When presented with the idea of writing a review of my year so far I thought it would be a good chance to reflect on the last eleven months and reminisce. Looking through the previous posts on my blog brought back many happy memories of what has been a fantastic year for modified car culture in the UK.

Being a Honda guy at the time, the first major event of the year for myself was the South Mimms Honda meet held in April. While it wasn’t strictly an official event, the sheer quantity and quality of the cars present made it feel just like one. The day started with a mini meet at Corley Services on the M6, shortly followed by another mini-meet at the Watford Gap services before reaching the final destination of the South Mimms service stop on the M25. While it may seem a little pointless to have so many smaller meets on the way to a large one, attending both of them just added to the experience of the day. Of course, the convoy from Watford Gap to South Mimms was unforgettable, with the sight of a line of EG, EK and DC2 Hondas going as far as the eye can see on the M25 being an image that will stay with me for a long time.

The main meet itself was even more impressive; hardly surprising considering that the South Mimms meets are considered to be pretty much the pinnacle of the UK Honda scene. The cars present ranged from stripped-out, highly tuned track-day specials to those whose main focus were being as low to the ground as physically possible while coupled with wide wheels and a hefty dose of camber. The ethos with Hondas seems to be that it’s not about how many parts you have, it’s what parts you have. The extents people go through to find the ‘right’ parts are truly amazing, but with cars of such high quality as were present the effort is definitely worth it.

Three South Mimms meets were arranged for the year and I was fortunate enough to attend both the first one in April and the final one in October. Even though I no longer owned a Honda at the time, the October meet was just as impressive, and fortunately so was the weather!

Shortly after the South Mimms meet I found myself attending a grassroots drift day at Buxton Raceway. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have known the event nor the track even existed had it not been for mum snapping up passenger rides for my birthday present through a Groupon offer!

I arrived with my camera in tow not quite knowing what to expect from the day as I queued up for my passenger ride in Drift One’s S14 Nissan. I’d been a fan of drifting for many years but had never before had the opportunity to ride shotgun in a drift car. Without going into too much detail, those two short laps were all it took for me to completely reassess my car situation and start saving up for something RWD!

Throughout the summer I continued to attend pretty much every Drift One day at Buxton as I couldn’t get enough (despite only going to take photos). The atmosphere, the sociable and friendly attitude and (more importantly) the thrill of seeing and feeling cars drifting metres away from me kept me coming back, and it was great to see how many of the drivers continued to improve on their skills and technique over the course of the summer, especially during the regular ‘twinning’ competitions that were held.

Towards the start of the summer I made the trip down to the Castle Combe circuit with a few of my friends to attend Japfest. Having been to quite a few single day events in the past I was quite sceptical, as most of them had left me feeling a little disappointed. I need not of worried.

From the moment I walked through the entrance to the show I was in awe; never had I seen so many Japanese cars in one place. Walking around the various owners’ club stands was a brilliant experience and the quality of the cars was extremely high. While the stands for the more common cars were a spectacle in their own right, for me the most impressive stands were those for cars that are particularly rare. I never expected to see a Honda NSX stand for example, and I definitely expect to see one with around thirty NSXs on it!

The club stands went all the way around the track, the track of course being what makes Japfest great. Often at shows there are so many cars on display that, despite looking amazing and having a large amount of horsepower on tap, never get used properly. It’s a big shame, but fortunately this is where Japfest comes into its element. The Caslte Combe circuit is fantastic and it is here that a large number of cars that were on display earlier in the day were taken on track to be put through their paces in front of the huge crowds.

Personally speaking, the on track action is what made Japfest so great. It was nice to see cars that I’d previously ogled on the internet being pushed to their limits and, in some cases, beyond! Everything from stripped-out Civics to high powered monsters like Skylines and Rx-7s saw time on the track which made for a great visual spectacle, along with the professional drift display which was equally as impressive.

As my interest in drifting continued to grow (thanks in part to the many Buxton events that I had attended) I decided to order myself a ticket for Awesomefest, an event that was the first of its kind in the UK. Held at the Mallory Park circuit during the peak of the British summer, the promise of drifting, drinking and camping with like minded enthusiasts proved to be a massive hit as the attendance was absolutely fantastic.

I can safely say that Awesomefest was definitely my favourite event of the year as it was so much more than just a car show. Being able to chill out with your mates in the camping area while admiring the cars of the fellow event goers was pretty cool, but of course the main highlight was the drifting action on the high speed Mallory Park track.

Watching the professional drifters tear up the track was certainly impressive but personally I found watching the amateur drifters giving their cars abuse the best bit about the track action. Seeing people roll up to the campsite, unload tents and other camping equipment from their cars and then head down to the track in the same car was what made the event so memorable.

The other attractions on offer (music tent, paint balling, skateboarding and BMX ramps for example) helped to give the whole event a festival feel, while the night time professional drift battle was a spectacle that I can’t imagine seeing again any time soon. Watching some of the best drifters in the country throwing their cars around the Mallory Park track under the light of floodlights (each one erected by hand by the Driftworks team) is something that is hard to sum up in words, but those who were there will know what I mean. I can safely say that Awesomefest 2012 is the event I am looking forward to most next year and I hope Driftworks can build on the success of this year’s event.

Seeing as the summer weather is currently all but a distant memory for those of us in the UK, the 2012 show season is now something to look forward to. Like many other car enthusiasts, I’m braving the cold and bitter weather to ready my own car for next year in preparation for a whole host of grassroots drifting events that I hope to attend over the next twelve months. Judging by some of the other build threads circulating the forums at the moment there are some absolutely fantastic cars being built over the winter period. I just hope I get chance to see as many of them as I can next year!

Ali
ej9.co.uk
UK Car Culture

ej9.co.uk’s goal is post all that is great about UK Car Culture, whether it be an engine swap on your mum’s driveway, an impromptu roadside photo shoot or a meet in your local Tesco car park. Everything from build ups, meets, shows, drifting and tunnel runs.