Crouched just behind the start line official, my back to the cars that are about to launch into another run. I hear the familiar sound of first gear being selected, the revs rising and the clutch dropping. Tires squeal as they struggle to grip the well rubbered asphalt, the noise gets louder as the car passes by, just inches away, before the noise falls off as they accelerate towards the first turn.

Inititation styles differ; some prefer to enter on the e-brake, others preferring to scandanavian flick the car across the bumpy surface.

The fastest method seemed to be a 'wand' entry, although the flick method was far, far more exciting.

From there it was foot to the floor, pushing wide to the first outside clipping point.

The next section was a transition to an inside clip before pushing wide for another outside clipping point.

From here it was time to W.O.T. to another outside clip, wall rubbing is actively encouraged in JDM Allstars.

Once you had left paint on the wall, you keep the power nailed to create a smoke screen for the very appreciative crowd.

It was then across the finish line where you could mosey on back to the start line or if you were feeling up to it, pull another gear and run the outside wall the whole way back to the start straight.

I always find it interesting to try and watch a driver develop into a rhythm and how each driver can approach the course differently. Brad Hacker in the Dragon Performance RX7 was edging the car around, constantly prodding on the power, showing off how much power and traction the car has. It's easily the fastest drift car in Europe in my eyes, it just hooks up and goes.

Mark Luney seemed to be at ease with the BN Sports Supra, nailing down solid run after solid run whilst throwing up plumes of tire smoke.

A very rare moment in the world of Phil Morisson, for once he wasn't trying to create his own personal hole in the o-zone layer.

While attending the event, I saw a great example of the simply awesome level of comraderie between the drivers. Let me explain; The very kind James Bull loaned his car to Martin Ffrench for the first event. James had no reason to loan his pride and joy out but he did, just to ensure another driver was in the hot seat for the weekend. However, during Saturday evening practice, the S14 has an unavoidable collision with the BN Sports Supra. The B pillar was bent in, the door was ruined and it wouldn't close and it was looking like the weekend was over for the Bull / Ffrench partnership. But that would not be the JDM Allstars way …

Anyone with idle hands got to the scene and got stuck in straightening the car. People were on phones sourcing parts, asking friends of friends to pick up things that could help out the crew involved. Girlfriends and wives of drivers made tea and sandwiches to support the effort. 

The guys decided that they just needed to get the car back to a level where it would protect the driver and pass scrutiny by any means possible. They could worry about fixing it properly afterwards, but for now the best route was not the prettiest. Drilling into the car a hook was placed into the pillar and the pillar was heated with a blow torch. The car was strapped down at the other side to a Land Rover and the team used another competitors recovery truck to attach it's winch to the hook. The slow 'tug of war' process then began …

Once they had pulled as much as possible, it was time to use a sledge hammer to beat panels back out.

One guy that needs a special mention for his sterling efforts during this repair was SkylineOwners.com driver Simon Perry. Kudos to you sir, may karma repay you ten fold !

The guys worked late into the night and successfully repaired the car for Sundays competition. As the sun set on the paddock, I snapped a few shots around the area, one of my own favourites being this of Matt Houses LS1 powered RX7.

So as the sun sets on Saturday evening, it pretty much rounds up our coverage from the first round of the JDM Allstars event. Even with a lot of competitors missing due to a date clash, JDM Allstars once again delivered the goods and set a high standard for the rest of the season.

The next round is in June and the venue is Newcastle City Centre. All the dates of the next event can be found on the JDM Allstars website, the link to which is below.

Desktops post coming shortly, be sure to get your requests in !

- Paddy

JDM Allstars

Driftworks

SkylineOwners