The sport of drifting virtually started in Whangārei and one of the city's best, Gaz Whiter, has fittingly won the inaugural Red Bull Drift Shifters in Liverpool, UK.
The event was a first for the UK and saw 12 of the world's top drifters, including Whiter and fellow Whangārei drifter Fanga Dan Woodhouse, take part in a serious of races around the streets of Liverpool, including past the famous Cavern Club, where the Beatles started, and the iconic Royal Liver building.
The drifters made the entrance flying out of the Mersey Tunnel, on to a custom-built track full of objects with Liverpool links, such as The Yellow Submarine and the red telephone box, which was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott the architecture of Liverpool Cathedral.
The drifters could take any route they wanted around the course which allowed them to strategically gain the most points. The track was fitted with sensors, which set the 'pinball' style bells ringing every time the cars got within 30cm.
Points were scored based on speed, line, angle and proximity of their cars to the obstacles.
After only one run in the morning to get to know the track (as the second practice run was cancelled), racers took to the course still learning the best way to attack it and strategise for the optimum point scoring.
Key standouts from the qualifiers were James Deane, Forrest Wang and Abdo Feghali who all scored over 4m points. But Kiwi Whiter made it clear here was taking no prisoners with his impressive score of over 5m.
In the quarter-finals, once again Wang put on an impressive performance and was positioned as frontrunner to take the win.
By the semifinals it looked like Wang would be the man to beat, with his consistent high scores throughout the competition. The top scores were: Whiter (5.33m), Wang (5.21m), Aasbø (5.15m) and Piotr Wiecek (3.93m).
In the final, the juicy head-to-head battle between the dark horse Whiter and the chill Hawaiian driver Wang was a spectacle.
It was clear from Whiter's entrance to the track that he was going to steal the show, and indeed he did with an immaculate drift around the course smashing it with a score of 6.29m.
After a day of heated competition and high octane moves, it was Whiter, driving a Nissan Silvia V8, who topped the podium on Liverpool's iconic dockside – beating rivals Wang and Aasbø, who came in second and third respectively.
When asked how it felt to win, with his last lap reaching the highest score of the day, Whiter said: "It's been amazing. The electricity from the fans here in Liverpool was incredible and it's been a blast to put on a show in the UK.
''I had my route mapped out in my head, it was a bit risky, but thankfully it paid off. The talent on the track was beyond measure and I'm stoked that Red Bull and Mad Mike [Whiddett] put on such an epic show. It was a blast."
Woodhouse came 11th in the contest.