'Fanga' Dan Woolhouse is taking his Ford Mustang RTR to race in the Red Bull Drift Shifters event in Liverpool in August.
'Fanga' Dan Woolhouse is taking his Ford Mustang RTR to race in the Red Bull Drift Shifters event in Liverpool in August.
With the motor sport of drifting virtually starting in Whangārei, it seems fitting that two drivers from the district have been invited to the latest international drifting event in the UK.
Gaz Whiter and 'Fanga' Dan Woolhouse, both from Whangārei, are among 12 drifters from around the world who have been invited to the Red Bull Drift Shifters event to be raced around the streets of Liverpool, England, on August 19.
The event features 12 of the world's top drifters and has a new format where the drifters do not race against each other.
Whiter said it was an honour to be invited to the event, but not entirely surprising there were two from Whangārei.
''Drifting more or less started in Whangārei, New Zealand, so it kinda makes sense (to have two drifters from the city take part),'' he said.
Whiter and Woolhouse have always had a keen rivalry, but this event is different.
'Fanga' Dan Woolhouse is taking his Ford Mustang RTR to race in the Red Bull Drift Shifters event in Liverpool in August.
''There's no battling here, where we have two cars racing against each other. This one is more like pinball, where the cars have to get as close as possible to an area, which will have a proximity sensor on it, without hitting it. The closer you can get to a mark without hitting it the more points you get,'' Whiter said.
Despite that, drifters were all fierce competitors so there'll still be plenty of effort put in to win.
''But winning or placing isn't really the be all here. It's as much a demonstration to show people what we do and it's going to be on the streets of Liverpool, including gong past the Beatles Museum (and the Cavern Club where the Beatles rose to fame) so it's going to be pretty cool,'' he said.
''It's going to be pretty intense though, we're talking about centimetres making the difference (between scoring points and hitting the obstacles).''
Gaz Whiter is going to Liverpool to do drifting next month.
Whiter is heading to England in about 10 days, but his 680 BHP Nissan Silvia V8 is already on its way, aboard a ship that he's tracking via the internet.
''I've been following my car through the Panama Canal (it's now in the Atlantic Ocean) and it should be there next week,'' he said.
''Having 680BHP isn't really powerful for drifting. Some have 1000BHP or more, which are among the most powerful cars in the world.''
Along with his car in its container are plenty of tyres, with Whiter expecting to go through a set of tyres every two runs.
''I'm only taking about 10. Normally I'd go through about 30 in a weekend, but this is only one day and I'm not sure I'm going to get more than one practice run.''
Woolhouse is taking his 670BHP Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5D.
Red Bull Drift Shifters will take place on in the shadow of the Royal Liver Building, with the bespoke, high tech street track situated on The Strand and Georges Dock Gates - a grand setting for the world's best drift drivers to show off their skills.
It takes the world's best drifters, puts them on a custom track on the streets of a major city and rig it with high tech speed and proximity sensors.
Drivers must show their skill, speed and precision as they manoeuvre their way around the features. The closer the better.
Dreamt up by Kiwi drifting legend Mad Mike Whiddett to remove the uncertainty around judges' decisions in drifting, Red Bull Drift Shifters first hit the streets of Auckland in 2012.
Now, it's going international, arriving on the UK's shores – and the iconic dockside city of Liverpool – for the first time in 2018.
