Rookie driver is hoping to be hot enough for podium finish

Whangarei's Kurt Holland has always loved cars - his father raced speedway cars and, at 13, he followed in his dad's footsteps, hitting the clay tracks to start his racing career.
But after years of racing speedway and in the Escourt grade at stockcars, the now 22-year-old decided he needed a change and recently decided to give drifting a go.
"I like motorsport and drifting looked challenging, so it appealed to me," he said.
This year was Holland's first contesting the D1NZ National Drifting Championships, driving a Nissan S15 Sylvia.
 Now, he sits ninth out of 35 drivers in the D1 Rookie grade after four rounds at Manfeild, Waikaraka Park, Pukekohe and Taupo. Today , Holland will get a chance to improve his standings in the fifth and final leg of the championships staged at Whangarei's Port Road.
"Hopefully, I will get on to the podium - but it depends on who turns up and what happens on the day," he said.
It is the first time Whangarei has hosted a championship leg in the five years since drifting was established in New Zealand, and many of the D1NZ and D1 Rookie drivers are not sure what to expect as it is the only street leg in the championships.
"Usually there is a run-off as we drive on a circuit designed for racing but there will be barriers on either side of the track without a run-off and it will be fast and skinny," Holland said.
Practice and qualifying is on today.  Spectators could expect to see plenty of carnage, Holland said.
The top 16 drivers are selected from their individual qualifying rounds, judged on speed, style, how well  they manoeuvre around the set markers and how much smoke  they make. 
After another practice session tomorrow, the top 16 qualifiers are paired off to do "battle".
A battle takes place over two laps and is judged on how close the chasing car can get to the leading car during a lap.
After one lap, the competitors swap positions on the track and repeat the process. The driver who wins the most battles wins the event.
Competitors used mainly Japanese imports for drifting as they were easier to modify, Holland said.
The fabricator/welder's Nissan S15 Sylvia has allround adjustable suspension, a full roll cage, the full body kit and 420 horse power on the wheels, worth around $15000 - and that is cheap compared to some cars. "It's a really expensive sport ... we all do it for the love of the sport and you rely on getting sponsors to see you through." About 35 D1 Rookie drivers and 30 D1NZ competitors will hit Port Rd during two days of action.
Port Rd was closed off at 6am today for the event.