Touching down at the park named ‘Birrarung Marr’ I found a nice little area for a selection of cars to park up in. Do note, these cars all had to apply to be on display here – there was no public displaying, just the selection. I think this is good personally as it allows for a consistent high quality of cars.

BMW’s seem to have a very large presence over here. Back home they’re spread out between a bunch of slammed golfs, but here we had near new hellaflush Beemers.

And I mean near new. This M3 was already sitting on TE37SL’s..

On the note of Golf’s though, there was a decent range of late model and older model Golf’s sitting slammed on a range of wheels – some on BBS.

And some on Borbet(anyone able to confirm?) wheels. Do love this classic Mk 1 shape.

One thing that did surprise me was seeing a very very slammed Oddessy. I always thought one of these slammed would have a lot of potential and be quite the FW promo vehicle – plus it’d be practical right? Yeah.

But if an Oddessy doesn’t cover it, hit up a CR-V. A tad bit more sporty and Jeep-esque.

R34 GTR’s seemed to be plentiful with many on offer on this row.

This WRX on CCW’s really caught my eye. Nice to see a modern WRX in the stance scene.

Quite nice to see a NSX out on display too! Not a usual sight for us NZer’s.

A few days prior to the event when i was strolling around the city this pulled over right next to me. I spotted it at the meet a few days later. The Aussies do love this shape of Accord.

A competitor for Mark’s Slammry from NZ?

Love this wagon. Quite the standout from the other more modern vehicles that were parked up.

Honda crew was out in force with even a rad slammed Fit/Jazz!

Digging the wheels and fitment on this S13! Looking quite raw but something definitely different from the usual.

Can’t get enough of E46′s, yellow headlights and roof racks.

Takumi’s modernised 86 brother!

‘Froth Wagon’

And lastly a crazy 2JZ ‘no shit’ Supra. Nice to see one done up really well.

This concludes my Melbourne postings! Hopefully I’ll be overseas soon to gather some more content from Australia.. Until then, watch out for some shots on the Facebook page from our new homie Blake!

-Chris

Let’s start with a big one. Deep fried Mac n Cheese. Thanks TGIF Friday’s.

Chapel Street was a damn cool place. Much like that of High Street or Ponsonby but on a gigantic scale.

More food. Cakes over here were a whole other deal.

Graffiti was a prominent feature also.  This is all over a giant old building in the centre of town. I do feel like they should put the place to use, but for now the art remains.

It seemed that it didn’t matter where I turned, the graffiti was quite literally everywhere. Every little alley way or dodgy corner was covered in some masterpieces.

This was one of my favourites, hidden down a little alley way.

Melbourne seemed to like incorporating food into the graffiti as well. Hot Dog life.

Or an angry donut.

A big shout out to the crew at Grill’d for their rad burgers. Not sure if they beat Big Jay’s in Mt Wellington though..

The central city was a rather peaceful place with a lot of trams out and about to help the masses get around.

Quite liked this Accord spotted chilling on the side of the road. Later saw it at the 100mm meet.

Parks and recreation.

Sticker slapping was alive and well around these parts too. Do love some good sticker slapping.

Buskers were getting their groove on.

As was the RS*R Drift team.

I eventually saw them a couple of days later again out at the media day for Formula Drift.

Having a few issues with the car, they were just trying to stabilize it for the main event. Trying to get it all sorted and fix any little issues that came their way. This is a brand new car after all.

The car went back into the tent for more issues to be ironed out throughout the day.

Daigo’s car was also giving the mechanical team troubles. Luckily they seemed to get rid of the problems before Sunday.

Time to give some lucky kids a few laps.

Ryan’s S13.5 was looking mighty clean sitting on a wide set of Kranze to the side.

The crew all lined up and took some photos. But that’s enough of the media day.

Off to the 100mm event instead. I decided I couldn’t handle 3 days at one track. This NSX was mighty refreshing to see though.

As did this Impreza on a set of CCW’s.

Honda Odyssey’s get little attention in NZ, but it’s nice to see this one well slammed.

In fact the Honda scene in general was doing very well at this meet.

As was the BMW scene too. Loved this 3 series.

 100mm was a mad rad meet. Will have a full post up on this later.

Onto the main day at Formula Drift Asia.

Fredric Aasbo laid down some clean runs, following through with his 4th place finish.

