High-powered cars roar and smoke at Baypark

SHEER GRUNT: Jodie Verhulst, right, battles fellow Tauranga driver Cole Armstrong during the drifting event at Baypark over the weekend. PHOTO / SIMON CHAPMAN

Jodie Verhulst was driving into the final straight on her parade lap at Baypark Stadium when she sensed the vibe of hometown support radiating from a crowd that was chanting and blasting away on airhorns.

Jodie Verhulst

She was, she says, gobsmacked.

Tauranga's Verhulst was about to line up in the chase position against Otara's Nico Reid in the final 16 of the Demon Energy D1NZ National Drifting Championship on Saturday.

The cars roared and set off on their snaking runs, with Verhulst focusing hard on matching the movements of her Toyota Supra with those of Reid. After the pair rode close to the wall, within metres of bellowing spectators, Reid switched back for the next corner and sent up a wall of hot tyre-smoke.

For Verhulst, visibility was zero.

"I took a stab in the dark for where the track was," Verhulst said, "and I ended up going on a lawnmowing session."

Leaving the track meant Verhulst was eliminated, but Tauranga had its revenge when local Adam Davies later knocked out Reid in a battle for third place.

The weekend's Baypark competition was publicised as the first time the North Island had experienced a drifting event inside an arena. The decision was made to shift from the carpark to the covered stands after a similar move proved successful at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium in December.

Northland's Tom Marshall took first place on Saturday, leaving him at the top of the points table ahead of Tauranga's Cole Armstrong in a six-round series that will conclude in Auckland in May.

Tom Marshall

Marshall said he was "stoked" at the win, while Tauranga's Davies was "more than happy" with third.

About 10,000 people attended Baypark over the weekend, according to organisers.

The competitors will move to Waikato for the next event, to be held in a month's time.

National Drifting Championship

Round 1: Dunedin
Round 2: Feilding
Round 3: Tauranga - Baypark, Feb 24-25
Round 4: Waikato, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, March 25-26
Round 5: Auckland, Pukekohe Park Raceway, April 23-24
Round 6: Auckland, Mt Smart Stadium, May, TBC