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The opening D1NZ event of the year was by far one of the most fun drift events I have been involved in. With the mix or rain, rubber, and turbo’s spooling how could you not enjoy this? The events started Friday morning and guess who decided to show up…the rain! During the first couple hours of the event the drivers were still spinning off the track and into the large puddles, which was quite entertaining. After finishing up Friday there was 16 Pro Am drivers left who would be competing on Saturday for the number 1 spot! Saturday brought everyone a lovely surprise, which was accompanied by short shorts and sunscreen. Yep it brought the sun, which lead to some really exciting drifting. Mad Mike was consistent all day Friday and Saturday that helped him grab the number 2 qualifying spot. Mad Mike was then able to stay on top to finish 1st place with Andrew Redward in 2nd and Fanga Dan in 3rd place. 

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My favourite front-end conversion on a S13 would have to be the one of this S13.4. With the combination of the S13 body and the S14 facelift front makes for a really aggressive looking Silvia. 

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Drew Donovan’s S15 was definitely the most obnoxious car at the event (in a good way). The bright orange paint job and the beastly V8 under the hood really set his S15 apart. 

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One of the best battles of the day would have to be between the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda RX-7. On the third corner the Corolla managed to pass on the inside and finish the battle leading instead of following. 

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 Hugo Maclean’s 13b powered AE85 was one of, if not the best looking AE85 I have seen in a long time. The 13b+widebody+Work SP1= Beast Mode!

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Cole Armstrong’s R34 was definitely a crowd favourite. His super aggressive driving style and his mad smoke trails made him super fun to watch!

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 Mad Mike has one of the most well known cars from New Zealand. He was definitely on his A-game today with multiple backwards entries. 

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Matt Jackson’s RX7 went through a few beatings today. In the beginning of the day he spun out into the gravel, which mashed up his side skirts and rear bumper. 

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Russell Sifleet was out in his SR20DET powered S14 and was able to win 1st in the Pro Am competition. This was my favourite S14 that came out to the event. 

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This AE86 was not the cleanest car but with a SR20DET it went hard. Rain or dry I didn’t see either of the 2 drivers slow down. 

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After a long few days I came home with wet clothes, sunburn, and 2500 photos. This has been one of the most memorable drift events I have been to. I would like to say thanks to all the sponsors, drivers, teams, and all the people who spend hours setting up this event. 

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More photos up on our Facebook page as usual! 

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-Weston Miller

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Cheers to Weston Miller for this coverage. Please check out and like his page: Slip-N-Slide Photography.