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Wide Open Field Heads North In Most Competitive Drift Season Yet |
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Wednesday, 08 August 2007 |
Successfully picking the winner of the penultimate round of the 2007 Toyo Drift Australia Series at Queensland Raceway this weekend could almost prove as difficult as winning the event itself.
Featuring 32 of the top Drifters in Australia, the series boasts a massive talent pool, with a new winner or breakthrough performance never far away.
The field at Queensland Raceway will include seven drivers who have won
a round of the national championship, including 2006 champion Beau
Yates (Peer Industries Toyota Sprinter), Robbie Bolger (VIP Petfoods
Holden) and Leighton Fine (Peer Industries Nissan Onevia) who are the
only multiple event winners since the series started in 2005.
In three rounds of the 2007 series to date, there have been three
different winners and eight different drivers have visited the podium,
highlighting increased competition among the series' array of talent.
Winner of the most recent round at Eastern Creek in July, Tom Monkhouse
(Wheelworx Nissan 180SX) showed that reputations mean little, easily
eclipsing his previous best result of 11th to discard some of the
biggest names in the series en-route to his breakthrough victory.
The dramatic nature of Drift competitions and the talent-packed field
means the battle to win the series and become the Australian Drift
Champion is the most hotly-contested yet.
At the top of the standings, Brisbane resident Darren Appleton (Peer
Industries Nissan 180SX) enters his home round holding a slender
10-point advantage over Christian Pickering (Commercial Truck Sales
Nissan 180SX), with Pickering the only driver to have visited the
podium more than once this year.
It's a congested championship table featuring narrow gaps throughout
the order, with a maximum 1000 points on offer at the remaining two
rounds - 500 at each event, with 32 for the top-qualifier and 468 for
the winner.
Leading into round four of five in 2006, 101 points covered the top three drivers.
At the same stage this year, with an even more competitive field, 102 points cover the top six drivers.
Just 170 points separate Appleton and ninth-placed Nathan Weissel
(Gatorz Nissan Skyline), while 297 points split first and ninth this
time last season.
A win this weekend can propel any driver within the top-half of the
points table into championship contention, as Monkhouse demonstrated at
Eastern Creek.
He jumped from 15th to seventh, while a fourth-place finish at the
Sydney circuit vaulted Khudar Elhaouli (JDS Imports Chev V8-powered
Nissan Silvia) from 32nd to 14th, proving plenty of incentives for
strong performances to drivers in the full field.
With on-track action all day from 10am Saturday and 9am Sunday, the
Queensland Raceway event also includes round four of the Super Drift
series feeder class, expression sessions, team Drift action and a Show
'n' Shine presented by Ignition DVD.
Tickets are available for $20 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday, with a $40 weekend pass available, while kids under 12 are free.
Those unable to make it to Queensland Raceway this weekend can still
get catch some Drifting action, with round three of the 2007 Toyo Drift
Australia Series from Eastern Creek to be broadcast on the Channel 9
this Saturday from 12pm, check local guides.
For more information about the Toyo Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au
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