MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 16 2006

TRUSCOTT EYEING STRONG HOMETOWN SHOWING AT SYMMONS

Tasmanian-born Michael Truscott will be among the field of Australia's best taking to Symmons Plains Raceway's round of the Toyo Drift Australia Series. Image available for media use. Click for high-res, please credit Nathan Wong.

When the Toyo Drift Australia Series fires up at Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend, Michael Truscott will have a little bit of extra support in his corner.

Tasmanian-born Truscott is among the field of Australia’s best drifters who will be part of the series’ first visit to the Apple Isle. While he now resides in Victoria, the driver of the Phillips Performance Lighting Nissan Silvia S13, has strong ties with Tasmania.

“I’ve lived on and off in Tasmania for 26 years,” he said. “I always look forward to going back down there.

“All my family live in the state, and I’ve got a lot of friends down there, so they’ll all be out at the track this weekend to support us. Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about with a Top 8 or Top 4 finish.”

In 2005, Truscott was runner-up in the Super Drift feeder series. He made a strong debut in the Toyo Drift Australia Series earlier this year, finishing fourth in Round 1 at Mallala, and qualifying second at Queensland.

“Fourth spot in Mallala was particularly satisfying because we didn’t qualify due to a mechanical breakdown,” said Truscott, who currently sits 15th in the standings.

“We qualified second at Queensland, but it didn’t go our way that day. Then we had mechanical breakdowns in the last round at Eastern Creek which put us out, so we’re keen for a good result to bounce back up the order.

“The transition up from Super Drift has been good. It’s a lot faster in the Toyo Drift Australia Series, a lot more competition, and at every round it keeps getting quicker and quicker.

“All the cars have improved out of sight in the last couple of years, and so has everybody’s skills. Everytime I go out, we think we get a little bit better everytime, it’s just a matter of getting it all to happen all correctly on the day.”

Entering the weekend, Truscott will be among the small number of drivers to have previously drifted at Symmons Plains.

“I’ve been there a couple of times, using a number of different layouts, so I’m fairly familiar with it,” he said. “I think this will be a challenging layout - we’re going to go from the fastest part of the section, to the slowest part, which will be a second gear corner.

“Going from our top speed down to our slowest speed, rather than going from a slower corner and the speeding up will require a lot of thought from the drivers and could catch some out.

“I think it will be particularly challenging track, one that will definitely sort a few of the drivers out.”

Tickets to the event will be available at the gate and represent great value at $15 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday’s action. A weekend pass is available for $35 and children under 12 are free all weekend.

It will be an action-packed weekend of entertainment at Symmons Plains with head to head Tandem Drift action in the battle for championship glory, Xtreme Team Drifting competitions, Stunt Bike shows, Expression Sessions and the Ignition DVD sponsored Show n Shine.

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