Robbie Nishida laid out some clean runs also, smoking up the second corner.

The media crew were being a silly bunch in between as usual. A big thanks to Gwyn from Grip Shift Slide too!

The judges seemed ready for the main event, as were the media and crowd.

This is why Fredric and Robbie won the team battles competition. Overtaking is a pretty cool move in drifting.

Which wing’s better? The big Rocket Bunny or the GT Wing of Rob Whyte?

 Runner up – Tom Monkhouse.

Winner – Daigo Saito.

We had a media conference afterwards, which mostly involved drinking with the FD/Speedhunters crew. Hey Jarod and Joey!

Dai Yoshihara was hanging out and seemed to enjoy his time in Melbourne!

Larry Chen’s face after tasting VB beer.

And a couple of tourists. Hah – shocker of a photo.

And before I knew it I was visiting this place at the Melbourne Airport..

And buying duty free alcohol to take back home to NZ.

I’ll be back soon enough though.

Melbourne on film.

-Chris

When I first started Freshly Whipped, I had this plan to travel a little bit, take a few photos, meet some people and just kinda have fun? I had bought a camera only a month prior at a Boxing Day sale and thought i’d do some blogging and use Speedhunters as my main inspiration. I read articles by dudes like Larry Chen and hoped one day that I could get to that level. I hoped that one day I’d get a call saying hey ‘Wanna fly to another country and shoot a drift event?’. When I heard about Formula Drift in Melbourne I decided ‘f*ck it, I’m doing it.’ – no turning back. I told my father I was reinstating my passport and that I’d have flights booked the next day for a trip in three weeks time. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t too impressed but needless to say, I went out and bought the tickets, talked to a few people, got my media passes sorted and made a few calls.  When I hopped on the plane I was that one guy who was last. I was the prick being yelled out over the speakers asking for ‘CHRISTOPHER SMITH TO REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO GATE 15 – WE ARE WAITING TO LEAVE’ – oh sh*t. After running to my gate with my duty free alcohol smashing around I made it onto the plane. By this point I had a near semi panic attack. I’m not one to freak out or lose my shit under pressure, but for some reason knowing I was alone on a plane to another country and a city I’d never visited before, only hoping that everything would fall into place on the other side gave me quite the fright. It’s an oddly euphoric feeling knowing no one’s looking out for you now, you’re on your own. Looking back on little trips around NZ, this made all of them appear hilarious. But lucky for myself, I find comfort in being stressed – there’s something about that feeling that makes me happy.

As I arrived in Melbourne and hopped on a bus to the central city, I realised that ‘shit just got real’.

Cutting forward a week and I was off to Calder Park for the media day. Just when you think things can’t get any more odd and awkward, my train was late – go figure. I arrived at my train stop an hour and a half later only to find I’d missed my bus and they only arrived every 2 hours. Waiting at a bus stop alone in the middle of no where for 1 1/2 hours isn’t too fun admittedly, but in the end I made it to my press conference late and interrupted the conference – good job kid.

But onto the cars right? So Calder Park. Wow. What an amazing location. The only problem is, I can’t help but feel that we’re about 20 years late. The track is a giant oval, much like Irwindale or other Nascar style Speedway tracks – but we were just using a little centre/outer section of it. The sign’s have diminished and the grandstands are cracking to pieces with the rubbish tip beneath it. I was told there was a bunch of snakes on the other side too – being a weak little kiwi, i wasn’t too fond of finding out.

The pit’s were temporary and allowed for a good little space for the crew to work around and get their cars going.

I loved that with Formula Drift comes proper teams. The teams rock uniforms, and we’re not talking basic little tee shirts. We’re talking full on jackets, coats, chairs, tents, hats, race suits – everything. If you can brand it, R*S*R probably has. By the end of the weekend I really wanted one of these jackets..

Fredric Aasbo was a man that showed a lot of prowess. A man that carried a certain level of confidence and appeal with every step. Many were crowing him the ‘King of the Ball’ by the end of the weekend, with masses of crowds gathering around his car and his team in general. Without a doubt this group was one to watch out for.

The 86. A clean cut, well built car with lots of power and a giant bonnet scoop. When I first followed the build of the car, I wasn’t too sure about the bonnet scoop, especially with it not even having a supercharger, usually the reason for the scoop in the first place.

