good bits are done

[worked]

hahaha you should come down to tas for our drift series
with tasmanias own hamish and andy, the bayliss and fowler show
*frequent coarse launguage and alcohol consumption is part of the act we must warn*
we have a pretty tight drift community down here, pretty much everyone knows everyone, so when two ex drifters who are always drunk and jawing off got the chance to sit on the mic for a bit, it was hilarious. well to most of us.
'oh damo roach is coming in, weak as shit' 'josh priseman, not only is he a member of the gvc, but he's a pretty tall bloke as well' etc etc
plus tas series is going so well this year
top marks to lazy and co for organising it all so well.
round 1 was the most ideal

[resol]

just browsed the thread, read some of the comments that stood out the most to me.

theres a lot of complaining about how drifting needs to stay 'grass roots' and how commercialism is/will ruin it, or how its no longer alternative? much like boso?

jeez guys need to step back and have a look at how the world works. when something becomes popular, people find out about it and what to know more, see more or do it for them selves...how did you get into the sport?

so you cant complain that its becoming less grass roots. there will always be grass roots, and for a sport like drifting typically thats on the street. have a look at vids on youtube or the option vids, jdm insider etc. the pros over there are STILL drifting the street, and being shown doin it. granted its a diff culture over there but thats how they do it.

just because the sport 'came from japan' doesnt mean it should stay there. where live in australia and we should bring some aussie flavour to the sport. so bring on the v8's! hahaha. (nah i love toyota, and jap cars too). but not so much like the US series goddamn i hate how they drift!

*off topic theres a vid of tsuchya(sp) and some other d1 driver (cant rememer his name) who go over to USA to challenge some of their top drivers to mini comps etc. one is who can drift the best in a stock MX5 the USA guys were SHOCKINGLY bad, very bad drift styles from only ever driving powerfull cars with good HB.

i really like the idea about having the drift series follow the V8 supercars, but they already have the porsche cup, and who knows whats happening wth indy. and yeh drift does throw a lot of debris onto the track which grip drivers would hate!

my thoughts...

-dan

[drift kid]

the thing i hate most is when people are uneducated about this motor sport, im not saying i know it all etc, but i was talking to a mate at school the otha day and he told me about how he was "drifting" his mates shit box FWD mazda 323 or sum shit on a dirt road, he was acting like he belonged in a D1GP comp. this sort of attitude is very irritating to me, does any one else deal with these types of people.

thats my 2cents.

[Rice86]

the thing i hate most is when people are uneducated about this motor sport, im not saying i know it all etc, but i was talking to a mate at school the otha day and he told me about how he was "drifting" his mates shit box FWD mazda 323 or sum shit on a dirt road, he was acting like he belonged in a D1GP comp. this sort of attitude is very irritating to me, does any one else deal with these types of people.

thats my 2cents.

YES, and only noobs says they drift, i say i slide cause im still no where near to even drifting yet...

its even more irritating comming from a person who doesnt even have there license but drives illigally and calls himself a dirfter in a stupic civic, people like that needs to get done by the cops

[v-tec]

Drift is what you make of it, it will only ever die in the arse when you get bored of it

[Intense]

the thing i hate most is when people are uneducated about this motor sport, im not saying i know it all etc, but i was talking to a mate at school the otha day and he told me about how he was "drifting" his mates shit box FWD mazda 323 or sum shit on a dirt road, he was acting like he belonged in a D1GP comp. this sort of attitude is very irritating to me, does any one else deal with these types of people.

thats my 2cents.

Just don't deal with them or quickly put them in there place. These people need to be humiliated so that they realise just how big of a tool they are.

[Konakid]

Drift is what you make of it, it will only ever die in the arse when you get bored of it

Pretty much hey