Robert Borowik, Author at Drift Matsuri

Drift Matsuri 2022: The Report

The Tire Streets Drift Matsuri was back at Anglesey at the end of October for the 8^th time in 9 years. It’s been the end of season event to bring together drivers from any championship and many that don’t drift competitively; for one big weekend before the winter rebuilds begin.

Anglesey Circuit has been an incredible venue over the years with the event growing each year. 100+ drivers from all over the UK & Ireland hit the track over the weekend with three circuits available each day.

There is the fast track, using the first three corners of the circuit. A climb up toward turn 1 which is flat in third or fourth followed by a short straight, most people will maji this into the hairpin but the higher-powered cars can do this in one transition.

The hairpin is banked so more speed can be held around here before a straight to build speed for the last corner, the fastest of the entire circuit!

The second layout is a simple hairpin, many might look at the map of the layout and avoid this track. They would be missing out as the huge run up allows some huge entries, backies and 360s!

The third layout is the touge track, it runs up hill from the start through a tight left hander before opening up to climb through a right hander to the crest.

As the cars initiate on the crest they drop into a left hander, some of the most iconic Drift Matsuri photos can be seen from here as the cars come into view with the sea and mountains in the background.

The final section of the track is a left hairpin into a tight right to finish the track.

There really is something for everyone at this event, from the tight twisty turns of the touge circuit to the flat out drifting on the fast track. The fun wasn’t limited to those drivers with higher horsepower cars though as the layouts can be drifted using a lot of momentum and commitment.

The selection of cars on track was incredible with a selection of competition cars such as Ollie Evans S15 that he used in DMEC this year..

Phil Randall’s Mazda B2000 Rotary pickup that he drives in Drift League..

Arunas Narmontas’ BMW E92 that has been used in pretty much everything this year!

Away from the competition cars there was plenty to be seen and often even rarer cars like the Escort Van that has become a must see over the years.

The selection of Japanese cars of track was second to none, if you love the JZX platform there were several on track in various styles..

S-Chassis’ & Skylines, got those in abundance..

Along with 350z’s, a 300ZX and MX-5s.

Away from the Japanese cars there were plenty of BMW’s in various styles and levels of build, from simpler builds right through to 700+ HP competition cars.

A couple of Ford Escorts hit the track too!

There was plenty to see around the paddock too with the chance to look at the cars up close, talk to the drivers etc. Away from that there was a selection of traders on site including a slot car track.

Saturday night featured the demo on the fast track, most of the cars had been decorated with light bars, neon’s, strobes, anything the drivers could get their hands on to make their car visible for the spectators that filled the outside of the track.

Two hours of tandems and trains followed with drivers appearing out the of darkness at turn 1 at speed before closing up door on door around the hairpin in front of the spectator area.

It’s always a popular part of the event for both the drivers and spectators.

Fireworks followed the night demos but that wasn’t the end of the night with the party still to come!

Sunday morning rolled around with all of the tracks opening up for another full day of drifting.

It might have been raining on and off over the event this year but that never dampens the spirit of the drivers or spectators. It’s always been a stand out event that brings together the drifting community, everyone is the same out on track no matter if they are a competitive drifter or not.

Off track they all come together to help keep everyone on track and at the end of the day party together.

Bring on the 10^th year next year, it can’t come soon enough!

Drift Matsuri 2019: The Report

Drift Matsuri held its 7^th annual end of year event at Anglesey Race Circuit in North Wales. Since 2013 it has grown to become the one event that many of the drift scene strive to do regardless of other competitions, practice days and demos.

The weekend really starts early as most people try to leave work early on Friday, making their way to the track from all corners of the United Kingdom along with a few from Ireland.

The paddock quickly filled up with drivers setting up their pit area and checking over their cars before a long weekend of drifting. The rain didn’t dampen people’s spirits as they caught up with friends, fitted their sun strips and got their cars scruitineered.

Saturday morning kicked off with driver briefings before the tracks went live for the morning session. The usual three tracks were open for all drivers, giving them the option to swap between them as much as they wanted.

The fast track is always popular as its one of the only times that drivers can drift at such high speeds with many drivers managing to link the first corner to the hairpin without needing to manji the straight.

