The Female Drift Invasion!!!

In a very male dominated motorsport, women who enjoy drifting are few and far between! However, over the last couple of years the interest in drifting from women all over the world has grown and grown and therefore i thought a blog dedicated to female drifters was a great idea!

Below are details of just some of the women across Europe, Australia and the US who are doing what they love the most, drifting!!

Kelly Wong - Australia

Kelly has been drifting since March 2011, she competes in the National series and drifts at Mallala, Tailem Bend and Calder Park. She drives a heavily modified Nissan Cefiro A31 with a cage, coilovers, 2 way diff, Full URAS kit, adjustable arms and a lot of engine modifications amongst many other things.

Kirsty Widdrington - UK.

Kirsty has been drifting for almost 3 years and currently competes in the Semi Pro league of the BDC, she practices at Santa Pod, Norfolk Arena and Mallory Park in her Nissan PS13 called Syril!!!

Anne-Marie Campling - UK

Anne-Marie has recently started learning to drift and has done 2 drift days at Norfolk arena in her old BMW 325, she is currently working to build her next drift car, a Nissan R32.

Louise Ridley

Louise started drifting about 6 years ago and in 2007 she entered her first competition, EuroDrift. Back then she drove a Nissan R33, she went on to drive the Skylineparts.com PS13 in the BDC, now she has an RB25 powered S13.

Cornelia Krausz - Ireland

Cornelia has been drifting for around 5 months and attending practice days at Watergrasshill, her Nissan S14 currently has coilovers, a 2 way diff and basic power modifications.

Julie Robinson - UK.
Julie has been drifting just over 6 years now, her first competition being the Option UKD1 Championship at Silverstone where she finished 4th, Julie now competes in the BDC SuperPro class in her Nissan R32.

Lisa Branch - UK.
Lisa regularly practices at Santa Pod and Mallory Park, she also gives Drift Taxi rides at Oulton Park, Brands Hatch and Snetterton. She has been drifting for about 4 years in her Nissan R33, next year she is planning to compete in her new heavily modified, 2jz converted R34 in the European Drift Championship.

Hilary Collins - UK.

Hilary aka 'Minnie' has been drifting for 2-3 years, she is part of the Norfolk Arena drift team and staff but has also practiced at Santa Pod and Mallory Park in her SR20 N/A powered S14.

Catherine May - Australia.

Catherine has been practicing at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria for the last 4 years and hopes to enter some competitions in 2012. Her Nissan Sil-80 is powered by a RB25DET engine running approximately 250KW.

Kim Walker - UK

Kim has been drifting for 1 year and practices at Norfolk Arena and Mallory Park, this year she has competed in the ODC in preperation to compete in the BDC in 2012. She drives a SR20 powered Nissan S13 with coilovers, adjustable arms and a cage.

Nadia Outar - UK.

Nadia has started learning to drift and attended the ladies only practice day that i organised later last year. She drives a Nissan S14a with basic mods.

Ana Rodrigues - Portugal.

Ana has been drifting for 2 years, she lives in Portugal and there she competes in the CPD although she regularly travels to the UK where she keeps her missile SR20 powered Nissan S13, in the UK she practices at Santa Pod, Norfolk and Mallory Park. Next year i hope she returns regularly to practice more twinning with me :)

Laura Hinks (Me!) - UK
I have been drifting for just over 4 years, i practice at Santa Pod, Norfolk Arena, Mallory Park and where ever else i can get to! I hope that 2012 will be my first year competing in the BDC in the Semi-Pro class after gaining my license at Donnington earlier this year. I drift a Nissan S14 with basic power upgrades, coilovers and welded diff.

Sara Vollhaase Hagemann - Denmark.

Sara has been drifting for 1 year and competes in the IDS in Denmark, Norway and Germany.
She owns a Toyota Supra powered by 2jz single turbo at 570KH.

Hayley Bonwick - UK.
Hayley has been drifting on and off for just over 1 year, originally she had a Nissan S13 with a CA18, she now has a MX5. She practices mostly at Norfolk Arena but has also visited Santa Pod.

Danni Murphy - Ireland.

Danni has been drifting for 4 years and has competed in BDC, ProDrift, Drift Allstars and KD in Portugal. She owns a Nissan S14 (The Green Monster) running an SR20 with Owen Developments 2868 externally gated turbo.