Upon seeing the car in real life though, I can’t help but adore what they’ve done with it. The scoop works perfectly, the car looks incredible, the tone is amazing and the overall look is perfect. I really can’t fault the car what so ever.

From the rear you can see the giant exhaust pipe that sticks out the back. It’s a rectangle measuring something like 20cm x 7cm. It’s on a new level.

Looking at Daigo’s Altezza is another Toyota carrying a lot of cool styling. I can’t think of another drift Altezza of this shape and prowess.

The drift section at the track was a huge sweeper into a short ‘s’ bend,

and into a final hairpin as demonstrated by the wondrous Daigo Saito.

The entry allowed for drivers to experience the heights of the speedway wall, moving down to a smokey exit, to a smokey entry. Fredric showed this in his battle with Daigo.

Mike showed the smoking potential of the centre point of the corner, really pushing the Nitto tyres around with his PPRE quad rotor 26B. I was happy to hear so many of the media and spectators adoring the sound of his car. It’s a great feeling to see Kiwi’s being appreciated offshore.

I’m always one to stand in stupid sh*t spots. I like being a bit of a dick and lying down in a spot where I could be killed. Anything for the shot right? I took this shot lying down where I shouldn’t have, sitting around trying to get the best shot. But I like this shot so that’s alright, right?

Until this happens, and the car goes off track, starts to spin and come straight towards you. That’s when you either run or get the shot. I stopped here, then ran. Luckily I’m here to write this post though and the driver was fine. Could’ve ended badly though, so ‘don’t try this at home kiddies’ – or do, just not on a racetrack. Hah.

Seeing many drivers I’d never heard of or seen before was quite the treat. The M150 dudes were over from parts of Southern Asia. Some from Malaysia and others from Indonesia. I personally didn’t know that drifting was a ‘thing’ there, and was very impressed by their skills and talents behind the wheel.

Seeing a Ute drift is probably something quite odd for the non Aussie/Kiwi’s in the crowd. Although we don’t really have any utes back home drifting yet, i’d always thought it seemed like a cool idea. This matte black one driven by a local was pulling a lot of smoke and really showcasing itself to the public. I’m told he qualified first at the previous days ADGP competition. Not bad for an ‘El Camino’.

It was nice to see Aggess back out competing after his recent competition debut in New Zealand. His red 180sx is a very competitive car, still running an SR20DET which is a nice change from a pack of V8′s.

Sadly for our local homeboy Hugo, his clutch wouldn’t stop giving him issues. He ended up borrowing a S15 for competition only to break an axle. A true disappointment as I know many of us were hanging out to see his 20b rotary powered AE85 in competition. Here’s a pic of him on form, entering at the media day.

Qualifying rules meant that some drivers would be knocked out immediately. If you weren’t good enough you were out – I think it worked quite well.

I was always one of those kids finding every available stream to watch Formula Drift online and to see it in real life was quite the experience. I feel like we as Kiwi’s could really take not of some of the smaller things that the event puts on.

Although these dudes have a huge budget, I find that the simple things such as one giant table for getting signatures and posters adds that bit more character to the event and helps to draw it all together a bit more.

Aasbo was chilling with Mike and co down the far end – by the end of the weekend we even got a bit of a rad hand shake going on. Cool cat that Aasbo boy.

And the Kiwi’s + Jake seemed to enjoy their end of table experience.

Might I add, the promo girls over here were mighty beautiful. Let’s look over some examples shall we? These girls did pose like this. I swear. A big thanks to X Mini for this wonderful sight.

The Achilles girls were also a lovely bunch.

At the Top 16 line up many of the drivers through some freebies out for the crowd. Mike was throwing out some tee’s.

Daynom posed with his designated promo girl.

As did Aasbo with his lovely X-Mini girl.

Go time.

Moving to the battles, we as media set ourselves around at some odd positions. Many of us clambering over the concrete barriers to try get that little bit more lower angle as we fought for ‘the shot’.

Just to skip ahead a little bit for the sake of rules, the drivers would wait and watch the big screen to find out their fate in their battle. Kinda looks like a drive in movie theatre don’t you think?

In the top 16 battles we saw the demise of Kiwi 2JZ RX7 drifter Daynom Templeman after coming up against Daigo Saito in his first battle.

