March 25th saw the very first round of a new competition. Based here in the North East of England at Teesside Autodrome, the Northern Drift Championship is proving to be a hit. Aimed at novice to intermediate level drifters, the competition is just what’s been needed around these parts for quite some time now. Team SkylinePart.com are to be judging the rounds and this first round also provided the opportunity for Jazz and Ian to test their cars out.
I asked Jazz for his thoughts on the day:
“I was surprised at how many spectators showed up for this first event and I was impressed with the driving level of the competitors in each respective class.
As long as NDC continues to experiment and try new things, I think it will do well”.
As I mentioned above, the weekend was also being used to test out a couple of the TSP cars and iron out any problems. Diva, Jazz’s car, came over to her new UK home in February and hasn’t been used at all really since maybe October time 2011.
“My first time really drifting at Teesside, I was excited to be there. Diva had some oil circulation issues and we could not really get a full run out of her. The most I got all weekend was 4 laps on power but that was it”.
Jazz also had his first real look at Teesside’s national track layout.
“The national track was interesting. I like the way you come off the bank and have to change speed into a quick transition. It reminded me a little of Nurburgring. The entry was a bit tricky to me as I had no sense of the track depth on turn 1. So I did not try any gangster entries. I just put the car through its paces a bit”.
Part of the weekend’s testing time was also being taken up by Jazz getting used to a whole new steering setup on Diva thanks to Jon Calvert.
“The new steering is amazing, the angle I can get out of the JoCa Performance hubs is just sick! Same amount of turns in the steering but with more lock. So I felt comfortable pretty fast and more confident! It was just too bad I could not focus on playing with the new steering while having the issues with the engine.
However, I still pulled off a few nice angles on both the west track and the national course. To think that there is still even more that I can get out of this steering upgrade is insane. There are some add ons that I can use to get the full potential out of the JoCa Performance hubs! I’m talking Mad Mike entries! We will have to wait and see! I will have to get used to what I have now before taking advantage of the full set up”.
So finally, how are you feeling with things right now?
“I’m very happy to be a part of the team and travelling Europe to compete. We feel that the Team TSP, Dotz Wheels/Liqui Moly/Ksport Nissan Skyline will be very competitive! Now we just have to see what I do with it! It will be an interesting adjustment period for me as I enter my rookie season with Drift Allstars European Drift Series.
I look forward to this season and its challenges.
“Foot Down, Fun Up!”
-Lostboy drift”
