MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPTEMBER 21 2006

FIRST AUSTRALIAN DRIFT CHAMPION TO BE CROWNED IN SYDNEY THIS WEEKEND

Robbie Bolger and Leighton Fine battling in the final at Queensland. Image available for media use. Click for high-res, please credit Michael Coppola.

There’ll be more than just pride on the line when Oran Park Raceway hosts the final round of the 2006 Toyo Drift Australia Series this weekend, September 23-24.

The level of competition in the growing sport continues to increase, as Australia’s best drifters battle it out side-by-side and sideways. For the first time in the brief history of drifting in Australia, the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) will award the prize of Australian Drift Champion to the series victor.

Leading the way in the Championship is South Australia’s Leighton Fine (Nankang Tyres Toyota Sprinter). Fine took out the opening round of the year on home turf at Mallala Raceway, as part of a consistent campaign in a year which has seen four different winners in four rounds.

He currently holds a 126 point Championship lead over Holden Monaro driver Robbie Bolger, but with 500 points still up for grabs, the 21 year-old won’t be able to take it easy.

“There is really nothing to do about it, other than to go hard and do your best,” Fine said. “You can’t really do any planning, there’s no point thinking about it too much or stressing about it.

“You just go there, do the best you can and hopefully that’s enough. I certainly wasn’t expecting the year to turn out like this going into the final round. Everything has gone really well for us.

“I quite like Oran Park, it’s a really good track and I’m looking forward to going back there. I had a bit of a disappointing round there last year and finished ninth, so I’m looking to make up for that.

“If you compare my Sprinter and Robbie’s Monaro, I think it’s amazing that such different cars can be so closely matched in results. You wouldn’t get it in any other form of motorsport. It all comes down to the driver on the day, which is why I love the sport.”

In a sport which has been dominated by hot Japanese imports, Bolger and his 900hp, tyre-smoking CAPA V8 Monaro have rocked the establishment.

“So many people have said it couldn’t be done and that a big V8 wouldn’t be successful in drifting, but we’ve proved them wrong time after time,” said Bolger, who took out Round 2 at Queensland Raceway.

“We’re going to Oran Park looking to win the weekend and the Championship. I don’t have any pressure on me at all, I can go out there and attack straight away.

“If we win the Championship I might have to take the trophy on a tour of Australia, to show all the people who said it couldn’t be done.”

If Bolger qualifies in Position 1 and wins the weekend, Fine will need to make it to the Top 4 at Oran Park in order to secure the title. Bolger’s eighth place at Symmons Plains allowed Sydneysider Beau Yates (Peer Industries Toyota Sprinter) to close to within six points in third place.

When the series visited Sydney in July, Yates took the spoils at Eastern Creek and he feels a little bit of extra hometown knowledge could aid his charge at Oran Park.

“I’m going to out, try and win and let the rest of it sort itself out,” said Yates. “I’ve gotta go into this last round, being pretty aggressive and see if I can qualify first and then win the day overall. If Leighton gets knocked out early, it can all change.

“I’ve had a pretty good year. I finished second last year and was hoping to go one better this year, so we’ll see how it pans out this weekend.

”Eastern Creek was a good weekend for us. We were pretty confident going in there and it turned out well. The car seems to be quite good at Oran Park on the South Circuit. I’m confident we can do well there.”

While all eyes will be on the Championship battle, any number of drivers from the 32 car field could win the weekend. At Symmons Plains, 2003 World BMX Champion Luke Fink (Holford Motors Nissan Silvia) won on debut, while recovering from a broken ankle sustained in a bike fall.

Fink won’t be the only driver to keep an eye on; with the likes of 2005 Drift Australia Champion and Oran Park victor Darren Appleton (Peer Industries Nissan 180SX), Kelly McKinnon (Nankang Tyres Nissan Skyline R32) and Adam Trewhella (Hyperdrive Nissan Cefiro) all looking to take their first win of the year.

Also hungry for a strong result is a group of hard-charging New South Welshmen. In addition to third-placed Yates, Darren Mews (Parasol EMT Riverina Nissan 200SX) is fifth in the Championship, with Nathan Weissel (OZ Auto Sports Nissan Skyline) and 2005 Formula Drift Champion Fernando Wiehrl (Saber Nissan 180SX) also inside the Top 10 and looking to strike.

On-track battles for the Toyo Drift Australia Series title will be just part of a great weekend. The Super Drift title will also be decided, with Linden Reynolds from South Australia currently leading Queenslander Cameron Gale.

Other action includes the final Xtreme Team Drifting showdown for 2006, Stunt Bike shows featuring world record holder Matt Mingay, 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.

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

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