The touge track is the other busy layout with the queue often being the biggest throughout the event. The drivers didn’t have to wait long between runs with large trains of cars leaving the start line.

This track twists its way up the hill to the top of the circuit before looping back around and down to the finish. It’s a favourite of many of the drivers and spectators too as the view is incredible!

Aside from the attraction of being able to drive several different tracks within one venue, Drift Matsuri gives drivers of all abilities a chance to drift together and learn from each other. It’s not uncommon to see a British Drift Championship driver on track with drivers that may have never competed before.

The spectators get to see a wide variety of cars on track, the usual S-Chassis and R-Bodies were well represented but also some rarer cars were out on track.

Harry Hudson has been getting everyone’s attention this year in the ex-Huxley Motorsport RA28 Celica. The car is driven hard in Driftcup and this event was no different, Harry managed to hit some tyres causing some damage to the car but he was still enjoying himself afterwards!

Ford might not be the brand that you associate with drifting but they were out in force with a few Escorts and even an Escort van.

A quick walk through the paddock wasn’t possible with so many cars to draw your attention away at every turn.

The end of the day came around after what felt like only a few hours but as the light faded the drifting wasn’t over. A selection of invited drivers lined up for the night demos. Think 40+ drivers, very little lighting other than what’s on the cars and large trains of cars on track at the same time.

The drivers really excelled this year with their lighting solutions with several cars sporting rally light bars and neons.

The night session was purely for the entertainment of the crowd which loved every minute of it.

After an hour or so the drivers all left the line together for a couple of runs in trains of 20+ cars before the session ended with a fireworks display.

That ended the track action for the day but the party was only just starting for many people around the track. The official party was in one of the pit garages with Mike Lewis smashing out the tunes until the early hours but groups of friends could be seen all over the paddock having their own parties.

Sunday morning was a slow start to the day for the guys that partied until late but for others they were eager to head out onto the tracks for another full day of drifting.

After another 7 hours of drifting the paddock slowly started to clear out, drivers loaded up their cars and headed home, memories made that will need to last through the next year before we will do it all over again. Until next time!

Drift Matsuri 2018: The Report

For 6 years, Drift Matsuri has marked the end of the season for many in UK Drifting with a festival weekend at Anglesey Circuit.

More than 150 drivers took part in the on track action with multiple layouts in use throughout the weekend with thousands of spectators lining the track to catch all of the action. The paddock filled up quickly on Friday evening as people headed to the track from all over the country, it wasn’t uncommon to find people that had travelled 7 or more hours to be there.

There was something for all levels of drivers, the first of the three tracks was a simple hairpin which was being used to attempt backward entries by the more experienced drivers.

The next track is the touge style run up through the corkscrew before cresting the hill and winding its way back down the other side, a favourite for drivers looking to run in large trains of cars.

The final track layout is the fastest of them all, many of the BDC drivers were managing fourth gear for much of the track although drivers will less powerful cars were still having plenty of fun on this layout too!

As the tracks opened on Saturday morning the drivers flooded out onto the start lines, all trying to get the most seat time out of the day. The drivers swapped between the tracks whenever they wanted so if there was any downtime on one track everyone ran on one of the other tracks so there was no reason to be sat in long queues for anyone.

The weekend really brings everyone together one last time before the winter, from BDC drivers to grassroots drivers, which means it’s a great chance for people to drive with more experience drivers and learn from them.

As the sunlight faded the tracks closed to the majority of drivers with around 40 selected drivers lining up ready for the night demos. In the past we have seen battles between the UK and Irish drivers but this year they would all work together to put on a show for the crowds.

The atmosphere around the track was great with everyone joining the commentators in some banter whenever the odd car had to be recovered off track or tyres put back in place, even the drivers that had spun out were joining in!

The evenings track action came to a close with a fireworks display and possibly the longest drift train the UK has seen, with all of the drivers that leaving the start line one after another. As they got to the hairpin there were cars everywhere with drivers taking different lines, everyone made it through without any damage so it was now time to party through into the early hours!

