COVERAGE> JDM Allstars Wembley Stadium
Wembley is THE event to go to in the JDM Allstars calendar. Drifters from all over Europe and even outside of Europe flock to Wembley to step up to the plate and show their talents in the competition. So bright and early (way too early) Saturday morning, I headed down into London to check out what was going on.
Usually I like to hang around the pits for a while to chat with drivers and friends, but with briefings to attend to and with the large amount of drivers competing, practice had to get underway pretty sharpish and I didn't want to miss out on any of the action. So I made a move out to the track and started shooting. So here are some photos from practice and qualifying! Read more...
VIDEO> UK Drifting Is Exciting With JDM Allstars!
JDM Allstars NISSAN FACTORY – Round 3, 2010 from Josh Allen on Vimeo.
At last! Here’s Josh Allen‘s latest installment of this season’s JDM Allstars video coverage. It also happens to be the debut of his new production company – Will Shoot For Food. Although it might be a little schizophrenic to some, I love the way this video has been cut. It’s a huge mix of intense action, great camerawork, a dope soundtrack and a certain human element that you don’t see that often in drift videos.
To me, the video has a great balance between good footage, a good song and some slick editing, and the (usually) boring motorsport “who won what and championship points” style coverage.
Keep up the good work Josh!
::Daniel Bridle
COVERAGE> JDM Allstars Rd.2 – Donington Alpine!
I later heard that the plan was to hold it on something called the Donington Alpine Circuit. I had no clue what that was until I came along to the shoot of the promotional video a few weeks back. Then it all became clear. On the outskirts of the main track and the Launch Pad is a fast, wide, almost mountain road-like track that the JDM Crew decided to use. It's made up of four corners and a steep uphill straight where the cars seemingly come out of nowhere and fly over the top. There's a right transition into the second turn, aiming for a clipping point close to the deadly armco, then a transition left into the third turn where you plant the throttle and bring the rear of the car to the armco on the straight, leading to another transition right into the final hairpin turn.
Fast corners, armco barriers on all sides and beautiful scenery all around. This was looking to be one of the most unique and exciting drift events in the JDM Allstars calendar. Read more...
VIDEO> Drifting the UK’s Mallory Park Circuit!
Before you watch this video allow me to give you a little back story…
Mallory Park Circuit has been one of the more recent tracks to open it’s arms to drifting in the UK and has been holding drift days for the past few months. From checking out some photos and reading threads on few a internet forums, it looked and sounded like it was a pretty cool setup. So about a month ago JDM Allstars driver Dan Chapman contacted me and invited me to go to Mallory Park with him to see what all the hype was about! Dan was also bringing along his Driftworks PS13, as it was a long time since he last went drifting somewhere that wasn’t related to competitions. With the trailer loaded and our gear ready we headed up to Mallory for a chilled out day of drifting!
I wasn’t really sure what to expect but when we arrived it was a pleasant surprise. The place was far bigger than I thought and with the first thing I saw being a V8 powered E30 BMW and a little KP61 Toyota Starlet hammering down the main straight, it seemed damn fast as well! As with a lot of days in the UK the rain clouds reared their ugly heads later on during the day and made an already extreme track even more so with plenty of rain, which meant people took things a little slower… until Drift Australia 2009 champion Luke Fink rocked up that is. Managing to borrow another driver’s JZX90 Toyota Cresta for a few laps, Luke showed us how to rip the track up good with some fast-as-hell entries! (more…)
COVERAGE> JDM Allstars Rd. 1 – Manchester, UK
Like Wembley and Newcastle before, the track would be a street based circuit in one of the overflow car parks outside the Trafford Centre , a shopping centre that looks like a cross between the inside of the Titanic, Ancient Rome and a giant US mall! When I arrived on Friday, I was blown away by the scale of the track and surrounding area. I had a feeling, with all the hype and build up, that the empty space I was looking at would be packed over the weekend!
Saturday morning came and it was looking like my feelings would be proven right. With the track ready, the crowds pouring in, and a whole heap of new cars, practice got under way. So here's a few photos from day one of a truly awesome drift event... Read more...
GALLERY> Southern Style’s Journey to Silverstone
COVERAGE> JDM Allstars at Silverstone!
While fellow MotorMavens crew members Antonio Alvendia and Edward Uche were out baking in the Californian sunshine at the XDC event in Irwindale, I was getting soaked to my skin in Northamptonshire, England, at the home of British Motorsport, Silverstone Circuit. Here, JDM Allstars were holding an invitation-only driver search day to give the selected drivers a shot at gaining a provisional entry to compete in this year's series. Also, with only 26 days to go until JDM Allstars takes over Manchester City for Round 1, it gave some of the current competitors in the series a chance to give their updated and freshly built cars a good shakedown!
Silverstone has been a home for UK drifting since the early days. The OPT Drift Club used to hold practice days there and some of the old UK D1 rounds were also held there. It was even the stage for the D1GP Exhibition Rounds (one in October 2005 and the other in 2006) when the Japanese came over to show us what it was all about - pushing our drivers to become even better. Since then it's been home to various drift championships such as the European Drift Championship (EDC) and the defunct, D1GB. Back in 2009, it was JDM Allstars' turn and there they hosted the final round of the series on the famous GP Circuit. This year Silverstone will play host to the final round yet again and it will be bigger and even better. I'm seriously looking forward to it - just as long as it's not raining!
Anyway, on to the Driver Search... Read more...
COVERAGE> UK Grassroots Drifting at Santa Pod!
The drift area itself is in a fairly large plot of land on the left side of the drag strip, and is split up into five tracks, ranging from a larger "main track" for more experienced drifters (which is based on the 2008 European Drift Championship layout), a smaller "kidney track" which is set up for practicing transitions, and finally, there are 3 small "play pens" for practicing donuts, figure 8s, etc. There's also a make shift pit area for people to change tyres and work on their cars. Mint Tyres is always on hand to provide tire support for the drivers; they will fit tyres at very good prices to keep you on the track all day, and Sue's Cafe makes AWESOME cheese and bacon burgers to fill the appetites of hungry drifters.
DWYB also happens to be where I started out photographing drifting and the culture that surrounds it... so I headed up last weekend to catch up with some friends, have a lot of fun and bring back a few photos to shed some light on grassroots drifting in the UK for you Motor Mavens readers! Read more...
WEBMINING> Meet The Drivers of JDM Allstars
Better late than never, Dan Joyce just released this light hearted behind the scenes look at last year’s awesome Round 3 of the JDM Allstars drift championship at Wembley. There’s not much actual driving but it’s great to see the drivers relaxed and having a laugh, which is what drifting should be about. Having FUN!
For 2010 I’ll be trying my best to get up and down the country armed with my camera to bring you all the latest UK drift action here on MotorMavens. Starting with the JDM Allstars 2010 season kicking off on April 17th – 18th in Manchester, with what’s going to be one of the biggest and most exciting rounds to date!
Here’s to an awesome 2010!
:: Daniel Bridle
ARCHAEOLOGY> JDM Allstars Action
The qualifying would be run using the new Super Lap format. With the Super Lap, drivers are given just one single run to lay down their best score, no warm up laps, or anything. The judges were also wanting to see the drivers give it their all and get their cars as close as they could to the wall. A lot of pressure, but it was definitely gonna be exciting! Read more...
COVERAGE> JDM Allstars at Wembley Part 2
But the day wasn't just for practice, it was for qualifying and with over 50 drivers it was going to be a long one. Read more...
