Not Quite Summer Morning Session

I love Morning Sessions. I’ve said it plenty of times before, and I will happily say it again. Honestly some of the best cars and drifting action can be seen at these laid back events. What started out as overcast and potentially rainy November 28th, quickly turned into a scorcher that would remind us all that summer is here. Normally for an event like this I would be out amongst the action with my own car, however being knee deep in turning my Corolla into the Nissan powered abomination it will soon become I had no choice but to sit back and watch. For something Different I decided it would be interesting to leave the Digital SLR at home and come to the track armed with nothing but my EOS-1 film SLR and a couple of rolls of color slide film.

It was an exciting day as it was Jason’s second time on track since completing the build on his 4agte ae86. Having had incredible dramas at the Queensland Matsuri, after a re-tune it was anticipated that the car was going to be the top pony in the Midnight Mechanic stable.

In a typical Midnight Mechanic fashion, the morning started early and quite groggy after a late night of inspirational drifting dvds and a multitude of beers. The first stop was for a hearty breakfast at a stop we have made for every drift event for the past 8 years; the Coomera BP.

Arriving at the track saw greetings from familiar faces and cars. Casey from Shirtstuckedin has put away the DSLR for the past couple of months in pursuit of his own drifting lifestyle. I’ve known Casey for quite some time now, and while this is his first year of drifting regularly, it can be seen that he has definitely been watching closely over the last decade of shooting the likes of Nakamura from Burst. For someone that is running an SR20DE S13, he has no problem keeping up with others and matching their aggression.

One such driver was Erin from JDM Garage in his S14. Unfortunately the damn thing keeps breaking axles; hopefully Erin is close to resolving this issue.

This thing is amazingly presented and a perfect example of the style of the sport I love. I haven’t managed to get too many photos of Erin driving this thing yet but hopefully I will in the next few months.

Before heading out onto the track it’s always good to check those fluids. Despite still being 4a powered, being a gte Jason’s ae86 is dangerously close to becoming a Nissan so there is no point taking any chances.

The guys at Queensland Raceway really don’t get enough thanks for the fun they give us. I have to say though I was a little bit jealous of Neil rolling around in a comfortable BMW while we watched from Jason’s sweltering ae86.

The other people to thank too are the guys who do marshaling all day. These guys are drifters just like us who would just as happily be out driving their own cars, and yet they stand around in the sun all day letting us have all the fun.

In some way or another they still get their fun out of it, mostly by encouraging drivers to either limiterbash and clutch drop or drive past them at full noise for maximum entry to corner two. The latter is always a fun situation.

One car that I love seeing every time it is out is Trent Woolley’s S15. Unfortunately I don’t get to see enough of this thing in action as I would like to but it’s always cool to see it cut a lap or two.

My favorite show to watch all day was the tandems between Casey Dhnaram & Erin Skyes. To give you a bit of context on how impressive it was to watch Casey chase, this is an n/a SR s13 driven by someone who is (or at least could be considered) an inexperienced driver chasing a competition spec s14 driven by a very experienced driver.

I say well done Casey!

Another car I love to see out is mind numbingly loud and low S13 which looks strikingly close to Tj’s old S13. Unfortunately being low comes at a price, often resulting in body kits being thrown off the car in a fashion that is obnoxious as the car itself.

With the tune now working perfectly, Jason was blazing it up like bob Marley. To see how his day went, check out the video from the day.

They say with great power comes great responsibility. They’re wrong. The only thing that comes from it is a larger tyre bill. It wasn’t long before Jason was back in the pits changing to a fresh pair.

No matter, it’s all part of the fun before we knew it he was back out showing the rest of the ae86 boys how it’s done.

I honestly cannot wait to get my new motor going so I can try and match the speed that Jason was driving at all day.

Of course all good days come to an end. Usually by the time some wipes their forehead and mutters “Fu*k it’s hot today” it’s already time to go home. Thankfully most of us come to our senses these days and trailer the cars up to the track, which for most means a comfortable air-conditioned drive home.

Let me know if you enjoyed the film shots, I enjoy taking them, and I certainly love that film feeling but there is a lot to be desired in quality. See you guys at the track next time! E!CM

- Grant Scott