# NZ Drift Series

The NZ Drift Series was a five-round motorsport series organised by Parkside Media, publisher of NZ Performance Car magazine. Competing against D1NZ it achieved greater success because of NZ Performance Car and NZ Performance Car TV's marketing power.
The inaugural season was in 2007 and consisted of two rounds at Manfeild Autocourse and Pukekohe Park Raceway.
The 2008 season expanded the number of rounds to five and the number of tracks to four, including Taupo Motorsport Park, and a round in the South Island at Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway, Ruapuna.
The 2009 season continued with five rounds, including the new Hampton Downs Raceway.
The series helped propel some New Zealand drivers into the world arena, with top drivers such as Carl Ruiterman, Gary Whiter and Mike Whiddett being invited to compete overseas in events such as D1GP World Allstars, Red Bull Drifting World Championship, Formula D and European Drift Championship

## Television

NZ Drift Series is shown on the TVNZ network as part of Powerbuilt Tools Motorsport and NZ Performance Car TV, and TVNZ ondemand. Battle highlights are available on NZ Performance Car's Youtube channel.

## Technical specifications

Source:
All vehicles must be a ‘series production vehicle’ of ‘closed vehicle’ unitary construction, rear-wheel drive only. The engine can be at the front (FR) or mid-mounted (MR). The type and manufacturer of the vehicle is not restricted. Superchargers and turbochargers are permitted, but nitrous oxide is not. The vehicle's engine does not have to be the original, and significant modifications can be made to the lubrication, cooling and exhaust systems, suspension, brakes and steering as long as series regulations are met, and maximum decibel (dB) levels are not exceeded at the track. Maximum tyre width is 265.
The cars must comply with Motorsport New Zealand regulations for closed racing cars, including a rollcage, fire extinguisher and safety harness.

## Points system

The basic points system is as follows:

### Final battles

* 1st – 200 points,
* 2nd – 160
* 3rd – 140
* 4th – 120
* 5th – 100
* 6th – 80
* 7th – 60
* 8th – 40
* First Round losers – 20 points each

### Qualifying

Qualifying works on a descending points system with the top qualifier receiving 32 points and the 32nd qualifier receiving one point.

### Event entry

* Event Entry 20
* Pre-Entered Competitors minus 30 points for non-attendance per event.

### Miscellaneous

* Hard Yards Award – 5 points
* Flag infringements - minus 50 series points
* Drifting or speeding outside allocated areas on track – minus 20 series points per infringement.
* Burnouts outside allocated areas or specified times – minus 20 series points per infringement.
* Bodywork infringement – minus 5 series points

## How drifting is judged
### Qualifying point scoring

* Speed: 0 – 30 Points
* Angle: 0 – 30 Points
* Line: 0 – 30 Points
* Smoke/Noise: 0 – 10 Points

### Battle point scoring

* Speed – 25 Points
* Angle – 25 Points
* Chase – 50 Points

## 2009 season
### Dates

* Round 1: May 16 - Manfeild
* Round 2: July 12 - Pukekohe Park Raceway
* Round 3: September 13 - Hampton Downs Motorsport Park
* Round 4: October 17 - Taupo Motorsport Park
* Round 5 (Grand Final): November 21 - Hampton Downs Motorsport Park

## 2008 season
### Dates

Series dates for the 2008 season:
* Round 1: Saturday March 22, Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe, Auckland
* Round 2: Saturday May 17, Manfeild Autocourse, Feilding, Manawatu
* Round 3: Saturday September 20, Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway, Ruapuna, Christchurch
* Round 4: Sunday October 12, Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupō
* Round 5 (Grand Final): Sunday November 23, Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe, Auckland