Sharon Cope - UK.

Sharon has been practicing at Santa Pod and Norfolk Arena for the last 6-8 months. Her plans for 2012 are to prepare her new Nissan S14 and come twinning with me ;)

Sharon de Ridder - Netherlands.

Sharon has been drifting on and off for 6 years. After doctors told her she wouldn't drift again she entered her first competition in 2011 and came 3rd! She competes in the NL Drift series, The Skylimit cup in Belgium and she recently travelled to the UK to compete in the BDC. Her BMW E36 was converted to an M3 by the well known Falken driver, Remmo Niezen.

Belinda Challis - UK.

Belinda has been drifting for 4 years and has competed in the BDC for a number of years in the Semi Pro class, in 2011 she was awarded her Pro license for consistent top place finishes. She takes part in many demos across the country in her Castrol stickered RB25 powered Nissan R32.

Starzia Procter - UK

Starzia has been drifting for 1 year and is becoming a regular at the Norfolk Arena practice days, she has also travelled to Germany to practice at a larger track where unfortunately her beloved 'Seb' saw it's end! (below) she is now preparing her new Nissan S15 Silvia which is currently running 330bhp.

Michelle Westby - UK.

Michelle started learning to drift a couple of months ago, she has attended DWYB's at Santa pod over the last couple of months and it progressing well in her S14a sponsored by GarageD.

Kate Bauer - Missouri, USA.

Kate has been drifting for around 3 years and practices at St. Louis MO, Topeka KS, Nashville TN and Atlanta GA. She owns a 1997 240sx (S14a to us English folk!) with full PBM suspension.

Tara Lewendon - UK.

Tara has only been drifting for a couple of months but has managed to gain experience at Santa pod, Llandow and Smeatharpe race tracks, next year she hopes to compete in the Open drift championship.

Her Nissan S14 has coilovers, rollcage and the usual power upgrades.

Amelia Verri - Essex, UK.
Amelia started learning to drift a couple of months ago, she has begun learning at Santa Pod however she hopes to attend other track days next year and pick up more tips! She drives a Nissan S14a.

Sweet Oblivion - Clothing line!

In 2009 two guys called Billy Thorpe and Matt Townsend started a blog called Sweet Oblivion - Open your arms.

Two years later it has progressed into a well established blog showing anything from drifting to slammed BMW's and now to make it even better Billy has put his epic design skills to very good use and created a clothing line!

Check out the range of t-shirts and stickers here:

Sweet Oblivion - Shop

and their blog here:

Sweet Oblivion

Sid Crowfoot .... the return of the Cresta!!

Lots has happened since my last post in August!!! My S14 has continued to be faultless although relatively unused and the Nissan Laurel that my other half, Sid used for BDC 2011 has gone to a new home!!!

Bye Bye Laurel :(

Now we have a new addition to our drift car family, the 1jz powered Toyota Cresta that Sid owned only 2 years ago!

Unfortunately the car doesn't look as awesome as it did when we said goodbye to it, it has been partially preped for paint and is rocking some standard s14 wheels!! ouch.

Plans for the car include a full respray (undecided on colour!), new wheels, possibly a re-map and upgrade in power. Currently the 1jz engine is running a Garret T3 60-1, 440cc injectors, custom short pipe I/C set up with an AEM ECU, current power output is estimated at 460bhp.

It is unlikely that the car will be used for any championships in 2012 however i can see it being a regular at practice days throughout the country, keep your eyes peeled!

Sid against Lennard Wanders

Sid at JDM Allstars Wembley 2009

Images courtesy of Elena Charman, Aaron Hawes, Daniel Bridle and Sweet Oblivion.

Like awesome stuff??? Look here!

Here's just some general awesome stuff from different types of motorsport that i've been looking at on a bored Friday night in :)

I love this guy's driving! I can only hope to one day drive like that.

Ofcourse i love blue S14's anyway but this one is slammed and looking sweet!

 

One of the best Awesomefest video's i've seen :) LOVE the second song.

Click me for an 'Awesome' video!

John McGuinness getting the right line on the Isle of Man TT course.

The SOUND!!

Awesomefest, photography and epic driving holidays!

It's been a bit quiet on here lately, I've been busy sorting out various car related things and going to events so i thought I'd take a bit of time now things have quietened down to do a blog.... about me!

