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In the modern information age, the Toyo Drift Australia Series is leading the way for Australian motorsport online.
In a first for Australian motorsport, the Toyo Drift Australia Series will make a full-length television package of each event in their 2007 championship publicly available online.
Through www.driftaustralia.com.au and their own channel on the popular YouTube.com website - www.youtube.com/DriftAustraliaTV - every battle of every round of the 2007 Australian Drift Championship can be viewed by anyone, in any country at any time.
"Sites such as YouTube and MySpace have taken the world by storm and are particularly popular among Generation Y, which is our core market," Drift Australia director Wayne Boatwright said.
"65% of Drift fans are between 17-26 years old, and some research says they spend as much time, if not more time, on the internet as they do watching TV.
"Drifting's competition format is tailor made for internet viewing - it consists of a series of tandem, elimination battles, which each can be broken down into a short video.
"Fans can watch the action online, check the judge's scores for each battle, and then discuss and debate it all on an internet chat forum."
Now in its third season, the Toyo Drift Australia Series has enjoyed further growth in 2007, with a host of new teams, sponsors, cars and drivers becoming involved.
"Drifting is the fastest growing form of sport in the world," Boatwright said.
"In Australia, spectator numbers are growing strongly and this year we have a number of new consumer brands coming on board to sponsor teams."
The series' online broadcasts will complement an expanded television broadcast package in 2007.
Event broadcasts on the Nine Network, SBS and Fox Sports provide over three hours of coverage for each round and nationwide exposure.
"Our television deal in 2007 is our best yet, each round enjoys a total national audience reach of over half a million people," Boatwright said.
"Internet video gives us a platform to take this even further and the ability to showcase the series to more people all around the world than ever before."
The next round of the Toyo Drift Australia Series will see it return to the sport's Australian roots, South Australia.
Adelaide's Mallala Motorsport Park will host round two of the 2007 series, on April 13-15.
West Australian driver Adam Trewhella currently leads the series standings, ahead of South Australia's Christian Pickering and New South Welshman Chris Easton.
For more information about the Toyo Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au
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