Another Kiwi favourite Mad Mike Whiddett came up against Oat one of the M150 drifters, with many expecting favourite Mad Mike to win, he sadly grazed the wall a bit too hard, then spun on his second run. Oat went through.

Another upset was that of Robbie Nishida against Tom Monkhouse. In a surprising turn of events, Tom went through in his borrowed Nissan Laurel.

By this point we were experiencing some rather odd outcomes. Into top 8 we say young gun Jake Jones come up against Daigo Saito with crowd favourite Saito going through.

Fredric Aasbo came up against the local hero Rob Whyte, with the V8 86 proving its worth, putting Aasbo through.

We then saw Oat vs Tom. After beating Mad Mike, many were expecting him to beat the young Aussie in a borrowed car. However he could only make second best with Tom going through.

‘Dude on the poster’ Josh Boettcher came up against Asian drifter Mico Wibowo in their top 8 battle with the S15 of Josh allowing him to progress through.

Ah top 4. The battles everyone longs for. We couldn’t have hoped for a better matching in this section really – Aasbo vs Saito. Both played their roles well and pushed for an amazing display of drifting but Japanese god Daigo Saito was too much for Aasbo, putting him through to the first/second battle.

The two Aussies were now fighting to see who would come up against Saito in the final battle. With Tom in a borrowed car and JB seeking comfort in his own S15 it was still anybodies game by this point. With a hard battle fought and JB spinning on his own, Tom went through to face Saito.

Not bad for a dude who’s borrowed a car and only qualified for his FD licence the day prior..

By this point it was pretty dark. Shooting at F2 – 1/60th – ISO 4000 isn’t ideal for really any camera, let’s be honest. Fredric and JB were up.

Daigo and Tom were also out to play, with both being surprisingly tight together. Both battles were very impressive and no doubt Tom will be one to watch out for.

Voice of Formula Drift, Jarod DeAnda spoke on behalf of the championship thanking the crowd and the community for their support.

The judges had crowned a new winner though – Daigo Saito. Tom came second with fellow Aussie JB beating Aasbo for third position.

Champagne showers.

JB seemed to be very stoked on the outcome. Following this we went back to the VIP/Media room for our final press conference – the drivers lined up and spoke on behalf to thank their teams and their sponsors.

Aasbo had a slight strain of annoyance in his eyes,

but at the same time seemed to be looking forward to the next round in Malaysia.

Later that night we media/drivers had a few beers and took some dumb photos on film. That can wait for the ‘film edition’ of this post though.

What can I say? Best weekend of my career/life? No doubt. Will be looking to try fund the next round over in Malaysia too. If you’d like to come on board and collaborate to make this happen, please do get in touch.

Writing this in a food court, a Starbucks, in student accommodation and now finally in the second floor of a Telstra building has lead me to look at this event in many different ways.

But most of all, good job Formula Drift Asia. I’ll be seeing you again.

-Chris

Jodie’s Supra was poking out in the pits – ready for some action.

She was more focused on the briefing however. With all of the drivers lined up ready to hear the days news, straight from the bosses mouth.

Parked up all alone was Dave and Olly’s 180sx’s. Two of my personal favourites in the country.

Only in NZ would you find a half 32 hald Commodore. Quite surprised how well they’ve pulled this off..

Dale of FC RX7 fame brought out his other project car with his partner, a Mk5 GTi Golf on Rotiform wheels. Damn cool.

The MetalMan Escort was out to put on a show in the V8 Legends battle.

Aaron Bennett brought out his brother Jock’s old AE for a spin too. Damn cool seeing this car back out in action.

Sky Zhao was putting on a good show in the 2 Degree’s 350z.

We also had some Aussies come over to put on a show with us..

Rob Whyte’s 350z seemed to take to Hampton Downs quite well. Sadly he was knocked out in battle leaving him without a podium spot.

Aggess of Insane Drifters was also over to compete, putting on an awesome show in his 180sx.

Onto the top 16. Fanga’s Commodore was looking tough, ready for some action.

Mike was chilling for the crowds.

Notable moments of the weekend: Kukutai’s wheel fell off. Oops.

Cam Vernon vs Curt Whittaker – a battle that had many fans left annoyed in belief that Cam should’ve gone through. No comment here.

Cam still had a smile on his face though.

Another mention for Rob Whyte who put on a great show against Curt Whittaker for the Legends drift comp.