### Results

| | | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Final | Total |
| Entrant | Car No. | Pukekohe | Manfeild | Christchurch | Taupō | Pukekohe | |
| Carl Ruiterman | 1 | 211 | 211 | 150 | 144 | 20 | 736 |
| Steven Sole | 22 | 165 | 241 | 62 | 82 | 180 | 730 |
| Tiger White | 6 | 63 | 67 | 249 | 67 | 124 | 570 |
| Dan Woolhouse | 2 | 0 | 192 | 211 | 60 | 71 | 534 |
| Mike Whiddett | 4 | 146 | -10 | 106 | 212 | 20 | 474 |
| Darren McDonald | 3 | 109 | 104 | 121 | 65 | 68 | 467 |
| Jason Sellers | 15 | 248 | 25 | 59 | 68 | 62 | 462 |
| Nick Teeboon | 5 | 67 | 65 | 185 | 63 | 69 | 449 |
| Gary Whiter | 8 | 92 | 20 | 63 | 251 | 20 | 446 |
| Hamish Marsden | 44 | 190 | 27 | 23 | 34 | 170 | 444 |
| Takeshi Teruya | 57 | 64 | 142 | 20 | 59 | 143 | 428 |
| Curt Whittaker | 9 | 59 | 66 | 64 | 190 | 29 | 408 |
| Kyle Jackways | 13 | 32 | 58 | -10 | 36 | 237 | 353 |
| Jonathan Bennett | 62 | 30 | 75 | 68 | 161 | -10 | 324 |
| Aaron Bennett | 12 | 61 | 30 | 92 | 58 | 72 | 313 |
| Cole Armstrong | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 198 | 312 |
| Daynom Templeman | 71 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 126 | 87 | 278 |
| Brad Smith | 17 | 60 | 129 | -10 | 32 | 66 | 277 |
| Johnny Udy | 30 | 0 | 0 | 167 | 0 | 106 | 273 |
| Sam Groombridge | 26 | 24 | 159 | 36 | -10 | 59 | 268 |
| Shane Rutland | 21 | 33 | 60 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 180 |
| Brendan Duncker | 59 | 57 | 57 | 57 | -10 | -10 | 151 |
| Gee Mutch | 11 | 34 | 68 | -10 | -10 | 65 | 147 |
| Shaun Yearbury | 56 | 102 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 137 |
| Vinny Ryan | 60 | 35 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 20 | 136 |
| Rian Herrick | 14 | 31 | 21 | -10 | 57 | 36 | 135 |
| Nathan Stalker | 69 | 0 | 83 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 113 |
| Sam Bleakley | 48 | 25 | 31 | -10 | 33 | 30 | 109 |
| Bradley Lauder | 64 | 26 | 24 | -10 | 27 | 26 | 93 |
| Dave Steedman | 40 | 28 | 29 | -10 | 26 | 20 | 93 |
| Andre Stanway | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 35 | 70 |
| Lee McLean | 66 | -10 | 33 | 30 | 23 | -10 | 66 |
| Chris Protheroe | 45 | 0 | 32 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 61 |
| Troy Forsythe | 32 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
| Nick Callagher | 63 | 27 | 23 | -10 | -10 | 27 | 57 |
| Blair Martin | 67 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 56 |
| Andrew Redwood | 56 | 63 | -10 | -10 | -10 | 20 | 53 |
| Richard Lunn | 47 | 29 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| Cody Collis | 68 | 0 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Jesse Porter | 27 | 23 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
| Mark O'Hara | 74 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Dwayne Rhind | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 34 |
| Hans Ruiterman | 70 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Nick Shrimpton | 31 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Gene Rhodes | 23 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Marcus King | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 32 |
| Simon Hunter | 73 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Matai Watson | 76 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Matt Jackson | 16 | 36 | -10 | -10 | 24 | -10 | 30 |
| Alu Mutch | 37 | 22 | 26 | -10 | -10 | 0 | 28 |
| Bruce Tannock | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 28 |
| Shane Harris | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 28 |
| Matthew Smith | 75 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Anthony McQuoid | 72 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Micah Hoebers | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Nikki Pilcher | 78 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Tony Breman | 49 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Nick McConcie | 77 | 0 | 0 | -10 | 0 | 0 | -10 |
| Mark Holland | 57 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -50 |

## 2007 season
### Results

| Position | Car No. | Entrant | Manfeild (2 Jun) | Pukekohe (15 Jul) | Total |
| 1 | 14 | Carl Ruiterman | 211 | 241 | 452 |
| 2 | 24 | Curt Whittaker | 224 | 85 | 309 |
| 3 | 30 | Adam Richards | 169 | 127 | 296 |
| 4 | 1 | Daniel Woolhouse | 150 | 132 | 282 |
| 5 | 12 | Tiger White | 60 | 190 | 250 |
| 6 | 15 | Mike Whiddett | 167 | 46 | 213 |
| 7 | 29 | Nick Teeboon | 133 | 68 | 201 |
| 8 | 3 | Darren McDonald | 20 | 171 | 191 |
| 9 | 7 | Jairus Wharerau | 72 | 63 | 135 |
| 10 | 2 | Gary Whiter | DNS | 129 | 129 |
| 11 | 8 | Rian Herrick | 62 | 39 | 101 |
| 12 | 6 | Francis Aro | 106 | -30 | 76 |
| 13 | 20 | Gee Mutch | 63 | 30 | 93 |
| 14 | 21 | Steve Mitchell | 34 | 58 | 92 |
| 15 | 17 | Aaron Bennett | 58 | 20 | 78 |
| 16 | 16 | Shane Rutland | 57 | 10 | 67 |
| 17 | 22 | Jonny Udy | 65 | DNS | 65 |
| 18 | 13 | Jamie Blair | DNS | 62 | 62 |
| 19 | 33 | Andre Stanway | 61 | DNS | 61 |
| 20 | 4 | Matt Jackson | DNS | 57 | 57 |
| 21 | 69 | Brad Smith | DNS | 55 | 55 |
| 22 | 31 | Matt Clark | 35 | 14 | 49 |
| 23 | 18 | Kyle Jackways | -30 | 69 | 39 |
| 24 | 33 | Mike Turley | 39 | 0 | 39 |
| 25 | 57 | Jason Sellers | DNS | 36 | 36 |
| 26 | 58 | Keith Punn | 36 | DNS | 36 |
| 27 | 60 | Greg Munt | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| 28 | 28 | Jesse Porter | DNS | 32 | 32 |
| 29 | 32 | Clay Buskermolen | DNS | 26 | 26 |
| 30 | 34 | Victor Chapman | 20 | DNS | 20 |
| 31 | 23 | Shane Harris | DNS | 15 | 15 |
| 32 | 26 | Hamish Marsden | DNS | 8 | 8 |

## Demise

Parkside Media decided in 2009 not to run NZ Drift Series in 2010 and began coverage of D1NZ in NZ Performance Car starting with the final round in August 2009.

## NZ Drift Series in popular media

NZ Drift Series is included as one of the country series in the iPhone game Drift Legends