Gankd Out Drift Day in Matawhero near Gisborne. Photo / Supplied, Tama Tea
Gankd Out Drift Day in Matawhero near Gisborne. Photo / Supplied, Tama Tea
Car enthusiasts were in their element when the Gankd Out Drift Day roared into Matawhero recently.
Wereta Kake and his partner Raeshel Giles organised the event, which attracted a much larger crowd than anticipated.
“We weren’t sure how the community would react to this, as there isn’t muchdata around this type of motorsport locally,” Kake said.
“We were only expecting 300 people max — but in the days leading up to the event, we realised how much interest there was. We roughly estimated by wrist bands over the day of the event; we exceeded well over double our expectations.”
“We had a total of 16 vehicles entered, and at least 13 of them were D1NZ drivers — some of the top-tier competitors in the national drifting scene. It’s very rare to see them all together at a small event like ours.
“It is mind-blowing to us, so we are privileged to have them in the Gisborne region. These drivers travelled from as far as Wellington and from the top of the North Island, some driving eight to nine hours each way to attend.”
One driver even flew in from Perth the night before the event. He was a local from Gisborne who lived in Australia.
“This shows the commitment these drivers go to be able to drift and have fun, it’s a lifestyle for them.”
Kake said the event had the support of police, the Gisborne District Council, and many local businesses.
“My goal was to give people a chance to understand the sport of drifting,” he said.
Gankd Out Drift Day in Matawhero near Gisborne. Photo / Supplied, Tama Tea
He said he wanted to “give our community a chance to feel the adrenaline and excitement and the rush of it in person - to hopefully inspire people to chase their dreams and bring a huge positive impact into the community to show our people there’s more out.”
He hopes the event will help grow interest in motorsport and bring more people along for the ride
To find out more about upcoming drifting events, check out Gank-s14 on Facebook.
