D1NZ
 | |
| Category | Drifting |
|---|---|
| Country | New Zealand |
| Inaugural season | 2003 |
| Constructors | Nissan • Toyota • Mazda • Holden • Ford |
| Drivers' champion | Curt Whittaker (2015 - '16) |
| Official website | d1nz.com |
D1NZ is a production car drifting series in New Zealand. It began early in 2003 as a small competition consisting of several drifting teams from all over the country in order to organise and regulate Drifting events on the circuit. Since then it has continued to grow larger and more professional, now involving professional drivers with sponsored cars. The series now includes two championships: Pro and ProAm. New competitors generally need to prove themselves in the ProAm championship before entering the Pro championship (unless coming from an equivalent international series). Organizers aim to promote and educate Drifting in New Zealand, with a regulated safe environment. Despite similar moniker, the series is not related to the Japanese D1 Grand Prix series. It has been recognised as the longest running drifting series in the world.
Format of the competition
The format of a round consists of scrutineering and a drivers briefing in the morning. This is followed by a test sessions with cars being allowed out onto the track to practice and adjust settings for the particular track.[1]
Qualifying is then held with the competitors allowed two passes to try qualify for the Top 32 competition.[2] The drivers are judged based on line, angle, and style.[2] Line involves taking a predetermined line set by the judges at drivers briefing. The line generally includes apexing each corner, or "inside clip", and may include "outside clip" points. The closer to these points, the higher the line score. Angle means maintaining an aggressive angle throughout the judged section and aggressive direction switches (aka transitions). Style refers to how aggressive the driving is during the run, the amount of smoke produced, how hard the car is pushed and the presentation of the vehicle.[2]
The judging takes place on just a small part of the circuit, a few corners that provide good viewing and lend themselves to be ideal for drifting. The rest of the circuit is irrelevant, except as it pertains to gridding the vehicles by marshalls and setting up the car for the first judged corner.
The competition is held after the qualifying session, with only the Top 32 drivers competing, as per the judges decision in the qualifying. Drivers are entered into a battle tree (competition order) and paired off, and each battle comprises two passes with each driver taking a turn to lead. The best of the 16 battles go to the top 8 battles, then to the top 4, and then to the final or 3rd/4th place. The passes are judged as explained above, however there are a few new rules such as:
- Increasing the lead under drift conditions helps to win that pass.
- Maintaining a close gap while chasing under drift conditions helps to win that pass.
- The lead car is to try run an ideal qualifying pass, the chase car is to use the rear of the lead car as a moving clipping point and mimic (within reason) the lead cars movements.
- Points are awarded for each pass, and usually one driver prevails.
- The points for each battle are awarded as a total of 10 (i.e. 6/4, 7/3, 8.5/1.5). The sum of the two battles produces the winner.
- A Spin during Battle will result in gaining zero (0) points for that run.
- One wheel off the track will result in a points deduction. Two wheels off will result in zero points for that competitor for that run.[2]
Sometimes the judges cannot agree or cannot decide. In such cases more passes may be run (i.e.: a re-run) until a winner is produced. Sometimes mechanical failure determines the battle's outcome, either during or preceding a battle. If a car cannot enter a tandem battle, the remaining entrant (who automatically advances) will drive a solo demonstration pass. In the event of apparently close or tied runs, crowds often demonstrate their desire for another run with chants of 'one more time'. It is also extremely important that crowd members pull gang signs whilst their favorite driver drifts by, this will vastly increase their chance of winning.[3]
List of Pro-Series Champions
| Year | Driver | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jairus Wharerau | Driftcorp | Nissan Cefiro A31 |
| 2004 | Justin Rood | Driftcorp | Nissan Cefiro A31 |
| 2005 | Adam Richards | WSR | Nissan Cefiro A31 |
| 2006 | Daniel Woolhouse | Dunlop Direzza (Driftcorp) | Nissan Silvia S15 |
| 2007 | Carl Ruiterman | E&H Motors | Nissan Silvia S14 |
| 2008 | Gaz Whiter | Toyo Tyres (Driftcorp) | Nissan Silvia S14 |
| 2009 - '10 | Gaz Whiter | Big Ben Pies (Driftcorp) | Nissan Silvia S14 |
| 2010 - '11 | Gaz Whiter | Big Ben Pies (Driftcorp) | Nissan Silvia S14 |
| 2011 - '12 | Curt Whittaker | Whittaker Motorsport | Nissan Skyline R34 |
| 2012 - '13 | Daniel Woolhouse | Castrol Edge (Driftcorp) | Holden Commodore VE |
| 2013 - '14 | Gaz Whiter | Tectaloy Coolants (Driftcorp) | Nissan Silvia S14 |
| 2014 - '15 | Darren Kelly | HiTec Oils Australia | Nissan Skyline R34 |
| 2015 - '16 | Curt Whittaker | Rattla Motorsport | Nissan Skyline R34 |
List of Pro-Sport Champions
Formally referred to as Pro-Am from the 2010 - '11 season until its name change in 2015 - '16 to Pro-Sport.
| 2010 - '11 | Nico Reid | Luxury Sports | Nissan Silvia S13 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 - '12 | Cameron Vernon | Sheep Shagga Racing | Nissan Skyline R32 |
| 2012 - '13 | Darren Kelly | DKM Fabrication | Nissan Skyline R32 |
| 2013 - '14 | Vincent Langhorn | Euphoric Motorsport | Nissan Laurel C33 |
| 2014 - '15 | Troy Jenkins | Brian Roberts Towing (TJM) | Nissan Silvia S15 |
| 2015 - '16 | Chad McKenzie | McKenzie Motorsport | Nissan Skyline R32 |
See also
References
- ↑ "D1NZ competitor info". Archived from the original on 2007-03-04. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 D1NZ judging overview, Retrieved August 25, 200
- ↑ Drift Mania! Inaugural D1 Grand Prix presented by Yokohama August 31, 2003, Turbo Magazine, Retrieved August 25, 2007