As most of you know i own an S14 which i am currently trying to get ready for BDC 2012! Looks wise it's done but unfortunately I've still got to find the funds to get it up to spec! Cage, extinguishers etc.

I've been in talks with one of my current sponsors RS Repairs about continued help next year of which i am massively thankfull for!

At the end of July i attended Awesomefest, the event everyone in the drift world is talking about which was a great weekend and what made it even better for me was driving on one of the best drift tracks in the UK with some of the best drifters in the UK! Big high point for me :)

I wasn't in the way.. i promise! We were on a red flag. Image courtesy of Ben Arris of Dodgem Squad.

I've also been in talks with Kinzuru Autosalon about advertising their new range of womens drift clothing, I've been in talks with a well known magazine about a feature on female drifters and i've also been busy doing photo shoots of the new S14 look with Darren Thorndick Photography (Keep your eyes peeled for the pictures soon on Taysilla!)

An example of Darren's fantastic work.

Of course there has been the usual nights out with my drifty buddies and weekends spannering away on the car, doing bits and bobs here and there slowly improving it. Recently I've had to take a hammer to my front wheel arches after my increased lock resulted in my wheels scrubbing everything!

I am also very excited that in just over 2 weeks i get to return to what i now think of as my second home.... the Isle of Man! A week of driving awesome roads, bike racing, drag racing and of course... drifting!

Snapshot: Julie Robinson - BDC SuperPro driver

Here is a quick snapshot of one of the first and most successful female drifters in the UK, Julie Robinson.

Julie started drifting in 2005 and wasted no time in entering her first competition, the Option UKD1 Championship, in her CA18DET powered S13. She got the fantastic result of 5th in the amateur league, with 2 second place finishes!

Julie at Silverstone for the Option UKD1.

Julie also received an award for Rookie of the Year in 2005

After a short break from competition due to various 'life' reasons, she returned in 2008 by entering the BDC (British Drift Championship) in her new 4 door R32!

Her R32 has gradually improved and since 2008 she has worked hard to build a very capable car!

The current spec includes an RB25DET engine from the later R33 Skyline, a purpose built turbo from CR Turbos raising the power to 345bhp, fully adjustable suspension from Driftworks, uprated brakes and of course the necessary safety requirements for competition use.

Julie practicing at Mallory Park in her two tone R32 painted by Kustom Kolors.

Since coming back to the BDC she has achieved very good results in the Pro league, 14th in 2008, 13th in 2009 and 11th in 2010, her consistent and skillful driving resulted in her being the first female to be awarded a place in the SuperPro league for 2011, where she currently stands in 14th place.

Julie was also awarded 2nd place in the BDC Team Competition with fellow drifters Gary Hughes and Jody Fletcher.

Julie has also been a vital part of the new Ladies only drift days organised by myself. From the very first day she has helped by tutoring new and upcoming female drifters, including myself! Without her guidance i think i would probably still be going around in circles!

Julie passing on her knowledge and pinching a go in Sharon's Mk3 Supra.

Julie is known for her bubbly, easy going nature and can often be found having a laugh in the pits at events...

 ... and sometimes on the track!

Over the years Julie has secured sponsorship deals with the following companies:

• CR Turbo Engineering
• The Motorist Centre New Milton
• Read Performance
• Kustom Kolors
• ETS Tyres and m.o.t's
• Dare Wheels
• Cookies Corner
• F1 Racing Clutches (Tegwia Imports)
• AWS Safety Wear

If you are interested in gaining exposure for your company and supporting Julie, please contact her Here.

Images courtesy of Ross at Doristars,  Ellie Charman, Mark White Photography and Bolf.

The BDC Donington license day - from beginner to competitor.

On Saturday 18th June i attended the BDC (British Drift Championship) practice and licensing day at Donington, i originally wanted to just do the practice day as they were using the well known Donington Launch Pad also used for Round 1 of the BDC this year but after some deliberation i thought... licensing??? Why not try again?!

I originally started drifting in 2007 buying my first drift car, a Volvo 340 and lovingly naming it Boris! 4 years down the line and 4 drift cars later, i finally feel ready to step it up and join the competition side of drifting!

My first drift day in 'Boris' back in 2007.

The Donington licensing day was actually my second attempt at gaining my license, unfortunately my first attempt at Norfolk Arena was a complete disaster and although it knocked my confidence i did learn an important lesson in staying cool when being judged!!

