No really! Where has the year gone?… We’ve covered over 1,700 miles this year travelling to BDC events so it seemed fitting to end the season with another long drive to take part in the UK’s first Drift Matsuri event held at Anglesey Race track in Wales.
We set off lunchtime on Saturday and made our way to Anglesey utilizing Motorways, tunnels, dual carriageways, country lanes and even small bridges.
With only a few scrapes along the way from speedbumps and bumpy roads we arrived.
For those that have never been to Anglesey race track you are missing out. Set on the west coast of Anglesey, overlooking the Irish Sea and the Snowdonia mountain range beyond, the views are extremely picturesque for spectators, drivers and photographers.
The owners have taken full advantage of the undulating landscape and created a circuit with imaginative cambers, a blend of fast sections, technically challenging mid range corners complemented with two hairpin bends.
With 3 track layouts planned there was plenty to keep the drivers entertained over the weekend, something that not many circuits can offer. We were lucky to have bagged ourselves one of the pit garages for the weekend which was a godsend in the current British weather and allowed us to shelter from the wind and the rain that was forecast. The garages also became a place where people could socialize together and relax after being on track or just to avoid the elements.
The event was split over two days; the Saturday night was the Driftworks Night Demo with some of the best drivers in the UK and Ireland on the fast track layout. However upon arriving at Anglesey it dawned on us that we hadn’t tested the lights on the Driftworks R32, so after borrowing lightbulbs from the other cars we were set.
With darkness upon us, we lined up on the pit straight ready to do some night time drifting, something I don’t think we had done since Awesomefest 2011.
The track was so dark, with only a handful of floodlights lighting up clipping points it was a surreal experience and the drivers did well to avoid any incidents. In fact there was only one driver in the whole two hour session that needed recovering from the grass.
With the night driving successfully completed the party carried on into the night. The organisers had booked a DJ and a marquee so we could carry on well into the night.
Sunday was scheduled to be very wet, however the track was only mildly moist (as Jeremy Clarkson would say) so looked promising for a day of skidding.
There was a large variety of cars at Drift Matsuri, everything from Driftworks Co-director James in his 328 Compact,
To full IDC spec AE86’s
And even a 2013 Lambo
We had brought several cars with us to Anglesey, the 1JZ R32, Phil’s 1JZ JZ110 and a compact.
Unfortunately the JZX110 came away from the weekend battle-scarred after a run in with the rumble strips
The track was slowly getting drier as the day progressed
The joys of open pit lane days with such a variety of drivers is the opportunity to drift with people you may never normally get the chance to,
Or drifting with people you want to but never get the chance to.
So the weekend finished the year off on a high, no major accidents and the weather stayed dry enough for the majority of the weekend. This is what drifting should be about, having fun with your mates!
Huge thanks to the Drift Matsuri organisers for pulling off a fantastic first event. Long may it continue.
Team Driftworks
can we do it all over again this weekend ?
It will be back I’m sure! It was too good to not do again.