Drifting champs prove a wheelie big hit

Wet weather didn't put a dampener on Whangarei's first drifting championship with a healthy crowd showing up for the first day of action on Port Rd yesterday.
A slippery road surface resulted in some dramatic crashes, with cars colliding at up to 80km/h into barriers. On one occasion, a group of two adults and two children had to step aside quickly as a car crashed through three plastic barriers and stopped near where they had been standing. 
Organiser of the D1NZ National Drifting Championship Brendon White said he was confident the event was safe for spectators.
D1NZ had installed concrete barriers to improve safety.
"It was a near miss by two or three metres."
The event would feature three safety barriers - the third barriers would be concrete or water-filled plastic barriers over and above the national safety requirement of a metal barrier.
James Lemmy-Jordan, of Morningside, said Whangarei should have such an event every Friday. "Watching the cars crash is a real adrenalin hit."
Denis Crum, of One Tree Point, decided to take his two children  after watching a demonstration at the Marsden Cove marina carpark. His  6-year-old son Zane came home inspired and started drifting on his quad bike.  Holding an event where people could drift legally was a good idea, Mr Crum said.
"It's better than being on the open road and it's good for the young fellas."
Jade Heremaia, of Whangarei, said she was attracted by the crowd, cars, crashes and smoke.
Mr White said he expected a range of Whangarei businesses would share in the financial windfall including motels, gas stations and fast food outlets.
Stephen Bol, owner of Bella Vista Motel, said the event had "taken the quiet patch out of winter. We usually fill up on Saturday night from drive-ins but, as a result of the drifting event, we've been fully booked out for a month."
Chief operating officer at the Whangarei District Council Jude Thompson said it was excellent to have another big event coming to Whangarei. "It recognises Whangarei as able to host nationally ranked events and it will clearly bring economic benefits to the district as many competitors will come from outside Whangarei."
Senior Sergeant of road policing Steve Dickson said a police operation would be held to monitor driver behaviour around the event.
"With this sort of event some people ... leave thinking they are now a race driver too. Wound up by the event, some people will start speeding, doing burnouts and trying a bit of drifting."