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New Stars And Cars For Sydney Showdown |
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
An international ace, new cars and new drivers will be out to make their mark when the Toyo Drift Australia Series hits Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway on July 7-8.
For the first time in the series' three-year history, a Japanese driver will join the field, with D1 star Shinji Minowa set to make a one-off appearance in round three of the 2007 season.
Minowa currently competes in the Japanese D1 Grand Prix Series, the biggest Drifting Series in the world, and has also competed in the USA and UK.
Winner of the 2006 MSC Challenge in Japan, an alternate series to D1,
Minowa will drive the Nissan Silvia used by Luke Fink to win at Symmons
Plains last year for new Melbourne team DriftJunkie Productions.
With a strong field further bolstered by an increased V8 presence, Minowa will be up against Australia's best.
On the back of his win at Mallala in April, Robbie Bolger (VIP
Petfoods) is set to unleash a purpose-built, 940hp VE Holden Commodore,
a hotly-anticipated car any months in the works.
"The VE Commodore is going to be great, the Nissan guys won't know what
hit them," Bolger, currently fourth in the points, enthused.
"With the Monaro we won some events and proved a lot of people wrong - with this car we're going for the championship."
He won't be driving the only new V8 Holden in the field, with fellow
stunt rider Matt Mingay making his Toyo Drift Australia Series debut at
the wheel of a new VZ Commodore.
The recent success of the V8s has prompted another competitor to
transplant a V8 engine into his Japanese chassis, with Sydneysider
Scott Gibbs adding a Chev V8 to his Sureflo Nissan 300Z.
"It's been a tough start to the year, but we're looking forward to
getting out there and starting to turn things around," Gibbs said.
"We know it will be a steep learning curve and there will be a lot of work to do, but we're confident it's the right way to go."
Mingay and Minowa won't be the only new faces to the series at Eastern
Creek, with former Australian Rally Championship ace Jack Monkhouse
(Racing Logic Nissan 180SX) stepping up to make his debut.
After contesting several state-based events and a run in the Super
Drift feeder class at Mallala, Monkhouse joins younger brother Tom
(Wheelworx Nissan 180SX) in the Australian Drift Championship.
"I'm looking forward to getting out there and mixing it with Australia's best drifters," Monkhouse said.
"I've done a little bit of Drifting and I've found that there are
similarities between it and rallying, in particular you need to
concentrate on holding angle more in Drifting and there are less trees
on the edge of the circuit!"
Meanwhile, returning to the series at Eastern Creek for the first time
in 2007 are Josh James (Nissan Silvia) and Danny Kenneally (Nissan
Skyvia).
South Australia's Christian Pickering (Commercial Truck Sales Nissan
200SX) leads the series standings, over Leighton Fine (Team Peer Nissan
Onevia) and opening round victor Adam Trewhella (Japanese Wholesale
Spares Nissan Cefiro).
Defending series champion Beau Yates (Team Peer Toyota AE86 Sprinter)
currently sits eighth, joining fellow New South Welshmen Chris Easton
(JustJap.com Nissan Skyline) and Nathan Weissel (Gatorz Nissan Skyline)
in the Top 10.
In 2006, Yates won at Eastern Creek en-route to becoming the first CAMS-awarded Australian Drift Champion.
The action starts at 10am Saturday and 9am Sunday with the on-track
Toyo Drift Australia Series, Super Drift, team Drifting and expression
session action joined by stunt bikes, and the a Show 'n' Shine
presented by Ignition DVD and Meguiars.
Tickets are available for $20 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday, with a $40 weekend pass available, while kids under 12 are free.
For more information about the Toyo Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au
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