My first attempt at gaining a BDC license at Norfolk Arena in November 2010.

So, onto my second attempt!

The licensing track consisted of a 2nd gear kidney shaped track with the first initiation actually going down hill and often taking people a little further down the hill than anticipated!

I don't have a locking handbrake in my s14 and so i was entering with a flick, clutchkick and some footbrake, after some initial feedback from the judge Rich 'Chunk' Newton it seemed i was going too slow into the first corner but after some practice (and a lot of times flying down the hill backwards) i managed to get my speed up and get more consistent.

After a lunch break everyone wishing to be judged for a license queued up ready for their runs and unfortunately the heavens opened just before which meant an extremely slippery track! I remembered the advice the wise one, Malx 'Fozzy' Foskett gave me at Norfolk about staying calm and just did what i could do and it worked!!! Later that day at the de-brief i was awarded my Semi-Pro license!

This made Loz happy!!

Now i could relax and go and have fun on the large BDC track! This consisted of a fast 3rd gear entry into a sweeping right followed by a few more transitions, this was the reason i signed up for the day and it was completely worthwhile!!! I had tonnes of fun trying different entry techniques and learnt quite a bit, although if it wasn't for my recent practice at Mallory Park i think i would have been in over my head!

In short... BDC practice/license days.... very relaxed and fun! I would definitely recommend it.

Images courtesy of Ben Arris at Dodgem Squad, Ammo Photography and Lee Broadley.

Snapshot: Hiromi Kajikuma and her Pink Corolla!

I'm going to be doing some small snapshots of drifters all over the world over the coming weeks, first up is Hiromi Kajikuma!

Hiromi is a female drifter from Japan, she started drifting 10 years ago after inititally being involved in Time Attack, she entered Formula D in the USA in 2007 and takes an active part in the drift scene in Japan.

In the 10 years Hiromi has been drifting she has owned and used an S14 Silvia, JZA80, MX5 and now her Pink Corolla AE86.

The car she uses to drift now is a Pink AE86 Corolla with 4age engine.

Hiromi also owns and runs a Tuning Shop, Winds Auto in Japan with her husband.

http://windsauto.net/

Keep up to date with Hiromi and her drifting by joining the Winds Auto facebook page!

Facebook - Winds Auto

British Drift Championship 2012???

It's been busy here lately not only with BDC Round 2 but I've also been getting my car ready for the BDC Practice/License Day at Donington on 18th June! I thought I'd do an ongoing blog of what I'm getting up to in preparation for BDC 2012 to give a slightly different perspective to competing!

I have actually tried for my BDC license before at Norfolk arena, however failing fairly badly, it did give me a relaxed attitude towards competing because i learnt it's not worth getting worked up over!

Picture courtesy of AmmoPhotography

http://www.ammophotography.co.uk/

So when i signed up for the next BDC Practice day at Donington, i initially just wanted to jump at the chance of drifting the same track they used for Round 1 of BDC this year but after having a think, another shot at getting a BDC license looked like a good move!

Now to get the car ready! I have a long list of parts needed for next year, mainly things for regs. e.g. cage etc but for now i want to get the car looking nice and handling well and i can now do this thanks to my supportive sponsors!!!

Mint Tyres - Steve at Mint Tyres supplies tyre changing facilities for the majority of UK based drift events including practice days and competition and he has always been supportive of my drifting!
http://www.minttyresmotorsport.com/
RS Repairs - Ray at RS Repairs has recently come on board to help prepare and maintain the car and I'm looking forward to seeing what i can achieve with his help next year.
http://www.rs-repairs.co.uk/
Carbon Copy - Sharon at Carbon Copy has recently supplied a full Vertex kit for the s14 which has improved the look of the s14.
http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=509125027#!/CarbonCopyUK
PrecisionDrift Clothing - Craig at Precision Drift Clothing is helping by offering his awesome vinyl applying skills, hoping to have pictures of this very soon!
http://www.precisiondriftclothing.com/

I feel I've come along way since ditching the underpowered bouncy Volvo's and i like to think my car has improved lots too.
From this...

To how it stands today, ready for Craig to work his magic next week....



Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have some good news after the Donington License day in 2 weeks but if i don't then, hey, there's always next time!!