SummerSlam 2012, Hosted by Kyoto Garage made its debut in late December at Archerfield Raceway in Brisbane, QLD.
Better known for its tight and techincal GoKart track, Archerfield Raceway was turned into a battlefield of some of the state’s best drifters as well as several interstate competitors who made the trip all thanks to the event’s brain child, Luke Fink. Working tirelessly for months on end, Luke and the crew at Kyoto Garage managed to host not only Archerfield’s biggest and best drift day, but one of QLD’s biggest and best.
Here’s Luke himself (who I might add is Australia’s most successful Drift Competitor taking out several Aus titles, as well as JDM allstars in Europe and competing in several competitions around the globe) giving instructions to the drivers on how best to attack the tight and technical Archerfield circuit, and giving tips and advice on what the judges are looking for during competition.
As I stated earlier, several interstate competitors and teams made the trip up to Brisbane for SummerSlam. Two such drivers who some of you might remember from the WTAC Tectaloy Drift Challange are Jabbit in his Blaze Unit Three Fingers Neat s15, rocking a 600+hp 2JZ engine, making the trip from Sydney..
and his teammate Scott Schembri, competing in the Blaze Unit 180sx. Both drivers battled hard all day, and certainly put on some of the tightest battles all comp, especially when running together.
Two more interstate drivers who made the trek were brothers Dave and Adam Dermody. Both were certainly crowd favourites when it came to putting on a show, throwing their cars (and body panels I might add) into angles rarely seen, while having a ball doing so.
Local drivers were certainly out in force and keen to throw it all on the line to take out the $1500 1st prize cheque. Neil Gregson was one such driver in his SR20 Powered KE70. Definitely an exciting car and driver package, he took out the Expression Session with some big entries and blazing skids.
Dan Rassel, the youngest driver in the field, entered the competition with only hours to spare, getting his car ready for SummerSlam after an unfortunate engine failure only weeks prior at Short Track championships. It was good to see Dan out having a ball and repping some new sponsor decals and livery.
Dylan Anderson driving the Nizzpro R33 Skyline had a big part in organising and making SummerSlam happen. He was rewarded for his efforts, shredding tyres most of the day and having a ball.
So how did the competition pan out and what were the results?
3rd Place went to the DriftKid, Nick Coulson in the HiTorque-backed VE SS ute. With some insane battles, Nick fought his way through the field, finishing his 2012 drifting season on a high, and taking home $500.
2nd place went to Blaze Unit member and interstate driver Scott Schembri, who was awarded $1000 for his efforts..
And 1st Place went to Steve Pembrey in his wild V6 Powered AE86. Powered by an NA 3.5L Toyota V6 powerplant, Steve displayed skill and speed throughout the entire competition. Having not run at Archerfield prior to the event, Steve’s experience in motorkhana and gymkhana events helped him succeed at Archerfield’s tight and technical layout. This car possesses so much speed and what appeared like a ton of grip, yet Steve managed to throw it into every corner and every battle with precision, and was awarded the top prize and a $1500 cheque for his antics.
So what is in the pipeline for SummerSlam and its future? After such a successful debut, I can only imagine BIGGER and better. Crowd and driver feedback was very positive, and competition was fierce. 2013 is looking very promising.
Events like this don’t just happen overnight, so many thanks need to be given to the companies and people who got behind the event and made it what it was. Major sponsor Kyoto Garage as well as Nizzpro, Field Garage Australia, PM lubricants, Cartel Online, Sleeka Spares, Fusion Audio, all the Archerfield track staff and crew, Luke Fink, Dylan Anderson and any others I may have missed.
Bring on 2013!