CARL WINS 2008 NZ DRIFT series

23 november 2008 NZ Drift series final at pukekohe

With rain forecast and the mathematical possibility of a few different drifters taking out this years title, Pukekohe was going to be a lively event.

Pukekohe didnt disappoint with Carl having an engine mechanical failure in early practise which they managed to fix in time for the main qualifying.

However it seems the gremlins were still there and in his first qualifying run his engine gave up the ghost, and with only 5 minutes allowed for repairs Carl’s day was over.  The only person who could beat him on the day was Steven Sole and after Carl’s retirement Steve needed to finish first or second to take the Championship.  Steve could only manage third place handing Carl the 2008 NZ Drift series championship and back to back NZ Drift Series championship wins.

redbull drifting world champs RESULTS

Finals day on Sunday (Monday NZ time) was a mixed bag as Carl had a bye (he still had to solo drift the track) to get through to the top 16 after his opponents motor gave up the ghost.  Gaz Whiter was eliminated and didn’t make the top 16 after a controversial call for a re-run, when most people thought he had clearly done enough to go through to the next round.  After making it through to the final 16, Carl was up against fellow Kiwi Mad Mike.  After two close passes the score was tied and during the rerun, both were pushing very hard and Carl’s rear quarter contacted the wall, damaging the car and giving Mike the win.  Mike was unfortunately eliminated in the next round after reaching the top 8.  The day belonged to Rhys Millen though, he qualified 1st and after the clouds of tyre smoke had cleared ended up on the top of podium as well.

Carl qualifies 13th @ redbull drifting world champs

Friday was a tough day on the quick Long Beach California track for initial practise. It saw over half the field meet the concrete barriers at some stage, with some minor and some major accidents. Carl came through on saturday to Qualify 13th, ahead of Gaz Whiter who qualified 21st and Mad Mike who qualified in 30th.  Finals are tomorrow (Monday NZ time) - we will keep you posted. You can check out the draw in the Gallery, under Redbull Drift World Championships.

COMPETITION CLUTCHES SPONSOR BOAT RIDE TO USA

Competition Clutches have come on board to help us ship the car to the USA.  A big thanks to them in paying for the boat ride to and from Long Beach, California.  The car departed without incident on the 13th.  You can check out their range of products here

or you can check out their New Zealand distributor Auto Clutch here.

12th october 2008 NZ DRIFT SERIES Round 4 at taupo

Using a borrowed car for the round, Carl still managed a respectable 5th and with those points retained his lead in the championship with one round to go.  The Grand Final at Pukekohe on the 23rd of November will prove to be a thriller.

BORROWED CAR FOR NZ DRIFT SERIES Round 4 at taupo

With Carls E&H Motors/GReddy S14 Silvia all ready to go into a container for its boat ride over to the USA to compete in the Redbull drifting world championships he has had to borrow his brother Han’s sleeper Nissan S14 Silvia drift/circuit car to enable him to compete at Taupo this weekend. 

CARL OFF TO REDBULL DRIFTING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Carl along with Mike Whiddett and Gaz Whiter are representing New Zealand at the Redbull drifting world championships to be held in Long Beach, California on Saturday November 15th, 2008.  This event will feature 32 of the Worlds best drifters and will give Carl, Mike and Gaz the chance to see how they stack up against the rest of the world.

Greddy on board as new sponsor

GReddy have come on board as a major sponsor, giving Carl access to the extensive catologue of GReddy performance parts.  The car has had an extensive refresh not only on the outside, but in all aspects of the running gear as well where GReddy’s performance parts have been put to good use.

20th SEPTEMBER 2008 ROUND 3 NZ DRIFT SERIES ruapuna

Ruapuna raceway was the scene for a slew of new Drift cars to be released by their teams and Carl was no exception bringing the repainted and reworked E&H Motors/GReddy Silvia.  Picking up GReddy as a major sponsor Carl was keen for a good showing and qualified third behind Aaron Bennett and Dan Woolhouse.

Ruapuna continued to be Carl’s bogey track and spun while chasing Johnny Udy when going after a top 4 battle place and had to settle for 5th.  Despite getting 5th place it still allowed Carl to retain the top of the leaderboard with two rounds to go.

17th may 2008 ROUND 2 NZ Drift series MANFIELD

The action heated up once again at Manfield as round 2 of NZ Drift Series started to show the abilities of the drivers and the cars.

Qualifying second Carl set himself up for a good day and made it through to the finals unscathed.   Carl faced Sam Groombridge in the first semi and took a comfortable win after Sam spun on the first pass.  In the final Carl faced Steven Sole and was beaten to finish second for the day but with enough points to lead the NZ Drift Series championship.

6th APRIL 2008 ROUND 4 D1NZ

Qualifying third at round 4 of the D1NZ championship in Mystery Creek, Hamilton showed the consistency that Carl and his S14 Silvia have round after round. Carrying on their battles this year, once again Carl and Gaz faced each other in the final where Gaz emerged victorious.  The second place for the round was enough for Carl retain his lead at the top of the leaderboard.

22nd march 2008 ROUND 1 NZ Drift series

Carl and Gaz carried on their battle from the D1NZ championship at the first round of D-Factor with Gaz qualifying in 1st and Carl close behind in  2nd.  Come finals time and it was a little different, a mechanical failure had eliminated Gaz from making the top 4 and Carl ended up battling Jason Sellers (again) in the final where Jason came out on top this time  with Carl having to settle for 2nd place in the opening round of D-Factor.

16TH MARCH 2008 ROUND 3 D1NZ

Taupo hosted Round 3 of the D1NZ championship where once again Carl and Gaz Whiter went head to head throughout qualifying.  Finals time was a little different as Carl took out the round from Jason Selllers.

9TH FEBRUARY 2008 ROUND 2 D1NZ

Round 2 of the D1NZ championship at Manfield proved to be a bit of a mixed bag with a qualifying session where not much seemed to go right and Carl only managed 11th.  Carl managed to reverse his fortunes later in the day taking on Darren McDonald in the top 8 shoot out, where after a re-run Carl came out on top.  Carl once again met Gaz in the final and after what proved to be one of the best battles of the day beat him to take out Round 2.

26TH JANUARY 2008 ROUND 1 D1NZ

The first round of the D1NZ championship in the South Island was a mixed bag for Carl after being forced to retire in the final of the North Vs South Drift Battle on friday night due to a mechanical failure. Carl was out to make amends on saturday and showed how he won 3 Championships last year.  In what was a hard fought battle with Gaz in the final Carl ended up second for the opening round of D1NZ.