With Adam Hedges of C’s Garage fame competing in Hugo’s car for Pro Am it was no surprise to see him come out on top.

Mike Whiddett won the main podium spot, with Cole Armstrong’s first podium also.

The boys got  bit rough with the spraying and left Mike with a bit of a sore eye. Oh well.

Hit up the next issue of NZ Performance Car magazine for the full coverage.

-Chris

But also happening that day was the V8 Supertourers. Admittedly I don’t care a lot for circuit racing, but the drift boys were out putting on a little demo for the crowd at lunch.

The D1NZ ute had it’s maiden voyage out around the track and put on quite the display with myself and many others quite surprised by Keg’s ability and the car.

Sadly it didn’t last with the axle breaking. Next time.

As I was arriving another crash had just occured. Not really something you want to see happen to a car of this caliber.

SSR was fine though. Trusty RB29DET under the hood proving to be a lot more useful that day than at the Tauranga round of D1NZ, with many improvements and fixes made.

Back at Meremere the boys were just getting started. Stan has this awesome little KE which i truly can’t fault. Starsharks and fender mirrors are the shit.

Neal brought out his 180sx for a change as he’s usually seen driving the Team Cream Cefiro. He said the whole experience was quite odd as he’s not used to having any power under the bonnet. Good ol’ RB30E’s.

Todd’s wagon is pulling some awesome lock as it swings down the dragstrip.

This little KP used to be orange and was posted on our Facebook page showing off the crazy reverse style entries the driver was pulling. It’s been repainted now to reflect a bomber style but was still pulling some good turns.

Cam popped over from the V8′s to finish off his tyres. Sadly – as expected – it didn’t take long for that to happen.

Dylan from DT Komposites was pulling some rad lock through the Keto knuckles.

Another Keto customer Faiz was pulling a true ‘flatlock’ around the corner even with the front half of the car missing.

The dudes from C’s Garage brought out a car they’ve been working on a lot for a customer. Joel hopped behind the wheel and first run pulled off a reverse entry. he then went on to pull them continually.. So damn cool.

Here’s some footage I took of the entries.

Hugo also popped over to pull some entries too.

Gradually pulling reverse entries similar to that of the C’s Garage boys.

beeoneoneoh.com’s Chris Cain had his B110 ute out to hit the drift with.

My homie Keisuke from 86 Fighters was out with his AE86 but sadly blew the engine up. Never thought i would see the day. He’s also contributed a few shots to this post. CHEERS.

Stan also had a set of A3A’s with him. Quite jealous.

This S15 was pulling some fast and hard locked up entries through the corner making for an impressive smile from the passenger.

Keiran seems to be one of the only dudes out with his MX5 drifting regularly these days. He does a good job with it too. Hopefully we see more little Miata’s out together soon!

Last but not least – Nate Dogg. Good to see both the car and the driver back out again. Many of you will know Nate for his amazing, awe-inspiring D1NZ commentating. He’s a god.

Check out Keto Knuckles on Facebook here.

-Chris

Let’s just go straight into drifting – no mucking around. Mad Mike was on form – as expected.

Curt Whittaker seemed to be frothing at the wheels.

Cole Armstrong’s R34 was on great form also, powering the V machine through the corners with plenty of smoke.

Redward was on form as well, with the giant wing of his landscaping his smoke.

He was also on form in practice battles.

Mike seemed to be rearing to take on the masses in his RX7..

Pulling some class act runs throughout qualifying and in earlier practice runs.

After winning the previous Whangarei round, Fanga Dan seemed to be on form at the also concrete jungle track.

An awesome amount of spectators showed up with around 7000ish people, meaning D1NZ had to shut the gates and not allow any more people in. The first time this has happened for the series.

Into lunchtime Joe was out signing his little posters and smiling for the camera..

I headed back out onto the track and my homie Blake was ready to go with his new camera. Hit his page Maximum Style up with a like.

The midday spectacle of freestyle motocross also popped up to show us how it’s done with two wheels.

Onto the top 16 lineup.  All the boys lined up with the main contenders lining up side by side.

Hugo made a good leaving skid, to the disgust of Brendon and the laughter of Warren.

Into top 32 we had a great battle between Cody Collis and Brad Lauder, with Brad going through.

Jason Sellers was paired up with Willy Foster, with Sellers going through.

