Drift bros keen for more

After a successful debut season contesting the Cody's D1NZ National Drifting Championship which was wrapped up in Auckland last month, Waipapa brothers Tom and Joe Marshall are keen to return next season and have a crack at the premier D1 Pro class.

"Definitely," says Joe, at 21 the younger of the two. "It's been awesome, a really good year."

The pair, who live in Kerikeri and work in the family business, ATJ International and ATJ Autoparts in nearby Waipapa, were not only new to the Cody's series when they arrived at the opening round at the Hampton Downs motor racing circuit south of Auckland in November last year, they were also new to the sideways sport, having only done a handful of grassroots practice days.

Both proved immediately successful, however, 23-year-old Tom coming out as the best qualifier in the Pro-Am class at the round while Joe finished third overall.

The pair found the going a little tougher at their 'home round' at Whangarei's Toll 'Concrete Jungle' course in early December, but Tom claimed his first Pro-Am class round win at the next round on a similar concrete wall-lined course at Mount Maunganui's Baypark stadium with Joe third in January.

That gave Tom a lead in the Pro-Am class points standings which he held until the penultimate round in Christchurch as young Auckland drifter Vincent Langhorn - who went on to claim the 2013/14 Pro-Am class title - got into his winning stride.

Tom qualified seventh and Joe 12th in the final round, held under lights at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on May 24, the brothers sharing Tom's car after Joe found the new throttle body he had installed on the eve of the event in his car was sticking.

Tom then went on to finish second overall to class round winner Sam Smith from Pukekohe after multiple re-runs in which the judges couldn't separate the battling drivers (Tom and Aucklander Gareth Grove in the Top 4, then Tom and Sam Smith in the final). The result was that Tom ended up third overall in the Pro-Am class points standings while Joe finished fifth. Not bad for a couple of rookies from the Far North.

"Yeah, "says Joe," this season was all about seeing if we enjoyed it, and I think we are both surprised at how well we've gone. We've also had a lot of fun travelling around and seeing different parts of New Zealand, plus we've met some awesome people and made a lot of new friends."

The plan now is to give the cars a bit of love,' as Joe put it before making the step up to the D1 Pro class next season.

"Now that we've seen what the series is all about that's what we'd like to do," says Tom. "Definitely!"

2013/14 Cody's D1NZ National Drifting Championship Pro Am Final standings: Vincent Langhorn 467, Gareth Grove 463, Tom Marshall (Waipapa Northland, ATJ International Nissan S13) 453, Joel Hedges 433, Joe Marshall (Waipapa Northland, ATJ International Nissan 180SX) 402, Sam Smith 395.

Reporting by Ross McKay

Fast Company