Sunday morning is always quiet in the paddock with everyone recovering from a late night on Saturday, it’s also the ideal time to take a look around at the variation of cars that come to the event. BDC driver Matt Denham’s RX8 sat looking a bit sorry for itself after breaking early on Saturday morning.

AE86’s always make a popular appearance in large numbers at Drift Matsuri, this year was no different.

The tracks were opened up for another day of drifting shortly after 9am but that wasn’t the only thing for spectators to do during the days, one of the garages had been turned into a carpeted RC Drift track.

By the end of Sunday the drivers had started to filter out of the track, several cars were needing repairs, others had ran out of tyres but they all left with smiles on their faces!

It’s been another memorable Drift Matsuri, bring on the next one!

Spring Matsuri 2018: The Report

Spring Matsuri has quickly become the place to be at the start of each drift season, hosted at Rockingham Motor Speedway featuring two days of drifting, four tracks, a skate park, RC drifting, the first round of the HEL Performance Driftcup and even an after party on the Saturday night!

It’s easy to see why Spring Matsuri has become such a well known event for both the drivers and the fans.

The four tracks across the venue challenge the drivers in different ways, the oval features two tracks with high speed transitions on the banking providing a great chance to run the wall in multiple places on each run.

The Infield track is always popular, it’s one of the longest continuous tracks used in the UK with the drivers pushing themselves to link each corner together.

The final track is the Outer Paddock, on Saturday this custom layout is available to all of the drivers before the Driftcup drivers take over on Sunday for the first round of their 2018 season.

The outer paddock layout started off with fast sweeping corners before progressively tightening toward the end of the track, this gave chase drivers every opportunity to close up on the lead car.

The selection of cars at the Matsuri weekends is always impressive and this time was no exception! There were plenty of the usual S13s, S14s and Skylines, alongside rarer chassis choices like Martin Wonnacott’s JZX100 or Leonard Kepert’s monster of a BMW E46.

Something that stands out at these events is the range of driving talent on track at any time, from grassroots drivers to current British Drift Championship entrants.

If the track action wasn’t varied enough there was always the RC drift track with a huge selection of cars for people to try out on their custom track, every time we looked in it was clear that it has become a popular addition to the event.

Team Extreme ran a few demos each day on the skate park that had been constructed for the event, performing their tricks on BMX’s and Scooters. Mark Webb, professional BMXer and drifter also joined in with the displays.

As the darkness drew in on Saturday the tracks closed but it wasn’t the end of the action, the Outer Paddock came to life with the team battles. Each team featured three drivers running together with the aim of impressing the crowds in order to advance through each stage of the competition.

A couple of hours of great drifting followed before the fireworks ended the track action for the evening before the after party kicked off, continuing into the early hours.

Sunday morning came around and it was time to do it all over again on the oval tracks and the infield, whilst Round 1 of the 2018 HEL Performance Driftcup took place on the outer paddock.

The spectators flocked to the wall on the outer paddock to watch as the Driftcup drivers battled hard throughout the day, running in close proximity to each other and the wall in front of the fans.

By the end of the weekend many tyres had been shredded, a lot of fun had been had by all and everyone left the event with smiles on their faces.

It had been another successful Spring Matsuri, an event that continues to grow each year, we are already looking forward to the next one!

Drift Matsuri 2017: The Report

The 5th annual Drift Matsuri was held recently at the picturesque Anglesey Circuit, this event has become the place to be for the end of season party over the last few years.

The event saw over a hundred drivers on three separate tracks over the two days with a huge variety of cars, from the usual S-Chassis’….

Skylines….

and BMW’s,

Rarer cars like a Daihatsu Charmant….

Jaguar E-Type…

The Driftworks freshly built 1972 Toyota Hilux, dubbed the DWHi5.

As usual the Toyota AE86 was well represented at the event with at least 5 on track over the weekend.

The three layouts included a touge style course that ran up and over the top half the track in the opposite direction to the way that the circuit runs during race weekends.

The fast track used the first three corners of the circuit, this had many drivers using third or fourth gear throughout each run as they tried to link the track with just a quick manji down each straight.

The third track was the single hairpin, this had a long run up to the corner to give drivers a chance to practice backward entries without the risk of hitting anything.

