Focus: Takeshi Teruya is busting any lockdown boredom by blatting around his own drift course round his house in his brand new drift kart. Video / Mike Scott
One drifting-mad Hamilton man is making the most of his time in isolation indulging in his favourite hobby - and he can because the race track is in his back yard.
Two years ago Takeshi Teruya, 38, built a 130m drifting track at his Horotiu house using recycled asphalt, andfinished constructing a drifting kart just three days before the lockdown.
The father-of-two says he is having an "awesome time" during the lockdown, and finds the days are passing by too quickly.
The kart is a cross between a racing go-kart and a motorized drift trike, it's body is made of corflute sheets and alloy angle bar from Bunnings. Photo / Supplied
"Drifting in my Nissan Skyline 370GT will not be a responsible thing to do during the lockdown because I don't want to risk any accidents or injuries," said Teruya, a mechanic.
"So I now drift daily in this special drift kart, which is slower, safer and with three litres of 91 petrol, it can last me for days."
His wife Yoshie, who called him crazy when he built the race track, supports the drifting kart and will be driving it for the first time this afternoon.
Takeshi Teruya drifts in his drift kart to lower the risk of an accident during the lockdown. Photo / Supplied.
Teruya said the only time she got mad was the time he hit the house.
"My wife came out and asked 'did you crash'?" he said.
The couple's daughters, Anna, 5, and Sara, 3, are also being kept entertained on daily rides in the kart.
"My kids cannot go out or to the playground, so I take them on rides around the track or they play on our trampoline and watch me drift. They're happy," Teruya said.
"We are very lucky to have this race track in our own yard, and I think it's the best thing I've done."
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Teruya described the kart as a cross between a racing go-kart and a motorised drift trike. It's body is made of corflute sheets and alloy angle bar bought from Bunnings.
He built it with the help of NZ drifting pro-racer Mike Whiddett, who is better known as Mad Mike.
"I didn't know about the lockdown, no one did, but for me the timing of completing the kart is just perfect and I feel very very lucky," he said.
"So now I'm drifting daily, enjoying time with my family, doing videos. The days are just not long enough. I can't believe we are already entering the second week of lockdown."
Originally from Saitama, north of Tokyo in Japan, Teruya moved to New Zealand in 2007 as an international student and is a self-professed drift driving fanatic.
Today marks the start of the second week in New Zealand since the lockdown began.
Kiwis are slowly adjusting to living in their bubbles and working from home and, for many, doing without the hobbies and lifestyle they had been used to.
The message from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remains clear: stay home.
"Stay at home, only go out if you need to. When you do, stay local," Ardern said.
