Renewed Passion!

3x D1NZ drift champion Gaz Whiter was not a happy man after the season opener at Manfield saw him sitting in an unfamiliar position outside the top 10 on the points table. With that in mind, it was a pumped up and determined Gaz Whiter who showed up for Round 2 at New Zealands fastest drift track and the spiritual home of NZ drifting, Pukekohe park this past weekend.

New found reliability meant that the Tectaloy S14 had sat largely untouched since round 1, and it would be up to Gaz to drive to his potential and claw back valuable points on early series leader 'Mad' Mike Whiddett. The judges asked for an interesting outside line and lower speed than has been required to do well at Pukekohe in past, testing a number of drivers who had got used to setting up for an early high speed entry and holding a tight inside line before the switch into the esses. It was a big ask even for the best, and it was only due to Gaz's strong faith in the Toyo R888 and CT-01 tire combo that he was able to commit 100% to trying to hit the desired line.

Qualifying saw a number of drivers struggle, and in a somewhat freak incident which video is attached of, Gaz actually lost control and hit the wall for the first time ever in the sweeper when the car stalled after initiating into a drift. Sadly a D1NZ staff member was injured when hit by debris, and attached is an account number for donations to his recovery fund. Without wishing to dwell on this, the teams thoughts go out to BK, and we hope to see him back ASAP.

Drifting is a sport where drivers support drivers, and as soon as Gaz was back in the pits, crew members from multiple teams converged to get the Tectaloy S14 back into some form of shape to finish out the day. 30 minutes later, after some hammering and unique use of a cargo strop, Gaz rolled back out to do his final run and score 79.00 to Qualify 3rd behind Darren Benjamin in the SWM C35 Laurel and Cole Armstrong in the V Energy R34.

3rd qualifying spot gave a first round bye, before coming up against the fast improving Dave Steedman in his A31 in the top 16. Steedman would be no match for the speed and angle Whiter can achieve, and it was on to face his round 1 nemesis Steve Sole in the top 8.The Soletrain is starting to show the form again which has seen him win rounds in the past, and he pushed the Tectaloy slider all the way only to fall by a slim margin after making a small mistake.

Waiting in the top 4 was #2 Qualifier and one of this seasons clear title threats in Cole Armstrong, Cole had clocked in a 190km qualifying run and has the V Energy R34 humming so knowing it was going to be a tough battle, Gaz would give everything in the initial chase run and make contact with Cole's car exiting the sweeper bending a rim and thus taking him out of the battle.

With a bent rim, the day was done for Whiter and the Tectaloy team and he would not compete in the battle for 3rd giving the spot to Darren Benjamin who thoroughly deserved a good result after taking the #1 qualifier spot with no 3rd gear in only his second event in D1NZ pro.

We send our congratulations to Curt Whittaker for winning the event, with Cole taking 2nd spot, moving him into the series lead after 2 rounds.

Gaz Whiter Drift as always wish to thank all of our loyal and generous sponsors for their ongoing support

Tectaloy Performance Coolants, Toyo Tires, Puklowski Milling, NAC Insurance, Hytech Engines, DVS Clothing, BNT Automotive, Hornet Nutrition, Vortex Racewear, Tein, Xtreme drift clutch, Link, PPG Gearbox, and our management co MGNinc.

See you all at Taupo for round 3.