Top 16 had Cole Armstrong come up against young gun Nico Reid. Nico went through after Cole spun and buggered some crucial steering parts.

Sadly Gaz had a major crash after this and it caused Sean Falconer to go through.

No good. This shows it as it happened from the inside..

The car’s fuel tank was then punctured and started leaking everywhere.

Gaz looked to be in a state of shock, only just coming to grips with what had just happened.

From the top 16, into the top 8 another disaster was waiting to happen.

Mike also had a decent crash into the wall.

But he came back out 5mins later and fought all he could – which sadly wasn’t enough. Nico Reid goes through to top 4.

A good battle between team mates saw Zak Pole and Fanga Dan Woolhouse compete together with Fanga pushing his Commodore through to the top 4.

But within no time we were off to the Top 4 battles.

Into Top 4 battles – Fanga and Nico Reid. A near classic looking battle with Nico pushing his best, but coming off short. Nico goes through to 3/4th battle, with Fanga going through to 1/2nd battles.

Hugo then came up against Andrew Redward for their top 4 battle. Andrew Redward went through and Hugo was then placed up against Nico Reid.

Nico Reid vs Hugo Maclean. Possibly one of the best and most hilarious battles i’ve seen in a long while. Exiting the last corner on Hugo’s lead run, he put his hand out the window signalling to ‘come closer’. Quite a funny gesture, and surely one to look out for in the TV footage.

In the first and second battle we saw a great battle between Andrew Redward and Fanga Dan. Fanga seemed to really be on his game well.

The BP Triple Crown rewards go off to Mike, Fanga and Curt..

The Pro Am’s saw Jodie Verhulst in second, Darren Kelly in first and Sam Smith in third.

The final outcome of the pro’s placed Fanga Dan in first, Andrew Redward in second and Hugo Maclean in third.

Fanga sealed the deal with one heck of a skid, grazing the barrier along by the spectators. Well done sir.

Until next round!

-Chris

On the walk in I spotted this clean S15. Built with what appears to be a BN Sports kit with a modified OEM S15 spoiler on the rear.

Inside the showgrounds was Mad Mike’s project beast – ‘Low Mater’ based on the movie ‘Cars’ character Tow Mater.

Onto the inside we had the ‘unveiling’ of Carl’s GS300 (Aristo) 26B monster.

I quickly jumped the fence and took some arse shots just after the sheet was pulled off the car.

Here’s a front on shot from the night before for reference.

Cole Armstrong was right in there having a look around at the car, simply dumbfounded by the amount of work that’s gone into the car.  If you look to the left you can see the awesome big ducting system that sucks all of the smoke out of the car and a giant NOS bottle or two in front of that.

On the inside we can see the full setup with adjustable sway arms, hydraulic handbrake, a large tachometer and a very tidy rollcage/interior overall.

I’m enjoying seeing everything BUT Bride (replica) seats currently as it seems everyone has forgotten about the other seat brands. Good call on the Sparco’s. Oh and the NOS – that too.

The engine took a little bit of work to get going, but when it got their it was pure madness. Will get a video up shortly.

Oh and wheels! Giant set of Meisters both front and rear. Loving the black and gold scheme.

But if Meisters aren’t your thing, Ants had his BBS collection on display.

From one Rotary to another, this RX7 was sporting another 26B but this time sporting a giant turbo too. No doubt this thing will be putting out some stupid amount of power on completion.

4 Rotors not enough? Why not try 6 rotors. Thanks to PPRE for creating the worlds first 6 Rotor, right here in NZ.

From this angle it could nearly be a dodgy looking RB.. hah. All jokes aside, the engine sounds superb and will be a real sight to see when it makes its competition debut.

STM’s 86 was on display with the one and only Jono Lester.

Kat Benson was more interested in having her photo taken with the other Jono though.

Her car was also on display, sporting the awesome purple and black colour scheme. Do love those two colours together.

STM was also hosting their regular seminars on various topics. This one was talking about how an 8 Sec drag car works.

Jake Hakaraia’s car was on display, looking nice and clean even with purple and pink splatters all over the car.

My friend Barchy had his 180sx on display for the first time in about a year. The car has been in hibernation, getting lowered once again. It scrapes and yes, those are real TE37′s.

Alright drifting. Joe was out in force making the course his own, smashing under the signage and getting the fans going.

Mike was putting the 800+hp RX8 beast to the test on the rough surface.

