Both the best and worst part of hunting speed full-time is that you can never switch off.
But then, I think all true petrol-heads are like this to some extent. It doesn’t matter if you’re at an event or just trying to drift your shopping trolley (that’s a grocery cart, Americans) down the laundry aisle, being a proper automotive enthusiast is an intrinsic part of who you are. I get worryingly excited by even the most mundane things about cars, especially when travelling. Whether it’s the regular passing of a V8 burbling down the street, or spotting an old Toyota in a Walmart carpark.
In fact, my – albeit, rare – downtime is usually spent at events wandering around looking at cars, but usually without a camera. I find that when I bring a camera, I spend more time looking for a photo, than looking at the cars. It’s a strange thing, but a thing nonetheless.
On both days of Formula Drift in Atlanta, I arrived before the Worthouse crew did, which gave me just enough time to explore the paddock and find what was parked about. A ZN6 with a trailer was a good start to this particular morning’s hunt.
Not far from the Toyobaru, was definitely the find of the day. Located between a U-Haul truck and a portaloo, was this immaculate R32 GT-R. I think it’s still my favourite of all the GT-Rs. Sat on SSR SP3s and with LED taillights, it was just the right amount of aesthetic upgrades for a street car. I’ve included more images in the bonus images at the end.
Speaking of the portaloo, anyone for a 2001 IndyCar?
With my, um, business taken care of, I made my way towards the FD Pro 2 paddock. I would love to have the time to give these guys the exposure that they deserve, as some of the cars and driving are really impressive. For those of you who asked before, I did take the opportunity to shoot a spotlight on the Drift Ute. It’s coming this week.
Where some of the Pro 2 competitors bare close resemblance to their Pro 1 brethren, there were a few that were bringing the style to Formula Drift. This 240SX was a prime example.
Andy Hateley’s luminous orange V8 E30 BMW is pretty hard to miss, no matter where you are in the paddock. It also feels like looking into Optimus Prime’s heart when looking into the rear of the car with the trunk removed.
I’m not sure if this is a full HGK-prepared E46, as I honestly can’t keep up with the amount of amazing cars that the Latvian builders are turning out. If the welds look like they have been made by God himself, then there’s a strong probability that it is.
I’m still surprised by the lack of Corvettes in Formula Drift, although I have heard that the C6 and previous models aren’t ideal candidates for drifting due to their rear suspension setup. Apparently that’s changed for the C7, so I wonder will they become a regular sight? I have visions of a factory-backed C7 running Le Mans-spec aero on full lock on the bank at Irwindale, and it’s gooood.
The lone rotary on the Pro 1 grid this year is Kyle Mohan’s turbo triple-rotor MX5. He hasn’t had much luck so far, but things can really only improve for him at this point. When the car is working though, it does sound amazing.
Right beside Mohan’s pit was an FD with one more rotor housing than Kyle’s MX5. You might have read about it already.
Rad Dan’s Supra is a very well engineered and all round bad-ass car. It definitely deserves more than the occasional mention and out of focus photograph. We will put this right.
Fredric Aasbø’s Corolla is growing on me, although I still think it looks unusual when drifting. It is incredibly quick though, and it’s such a credit to what the Papadakis Racing team were able to pull off over the course of the winter months. It’s maybe the car I fear the most on the Formula Drift grid.
Out in the wilds of the infield, there was always something to look at, but rarely the time for closer inspection. There could have been easily a post dedicated to just the cars of the fans who showed up.
This peculiar sounding E36 cabriolet was maybe running a US V8, as it wasn’t like any BMW based V8 that I’ve heard before.
Located in the vendor village on the Mishimoto stand was an excellently executed 240Z. Low, clean and Work Equips are a good look on any Datsun of this vintage, but this one in particular looked outstanding. Our Piotr was considering swapping his S15 for it at one point but we did manage to talk him out of it. For now, anyways.
Also in the village was a RAYS Volk Racing TE37V-wearing Mazda RX-3. Luckily, I don’t have to waffle on about this one as Mike and Larry already covered it in-depth with a previous feature.
More so than most events, Atlanta was one of those places where I wish I could clone myself and cover everything that was present. For as much as I did see and capture, there was at least double the amount again of cars that drove by once and were never seen again. Not to mention the Global Time Attack or Trans-Am portions of the event. Sometimes, there’s just too much damn speed.
Which is just how we like it.
Paddy McGrath
Instagram: pmcgphotos
Twitter: pmcgphotos
paddy@speedhunters.com
I think you've just described me in a single sentence.
I LOVE Road Atlanta! In fact, I've been there 4 or 5 times for various events (Gridlife, Petit Le Mans, etc). But the ONE thing I hate about it, is how downright exhausting it is to walk around the track, during the summer. The various hills and general lack of shade at Road Atlanta, nearly gave me heat exhaustion a couple of times. But, I enjoyed every minute I spent there, during my various visits, and made some memories I'll always remember. (Especially the Compuware C6.R vs DBR 9 battle at Petit Le Mans)
Sorry that this had almost zero to do with your article, Paddy.. Just wanted to share my thoughts about this lovely circuit. Really wanted to go to FD Atlanta this year, but I simply didn't have the money to take the trip down there..
You ain't kiddin. When are motorized shoes going to be a thing. The future is now and it hasn't fulfilled it's expectations. Oh well at least the sights make up for cardio.
Were we at the same event?
When I was like 12 and used my dad's fancy camera at convention center car shows I used to end the day feeling like I spent more time looking through the viewfinder than at the cars, and I'm not even a photographer lol.
Guilty lol.
guilty as all hell lol. also i broke the wheel off a cart one time...OOPS
trolley drifting is a well known rite of passage. or it should be.
I thought I was the only one...
that civic tho....love it
Those 2 cycles are good enough to include them as the 1st image in the cutting room floor section.
Nothing can beat a classic ride even a drift car.
Damn i have to buy a cycle again i though i surpassed this idea but seems i will never do.
Those cycles are interesting, no doubt. Mountain bike tires, brakes, downhill bike inverted fork. I'm gonna have to look around for more info on them. They're pretty awesome.
https://motoped.com/
max speed of about 24 mph, all the versions seem to have the same backbone with the engine slung under neath and then the other parts are attached to the backbone. its not a bad design and pretty nifty but i think i would prefer the electric powered bikes of that style:
http://www.stealthelectricbikes.com/
That S2K in the cutting room images is really nice, more of that car!
"Our Piotr was considering swapping his S15 for it at one point but we did manage to talk him out of it."
Why, Paddy? WHY?
You're Irish.
You've seen Huxley scrape his Celica along walls.
You know how cool that looks.
FD could've had a S30Z scraping walls.
FD could've had true style.
FD could have had a vintage hero.
But you stopped him, Paddy.
And now, I am disappointed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM
I think his plan involved leaving it stock and driving off into the sunset.
He should have!
Drift Ute yaaayyyy! Can't wait, I love those things. Why don't we have those in the States?
I'd love to go to Road Atlanta, looks like an awesome weekend especially renting a place along the river
That R32 is something else, damn.
some great photos in there and plus 100 for the optimus prime reference
What wheels on the Nissan GTR?
That mustard 240Z is perfect, do a full feature on it please!
I can help with this, anytime, yall let me know!
Does anybody have more information on Kyle Mohan's MX-5's brake rotors? They have a unique shape to them and I'd like to do some research on them, but don't even know where to begin.