MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPTEMBER 12 2006

THE AUSSIE V8 CHANGING THE FACE OF DRIFTING IN AUSTRALIA

Robbie Bolger cranking up the CAPA Holden Monaro at Symmons Plains. Image available for media use. Click for high-res, please credit Michael Coppola.

As part of the growth and evolution of drifting in Australia, the once dominant hot Japanese imports are being challenged for supremacy by some local invaders. Leading the way in the Toyo Drift Australia Series is Robbie Bolger’s 7 Litre, 900hp CAPA Holden Monaro.

Entering the final round of the year at Oran Park Raceway on September 23-24, Bolger currently sits second in the series, well within striking distance. It is a far cry from what many expected when plans to bring Australian V8’s into drifting were announced.

“A lot of people thought I was mad for bringing an Aussie V8 into drifting,” says Bolger, who also wows crowds across Australia as a stunt bike rider. “They said it would be hopeless up against the Japanese cars. I decided to build one because this is Australia, and just because the sport started in Japan, it doesn’t mean you have to use Japanese cars.

“The Monaro has been really good and is proving them wrong. We built it ourselves from a bare shell and built up a 7-litre Supercar engine for it, so we know a lot about it, we’ve made heaps of changes and it just keeps getting better and better.”

Bolger has been one of the form drivers in the 2006 season, taking a win at Queensland Raceway and a second-place finish at Eastern Creek in a mid-season charge that elevated him to second place in the series standings.

“It looks like I’m going to finish first, second or third in the Championship, so I’ve had a pretty good year,” said Bolger. “I got my first win in Queensland which was great and then had a second place at Eastern Creek.

“I’ve had a couple of little dramas, some of which have been of my own doing. People do not realise how competitive drifting is. In other racing, you can make one mistake in one corner and you still might have 30 laps to get it back again.

“But in drifting, if you make one mistake, you’re out.”

Bolger closed to within 51 points of Championship leader Leighton Fine (Nankang Tyres Toyota Sprinter) before clutch problems at Symmons Plains. It saw the deficit to Fine extend to 121, with third-place driver Beau Yates (Peer Industries Toyota Sprinter) now just six points behind, but with 500 points on offer at Oran Park, it’s far from over.

“Anything is possible, I’m going to be attacking from the outset at Oran Park,” Bolger states. “Even with the problems at Symmons we got eighth and some valuable points, which could make all the difference at the end of the day.

“Leighton and Beau have got more pressure on them than me. Leighton is leading the Championship, but out of every track that we’ve been to, this is his hardest track.

“Oran Park is a real horsepower track. It suits the Monaro, but not Leighton. Last year he was knocked out in the round of 16, so if that happens I’ll have plenty of time to take some points off him.“

If Bolger does win the 2006 Toyo Drift Australia Series, he will emulate the 2005 success of Rhys Millen in the US Formula D Series. In a Pontiac GTO - a Holden Monaro modified and re-badged for the USA - Millen left the Japanese cars in his wake and won the Championship.

“Everyone thinks that because it’s a Japanese sport you need a Japanese car,” says Bolger, “but like Rhys Millen proved last year, just because the sport was invented in Japan, the best drift car in the world isn’t necessarily a Japanese car.

“You need torque and power, which an Australian car like the Monaro has plenty of, and it’s instant. Even where we’re finishing now, people still doubt it, but the Monaro is more than able to beat anything. It’s not in it’s position now because it’s no good.

“I wouldn’t drive a Japanese car. I’d prefer to stay at home and watch it on TV or go to the pub than to drive a Japanese car.”

Bolger will be among the group of 32 of Australia’s best drifters doing battle at Oran Park. The Super Drift title will be decided, while other activities include the final Xtreme Team Drifting showdown for 2006, Stunt Bike shows, Expression Sessions, pit babes and the Auto Salon Show ‘n’ Shine.

Making it a great double-header of motorsport, Round 2 of the East Coast Supermoto Series will be run on the Oran Park North Circuit at the same weekend.

Tickets are great value at $25 on Sunday and $15 on Saturday for adults, with a weekend pass available for $35.

Kids between 11 and 16 get in at a discounted rate of $20 on Sunday, $10 on Saturday and $25 for the weekend, and kids under 10 are free all weekend.

For more about the Toyo Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au

Championship points, after four of five rounds;
1. Leighton Fine (SA, Toyota Sprinter) 1769
2. Robbie Bolger (QLD, Holden Monaro) 1643
3. Beau Yates (NSW, Toyota Sprinter) 1637
4. Kelly McKinnon (SA, Nissan Skyline) 1424
5. Darren Mews (NSW, Nissan 200SX) 1387
6. Adam Trewhella (WA, Nissan Cefiro) 1373
7. Nathan Weissel (NSW, Nissan Skyline) 1366
8. Eugene Arendsen (QLD, Nissan 180SX) 1363