D1NZ Drift series held at Manfeild Raceway in Feilding

Hey Team,

It's been a busy and successful start to the year. We've been working on the RX7 full time since it landed back in NZ to get it ready for Round 1 of the D1NZ Drift series held at Manfeild Raceway in Feilding. Along side the RX7 we had the RX8 undergoing its major transformation into a pro-spec drift machine at P.P.R.E. The aim is to get it completed for the next events in March so it's not far away now at all.

I felt confident heading into Round 1 after our strong results at the RBWDC in November.

The set up
We took the RX7 down to the guys at Autolign to check over our camber, castor and toe settings and also wanted to try something new with the rear toe settings to create more traction. On the test day this proved to be a huge advantage but I couldn't get the car to initiate smoothly into the sweeper, it had so much traction it was wanting to clutch spin so I was having to use the handbrake to break traction on the rear Direzza's. This wasn't a comfortable entry so Cromey changed the settings back to how we had it in the states.

Qualifying
We had an hour and a half to run as many sessions as possible but only needed to complete 5 laps to get a score to qualify in the top16. After my 1st session we had the spot for 1st place qualification. It seemed that most of the drivers had felt they had completed 5 consistent laps and just wanted to wait till they announced the top16 at lunch. This meant there was a very quiet track! So, I decided we would fit a new set of Direzza Z1's and head out to give the crowd a show. I was the only one on the track for the whole session! Every lap felt better and better and the crowd loved the entertainment.

Now this is where I get a little lost, they announced the top16 and I placed 3rd! I wasn't happy about the call as they had told me I was already the top qualifier and I don't need to go out. I was told that my 1st lap on my last session scored a 0 because I didn't drift the entire section. This was disappointing to hear as I had told them I would never drift the 1st lap as it's very important to have the engine, drive chain, brakes and tyres all at their correct temperature before thrashing them to their limits.

Lunch break pit walk
Lunch break had an awesome atmosphere as the public were allowed to walk through the pits and meet and talk to their favorite drivers, see our cars up close and get some free merchandise and posters from our team. It seems every event I don't get a chance to even eat my lunch with so many supporters and fans wanting our signed merchandise.

Battle 1 / Top16
Paired up against Shane Rutland in a S14 I needed to be very careful with how I would chase. It has a slower set up than ours so I could give him a gap at the start and close it up through the section or, stay as close as I can and use a lot of hand brake to mirror his movements which is the approach I took. Even though this is much harder it makes it so much more exciting for the crowd to see two cars paired tightly together and it also looks so much better for media. We advance with the win.

Battle 2 / Top8
Paired up against Fanga Dan who has decided to switch back into his old Dunlop S15 this year. He says it's a more competitive package than his new Commodore and his driving certainly shows it now he's back in the seat. I knew this was going to be one of the toughest battles I would need to get through. Not letting Fanga get away from me an inch in my chase run I was so close we may have exchanged a little paint although this is not uncommon with our battles against each other. Fanga may have had a mechanical problem or made a mistake as he did slow up majorly through the mid section. We advance with the win.

Battle 3 / Top4
Things were looking good for Mazda! Myself being paired up against Andrew Redwood in his Nankang S14 and Daynom Templemen in his NAC RX7 paired up with Gaz Whiter in the Toyo tyres S14. This could mean a Mazda final. My battle with Redwood was so close on my chase run thanks to the power from our P.P.R.E quad rotor and extra traction from the Direzza Z1s we managed to separate with a huge gap when we were leading. Unfortunately Templeman was knocked out by Gaz which meant it would be a Mazda VS Nissan final.

Final Battle / Top2
Time for the battle of the day! It seems to be rather consistent now with myself and Gaz meeting in the finals. Both of us fresh from the USA and both using our semi slick compound tyres which we competed on in the states it was sure going to make a super fast battle. We decided to drop a few more psi out of the Direzza's to gain some extra traction and headed out of pit lane. With Gaz chasing on our 1st pass I knew he would be hard on my tail, I glimpsed to my side as we switched through the second corner and he was a car length off me so I had the advantage at this stage, switching off the 4th gear right hander into the banked left hand hairpin you need to stay high up the bank then dive down to the clipping point (that is the fastest and most impressive line, as I transferred the car into the hairpin up high Gaz came screaming in low out braking me and made me drift off my intended line, I kept it nailed to the floor and I could hear the note of his SR20 bouncing off the limiter next to me it was so close.

My chase run: I have no doubt this was the closest battle I have had on this side of the globe! We screamed into the section faster than ever and as I chased him around the 5th gear sweeper I gave Gaz a tap and stayed so close throughout the entire section I thought I would have the advantage after that effort, it was over so fast! Now only prize giving would tell who came out on top.

The crowd were on there toes as all of the teams waited for the announcement, for 1st place, 'MADMIKE' The crowd went crazy and showed there appreciation our team was so happy after all the hard work and Gaz and I congratulated each other. And then... The announcer and organizer stopped us for a second then came over and said sorry this was a mistake and that Gaz Whiter actually won and took the trophy back off me! I could not believe it and neither could the crowd and even the other teams. I felt the size of a carpet mite, thankfully I hadn't popped the champagne! Oh well still not a bad result eh?

Congratulations! to Daynom who placed 3rd this made it the first time in NZ Drift History with two Mazdas on the podium.

Thank you so much for all your support

MADMIKE