The event had something for every level of driver, from grassroots to BDC Pro drivers, everyone was welcome and often the grassroots drivers would come around the corner with a BDC driver following closely.

Saturday night featured the third showdown between the UK & Irish drivers, in the past this has been won by James Deane and Richard Grindrod.

The crowds gathered around the outside of the track to see who would take the trophy this year.

As the battles went on a few people were shining through as strong contenders including Martin Richards, Matt Carter and William Rose.

In the finals Matt Carter threw the car in with a huge backwards entry, impressing the crowd and taking the win from William Rose.

Now it was time to party through to the early hours before another full day of drifting.

By the end of the weekend there were many exhausted drivers, broken cars and shredded tyres throughout the paddock.

It was another successful weekend and a great way to end the season. We will leave you with some more photos from the event, until next time…..

Spring Matsuri 2017: The Report

The 2017 kicked off with Spring Matsuri at Rockingham Motor Speedway, it’s the second time that this event has started the season following on from the success of Drift Matsuri at the end of each season.

Four separate tracks across a single venue awaited the drivers, two fast layouts featuring sections of the oval complete with banking complemented the fast twists and turns of the infield.

The final track was a new layout in the outer paddock which was open for all of the drifters to use on Saturday, Driftcup round 1 would then use this track on Sunday.

One of the highlights at these events is the wide selection of cars that drivers choose, from RX7s, AE86s, 350Zs and a whole host of R and S bodies.

Marc Huxley’s Celica is always a crowd favourite and driving a rare car doesn’t change his all out driving style at all, running the wall around the top of the banking.

This event brings together drivers of all skills from amateurs to BDC Pros, all with the aim of having the most amount of fun possible out on track and in the pits with their friends.

On Saturday night if a full day of drifting hadn’t been enough entertainment, the night battles would solve that. This year teams of three drivers would have to impress the crowd if they wanted to take the win.

Plenty of action followed over the next couple of hours before Team NoChill took the victory.

Away from all of the track action there was plenty to do including an RC track, skate park and the party through to the early hours of Sunday.

Another day of drifting awaited on the main tracks whilst Driftcup attracted the crowds to the outer paddock.

By the end of the weekend many tyres had been shredded & many smiles and laughs were had. It was another successful start to the season that looks to be one of the best that Britain has seen!

We will leave you with more photos from the event, until next time…

Drift Matsuri 2015: The Report

Anglesey Circuit played host to the third annual Drift Matsuri this last weekend, hundreds of drifters, three tracks, night drifting and a party, the season would end in style!

There is no competition here, just a gathering of drifters looking to enjoy their weekend on and off the circuit.

The track action kicked off on Saturday morning with the drivers getting to choose between the three tracks. The touge track rose up above the rest of the track before cresting the hill into a blind initiation, it then winds its way back down the hill with a few tight corners.

The hairpin track was mainly used to practice their entries with a few people trying backwards entries throughout the event.

The final circuit was the BDC loop in reverse, a run upto the first corner would see the drivers hitting 3rd gear before initiating past the pit exit, a quick manji down the straight before initiating into a banked right hairpin. It’s a fast track that finishes with a high speed right hand bend.

There were some familiar drivers out on track with regular BDC and IDC drivers taking part, the lesser known drivers get to mix it up with some of the drivers they look up to and learn from them whilst on track.

The selection of cars was better than ever before, ranging from a hotrod powered by a turbo charged SAAB engine to a host of AE86s and everything in between.

As the sun started to set the drivers would return to the paddock whilst a selection of drivers prepared their cars for the night drifting demo.

The spectators crowded around the edge of the track all waiting to see the cars emerging from the darkness at speed.

The drivers describe this as scary but incredible fun, it’s amazing watching as they manage to run close together at high speed in the dark.

Most of the cars had been decorated with light bars, neons, strobes, anything the drivers could get their hands on to make their car visible for the spectators.

After 2 hours and lots of shredded tyres it was time for the track action to stop for the evening but the party in the paddock went on much later into the night.

Sunday morning and it was time for the track to open again, the drivers would get another full day of drifting and everyone headed out onto track to make the most of it.