I decided I would head out to Matsuri this year and take a few photos since I hadn’t picked up the camera and shot a race event for a while. The morning kicked off with pork rolls and iced coffee with Steven before rolling into QR. Tyre-baking was already well underway in 3 separate areas – main track, short track and the wet skidpan. Heaps of people were absolutely BAKING turn 6.
Short track was super sticky. Apparently you had to throw the car in real hard and fast to get it sideways.
Sure enough, there was a pretty decent accident later in the day, where some poor bastard hit the wall and his car caught fire. But of course, there was heaps of carnage throughout the day, both mechanical and cosmetic.
Strolling through the pits and running into old friends while seeing some incredible machinery was my favourite bit of the day.
But really, that’s pretty much the feeling I had all day. People having a great time with their cars and friends, as it should be.
Some more incredible wheels out!
Heaps of teams with proper liveries looked fantastic. Apparently a lot more than last year. Fantastic to see, and something that will surely drive drifting to become a bigger, more recognised motorsport.
My favourite car of the day. This thing looked like a D1 car straight out of Japan.
More to come from Sunday from Sirck!
More than 200 drivers and 4000+ spectators make this annual Drift Matsuri event each year and growing in popularity. Entries for drivers are usually sold out fast the minute they go on sale. The popular event, the only one of its kind in Queensland, is staged each year by Queensland Raceways. The idea behind this event is to not only give these guys the chance to have some fun on the track but also to keep it off the streets and make it as safe and enjoyable as possible.
The 24-hours of drift event attracts people from interstate and this year we also had some big name international drivers attend.
The Short Track is designed for practice sessions for those drifters wanting to hone their skills and have fun. It seems to draw a big crowd as you get close to the action and drivers try and entertain the crowd!
Sometimes the drivers get a little too close but the crowd loves it! Could we see drifting as a sport evolve to a different competition format like how Skateboard & BMX are judged? I know Mad Mike has created his own format “Red bull Drift Shifters” series, What do you guys think?
There also seems to be a growing amount of teams/crews. JDM GARAGE had some really nice looking cars. Like this Nissan Onevia
I’m still trying to understand the whole drift culture but one thing for sure is everyone has a different style. The crowd really got into it when a driver demonstrated real control and was able to make a clean run!
The matsuri event is not only about the drifting but it has become a massive party behind the scenes. The place was just buzzing!
People riding bikes, skateboards, quad bikes, scooters & even hanging onto cars to get around the track…
As drifting does put a lot of strain on the cars, breaking thing is the norm. A good place to sell spare parts!
Even this guy was trying to slide the electric buggy!
The international guest driver and star of the night was Naoki Nakamura of Team Burst from Japan! Driving the JDM GARAGE’s S14.
He won the D1SL Championship Series in Japan this year. He is insanely awesome behind the wheel!
Team Burst are known for their metallic pink/purple cars. Their style have surely inspired many builds around the world. Great to have these kind of guys in the drifting community.
If you’ve never seen Nakamura in action, you’re missing out. There are videos posted up all over the net so check it out.
Here he finishes off with a power slide along the wall and giving High Fives to all the fans along the wall!
Remember! Always keep drifting fun!
Don’t miss out the next Drift Matsuri! It’s so popular that they are doing 2 next year! (March & October 2015)