After Hours At Queensland Raceway 24 Hour Drift Matsuri

It is a rare occasion at Queensland Raceway, particularly as a driver, on any given event to be strolling around the paddock several hours after the event has stopped. Let alone several hours before the gates even open. The Queensland Raceway 24 hour drift Matsuri was one such occasion that allowed me to bring you the photos you see before you.

One thing that I will cherish about this event was the ability to wake up at the track. To be able to watch others work on their car just as the sun has come up and as the early morning fog has moved on.

To see the morning dew mixing with mud caked on cars which were drifting only several hours earlier.

It was quite a surreal experience walking past 200 odd drift cars soaking in the morning sun with not another person in sight.

I don’t think the pits have ever been this packed but at the same time completely empty.

I was ecstatic the night before when I saw Beally turn up in his 3sgte powered ke70. This thing has been on the build for about two years now.

There is still plenty to go though. ‘Wash mud off car’ might have to be added to that list though.

I know it’s on my list of things to do after this weekend.

Whether it was late in the afternoon or early in the morning, there was a magical feeling to the weekend.

The nature of the event gave everyone the ability to go at their own pace which meant there was a lot less stress in the air.

Time was abundant which allowed everyone to do that extra bit of car work, chat or just chill out with their friends.

Across the entire event I regularly made sure to catch up and chill out with fellow Midnight Mechanics Robo and Nick. These two were driving brilliantly as always, keeping the crowd in a constant state of shock with close tandems.

Another person that I was very happy to catch up with was our long lost Midnight Mechanic; Cass.

He’s been out of the game for about 4 years but had no problem getting back into the groove.

I’m quite eager to see that footage too! I’m amazed at how many people had Go Pro’s on the weekend. I’m going to have to get myself one sometime soon I think!

As that orange sun started to go down on the Saturday night there were fewer people out on the track. It was the perfect time to grab a bite to eat, kick back and comfortably realise you still have another 15 odd hours of drifting to go.

For some though, with cooler temperatures and a few hours of light left it became a good time to work on the car. Some of you may recognise this Ae86 as Brett’s old SR20 Ae86. It’s not looking as good as it used to. Having bought it in close to this condition Mumblezz is will be slowely bringing it back to its former glory.

I’m waiting for the day that Mumblezz comes out saying he’s joining a hair metal band.

I love how common FD Rx-7′s are becoming at the drift track these days. This thing looks brilliant with the wide body and offset to match.

As the sun set I decided to go check out some of the garages. Nick’s wheel collection is more and more impressive every time I see him.

One car I love to see every time I come to the track is Seamus’s Notch Trueno. This thing is head to toe immaculate.

When you look at the gorgeous Ae101 20v in the engine bay it’s easy to see his attention to detail spans across the entire car. Those stainless extractors were built by Seamus too by the way!

I dropped in to see how Buckna was going with his v8 propelled E36 BMW. This thing is a site to see on track, like any car built by Buckna. The car would billow out smoke as it leaped forward due to both the power of the car and the tire scrub.

While I was walking through, the boys in the garage were in the process of building some new knuckles for the Beemer. Gotta love the smell of argon at midnight.

Speaking of midnight, the most impressive thing I witnessed all weekend was by Matt Stopel and all his mates. His Sr20 MX73 Cressida busted a piston on the Saturday which would normally mean game over for any sane person.

Starting late on Saturday afternoon they pushed through most of the night and installed new pistons into the SR. Considering this is something that would normally take a few days in ideal circumstances, these boys well and truly have given the rest of us a lot to answer for. I don’t think anyone would have expected to see the Cressida rolling around on Sunday after such terminal damage. Seriously, well done guys!

To wrap up our coverage of the weekend I will leave you with this absolutely gorgeous JZS161 Aristo.

With that silky silver tone the car just looked perfect at any angle. At first glace I thought it was sporting CR-Kais which is quite rare these days, It turns out they are the new Work Emotion CR Kiwami. A perfect wheel choice for a perfect car I think.

I hope you guys have enjoyed our coverage from the Queensland Raceway 24 Hour Drift Matsuri. I absolutely cannot wait for another one of these to come up. Both to shoot the event and to drive at it. For now though, keep your eye on Excitement! Car Magazine for next weekend’s coverage of the Australian Drift GP up at Queensland Raceway. Josh and I will both be heading up armed with copious amounts of glass and CF cards.

- Grant