The Cody’s D1NZ National Drifting Championship Series is set to celebrate its ten year anniversary in style this season with capacity fields in both the D1 and Pro-Am categories and a new ‘taking it to the people’ calendar.
“This is the summer that Drifting in New Zealand is going to come of age,” says Cody’s D1NZ National Drifting Championship Series CEO Brendon White.”We’ve got the stars, we’ve got the cars, we’ve got a quick-fire format which is a proven crowd-puller and we’ve got rounds from Whangarei in the north to Christchurch in the south. It’s going to be massive.”
Crowd numbers have already increased by over 50% since the move – two years ago – from a winter to a summer season with NZs fastest growing extreme motorsport. And if early indications are anything to go by, says White, they could be up by that much again at some, if not all rounds, this season.
“The buzz started much earlier this year, back in July in fact, when we had our annual dinner and awards function. We’ve already got more entries than we have ever had before – close to 40 in D1 and between 30 and 40 for Pro-Am – and advance ticket sales are also well ahead of where they were this time last year.”
White himself is particularly looking forward to the two ‘custom’ rounds – at Whangarei in December and a new ‘summer spectacular’ in Tauranga in January – as well as a return to the South Island, to Christchurch’s Powerbuilt Tools Raceway @ Ruapuna Park, in March.
“It’s about taking the sport to the fans. Where the venues continue to work for us and our fans we’ll continue to use permanent facilities like Manfeild and Hampton Downs, but it’s the temporary ones which everyone – drivers and spectators alike – seem to remember.”
This summer’s series kicks off at Manfeild in late October before heading to a new venue in Whangarei in December, a high-summer meeting at Tauranga in January, Hampton Downs and Christchurch’s Powerbuilt Tools Raceway in March, then a grand final at Pukekohe Park Raceway in April/May.
Entries already confirmed include those of 2011/12 Cody’s D1NZ series champion Curt Whittaker (Nissan Skyline R34), high-profile Auckland-based international ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett (Red Bull/Speedhunters Mazda RX7) and former title-holders Gary ‘Gaz’ Whiter (Tectaloy Nissan S14) from Dargaville and Daniel ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse (Castrol Edge Holden Commodore). 2011/12 Pro-Am category champion Cam Vernon (Skinny/Gull Nissan Skyline R32) is also one of a number of drivers from the feeder category stepping up to the D1NZ Pro ranks this season.
Included, meanwhile, in an influx of new drivers into the Pro-Am category are not one but two female entrants, Tauranga’s Jodie Verhulst (Toyota Supra) and Hamiltons Bex Benett (Nissan Skyline).
Finally, though firm details will not be able to be revealed until later in the year, White is working on a Legends Challenge which will see some of the top New Zealand D1 drivers take on their opposite numbers from Australia’s V8 Supercar series and New Zealands V8 Supertourer series at the Hampton Downs round in March with the V8 drivers getting some practice in at rounds before – something definitely not to be missed.
