Motorsport: Drift field crowded at top

LEADER: Whangarei's Daniel Woolhouse is the Demon Energy D1NZ Championship Series leader going into this weekend's round at Hampton Downs. PHOTO/SHAUN CONSTABLE

It's anyone's game as the country's top drifters gear up for round four of the Demon Energy D1NZ Championship Series at Hampton Downs this weekend.

Whangarei's Daniel Woolhouse (Fanga Dan) leads the series standings in his 800hp Century Batteries Holden Commodore V8, but the hunt for the title has taken a dramatic turn after Round Three in Taupo with only four points separating the top three drivers.

"Winning the opening round definitely gave us the best kick-start to the season, but it's anyone's game now.

"Three of us are in the running with a few more outside the top five that could cause an upset," said Woolhouse, who is looking to clock up a third championship to his name.

Just three points behind is Tauranga's Cole Armstrong in the V Energy 250gt Nissan Skyline, the best of the Turbo pilots, with V8 driver and former champion Curt Whittaker just another point behind in the Autosure Skyline.

Defending champion Darren Kelly, in the turbocharged HiTec Oils R34 Nissan, has had a mixed bag so far this season sitting down the order in ninth overall, something he wants to rectify at Hampton Downs.

"We came second last year so it's a track I'm confident with, pretty keen to put the car back on the podium and climb back up the points ladder," he said.

This weekend's event will potentially mark the last time the T2 Drift Section at Hampton Downs is used by the D1NZ Series, with a new Club Circuit nearing completion as part of the wider motorsport complex.

D1NZ Series director Brendon White is impressed with the changes at the venue since its acquisition by businessman and motorsport icon Tony Quinn, and is looking forward to bringing the series back for years to come.

"The venue is undergoing a huge transformation and to see such amazing attributes being put into a race circuit in New Zealand is really a breath of fresh air," White said.

"While the new circuit is not fully completed you can see the vision the team at Hampton Downs have and it spells only good things to come for motorsport fans in the future."

Round Four of the new Pro-Sport Series will also be on show this weekend as Taranaki's Chad Mckenzie (Waitara Tyres R32 Skyline) leads the restricted class over Tauranga's Vincent Hopkins (Nissan R32 Skyline) and Calvin Clark's Prime Avocados C33 Laurel.

The drifting action runs today and tomorrow, with gates opening at 9.30am each day.

Practice and qualifying is on today, and the main event competitions for both classes runs tomorrow.