NZ Motorsport: The evolution of drifting in NZ

Drifting. Everyone who's into cars knows about it and it is one of the most popular forms of motorsport in New Zealand and across the world, but when did drifting actually spread to New Zealand?

Drifting actually started over here in 1998 when a small bunch of car nuts decided they wanted to try the sport which was so prevalent throughout Japan in the 80's and 90's. Little did they know, how popular the sport would be today.

Drifting started to really kick off when the NiZan car club hosted a drift track day in 2000. A lot of cars turned up and since that first event, drifting has spread like a rash all over NZ. A sideways, smoky rash.

In 2003, D1NZ officially kicked off with the first round held at Manfeild autocourse in Feilding. At first there were only a few entrants but as the popularity of drifting increased, many more teams and privateers have entered with more and more people getting into drifting each year. Today, D1NZ is still one of the most popular motorsports in New Zealand and is regularly attended by international drifting stars as well as local legends such as "Mad Mike" Whiddett and "Fanga Dan" Woolhouse. 

D1NZ was followed by the NZ Drift series which debuted alongside D1NZ as a direct competitor in 2007. The NZ Drift series was held by Parkside media who run the magazines NZ Performance Car and NZ Classic Car and initially featured two rounds of drifting at Manfeild autocourse and Pukekohe Racetrack. By 2009, this had expanded to five rounds and the event had gained a lot of popularity. The NZ Drift series ended in 2009 as Parkside decided to cover D1NZ instead. 

Nowadays, there are many different drift events held by numerous clubs across New Zealand, with events that cover all skill levels from beginner events like drift track days and drift school to professional events like D1NZ. Drifting is accessible to most car enthusiasts due to the large volume of sporty, rear wheel drive Japanese imports such as the Nissan Skyline and Cefiro. The only problem is the cost due to the constant destruction of tyres and the necessity to replace the clutch and engine parts constantly due to the strain on the engine and driveline components. You don't have to have a high powered drift monster to compete in drifting and can enter drift events in pretty much anything rear wheel drive, so long as it has enough power to hold a slide and is safe.

If you have any interesting drift stories or an interesting drift car, leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. For further reading, check out this interesting story on The Motorhood by clicking here. More interesting posts are coming soon and thanks for reading!!!

Photo Credits: The Motorhood, Google images, Team Nefarious Drift