As was Cole Armstrong who seemed to be having a lot of fun putting on a show without a worry.

Daynom’s rotary just sounded pure evil. NZ Drift rotaries are really starting to sound great these days.

Speaking of great sounding rotaries, Hugo’s is really starting to show it’s true colours. Diggin’ it.

Colourful Cam’s R32 was being drifted with a lot of smoke pouring off the back of the car. He must have the lowest R32 in D1NZ. That ’32 sits damn low.

He was pretty chuffed throughout the day too.

I went off and slapped some stickers on my friends car..

And watched as Cam’s R32 was then put onto the dyno to be tested.

Back over at the Sony audio stand, Taryn from iheartstance was found doing her best overly attached girlfriend impersonation.

I’m digging the blue Enkei’s they’re running on one side, with the same pair but in purple on the other side.

The interior was pretty snazzy too. Do like these 86′s.

Crowds were having fun working on the V burnout comp and of course buying plenty of food.

Back onto the longest drift competition where Mike brought the RX8 out again to distract everyone in a 10km radius.

And Cole was sure to add some clouds to the sky with his formation.

Carl’s 4WD Subaru is always a good point of difference, providing a near ‘Kenn Block experience’ in the carpark of the ASB Showgrounds.

Joe’s RB20DE+T was still going strong! Putting on a great performance for the crowds.

The sign did have a little bit of erectile dysfunction after a car drove over the power cable.. No worries.

On the way out for the day I spotted this gang chilling, selling some merch. You might recognise them.

Their cars look quite good side-by-side too.

I always find events like this often have some of the best cars chilling in the carpark. This year was no different. This MX5 was chilling by itself with some great fitment. Props to the owner.

Last but not least, Rene the ‘Ridiculously Photogenic Photographer’. Like his page up here.

Oh and since I didn’t say it once in the above:

RAD.

I’ll be back next year for sure.

-Chris

I rolled up to the show at about 1230pm on Friday – the setup day. As I was walking around with Cam Vernon we spotted Carl’s Aristo coming off the trailer. The sound of this thing is impeccable – a very throaty version of Mad Mike’s own 26b. Awesome. Might whip a little video together just to further the point.

I was surprised to see Kyle waiting to park up with his dope 180SX on Kranze’s. I’m used to seeing this sideways drifting!

Pedey was rolling through with his new project car, all done just in time for the show.

Sitting on Work CR01′s, the car is definitely not a usual build in the Kiwi scene and a refreshing taste of what we usually miss out on.

But for now we needed to eat dinner – so Wendy’s it is. Churr. By this point it was about 7pm.

By the time we got back it was about 8pm. A long night was definitely ahead.

As we walked into the halls, all of the competitors had been told they must now leave – awesome. Now I can get to work. A definite favourite of mine was this late model Impreza, rolling on some awesomely fitting wheels. Clean cut.

This Corona had some seriously rad styling going on. Loving the giant front lip, the Watanabes and the clean overall look.

Not to mention the tea strainers on the Mikuni carb’s.

Kelvin’s Capella was also something straight out of Japan. Very Kaido racer spec when most of our Rotary scene involves styling the cars with Simmon’s wheels and a bridgeport 13B.

This had an awesome classically Japanese inspired paint scheme with a dope set of SSR MK3 wheels, fender mirrors and a modern day rotary. A definite winner in my eyes.

Whether it’s for the chicken or the car, Ant’s K20A powered EK Civic is a winner every time. BBS RS, Carbon Fibre, K20A, Bride’s, Takata’s – perfection.

But this just sets it off. The little wee Team Cream sticker on the front. As y’all should know we’re a big fan of the boys in their Cream mobiles and this sticker rings through.

Now I’m quite sucker for old Datsun’s, and this 510 was no different.

Running an SR20DET under the hood, it’s surely not underpowered and no doubt goes incredibly well.

As possibly my favourite car of the show, Dale’s FC RX7 is hard not to observe for a while.

Running a set of Kranze’s both up front and rear, the car is the real deal.

Running a bit of stretch and tuck in the front, the staggered fitment on the car pulls through.

It’s running 18×11′s in the rear on 225 tyres. Do the math and you’ll see that doesn’t compute very easily.

We’re talking amazing levels of fitment here. This ain’t no fake wheel messing around bullshit, this is going hardcore.

From all angles the BN Sports kit looks superb. Flaring out well, with a clean paint job over the top.

Another winner on many levels. Awe.

Although not powered by a 26B Rotary, this Aristo was sitting flush over in the CJC stand.

A car that caught me off guard was this Datsun 240K. This is the NZ New version of the otherwise known, C110 Kenmeri Skyline – yes we did get these in NZ.

Repowered by an RB30, it’s had a boost from the original L24 engine.

Another Honda that was amazingly well presented was Daniel’s EG civic.

Powered by a B18CR, the engine bay has been fully shaven and repainted, kitted out with an AEM fuel rail and a J’s Racing Intake, the car is an awesome take on the classic little EG Civic. Definitely one to watch out for.

Best stand setup would have to go to the little Polo situated by the Rotary’s. Loving the idea of the ball pit, mixed with a well done Polo. Bride seats a clean look always come together well.

Award for best S Chassis? Easily this dudes S13.5. Phoar.

Where to begin? Full wide Kit the whole way round and dish for days.

Loving these Kranze’s on the rear. A refreshing change from LXZ model we see more often.

Oh and it even had a FW sticker on it! If the owner can get in touch, I’d like to feature this car at some point.

Of course Carl’s Aristo was to be unveiled the next day, but y’all can wait for more of that in the next post.

Just as I was leaving I was confronted by this clean looking 280Z once again.. Mad props to Pedey and Taryn for this one.

Also at the NZPC stand was Assistant Editor Marcus’s drift car build. The E36 has had a full roll cage fitted with a currently worked on 1UZ under the hood. Can’t wait for this to be done.

So by this point it was about 1130pm. I’d been at the showgrounds for nearly 12 hours by this point. But hey, I wouldn’t change a thing.

The big main day post coming soon, but for now, that’s the night before.

-Chris

With the annual 4&Rotary Festival at the start of the year, many would say that this NSX was the best car on display. An amazing venture of parts and workmanship brought a car that many dream to see in Japan over to New Zealand – and built in New Zealand.

Another Honda worth mentioning is that of Anthony Wong’s. This car has now been featured in Super Street Magazine and given appraise world wide. The car has had no sections skimped and truly is a work of art. Give his company a like too – Wong’s Kitchen.

Out to more Track 3 drift days we went, supporting our mates as they tear up the track. Nick Teeboon’s AE86 is a favourite around here, hitting that corner fast.

Of course Meremere track days were happening regularly too. With Drift Empire Track Days…

And C’s Garage track days also. Here we see the famous ‘Yellow Car’ Onevia being thrown into the corner.

We hit up Red Bull Drift Shifters, the madness created by Mad Mike himself.

Allowing some of our top guns to face some international top guns.

There’s been plenty of D1NZ posts too, covering every round last season, and every this coming season.

A bit of 4&Rotary drift cross..

Many joyful days spent out at Taupo track 3..

And my first ever visit to Manfield Raceway.

The new 86 was unveiled to us Aucklanders over at Westlake Girls High School thanks to North Shore Toyota..

And we met our new addition to the FW family – Andrew Burns.

Did a feature on Nigel’s wondrous JZX100.

We even ate some Wong’s PWizz Burgers.

Shot the V8 Supertourers down in Taupo.

Checked out the WRC stop off in New Zealand..

We saw Cam Vernon win the Pro Am championship of D1NZ.

Drifted a few corporate days..

And enjoyed a damn fine night at D1NZ’s Mount Smart night round.

As for this year ahead? We’ll be out shooting the 4&Rotary Nationals this weekend and welcoming Andrew Burns to the North Island to come on as a full on shooter.

So as usual, stay fresh, stay watching and cheers for the past 2 years of madness. No doubt this third year coming will be bigger than ever.

There will be some more clothing, some more merchandise and some more ways you can help us bring you the freshness of New Zealand’s car scene.

D1NZ Round 3 day 2 post is coming soon, but for now – here’s that shot of Hugo and Nico in battle that everyone seems to love. If you click on the image, it should be enough for most people’s wallpapers.

Cheers for all the support and here’s to another year being fresh!

Oh and I said there would be a discount on the shop. Use the code – ‘3YEARFRESH‘ to get 15% off your entire order! RAD!

Buy your fresh gear here: http://freshlywhipped.bigcartel.com/

-Chris