Michael Thorley took his first Demon Energy D1NZ National Drifting Championship Pro-Sport Series pole position at Hampton Downs, edging out series contender Bruce Tannock by just one point.
Frontrunner Kyle Jackways looked strong on his first run. The round one winner poured on angle and smoke as he went about setting a 63-point run. Unfortunately he suffered on line, but was still one of the best in the early running.
Judges put emphasis on drifters making the most angle possible, with a lot of the drivers scoring highly in the early running in the angle department.
Round three winner Zack Barlass suffered in all sector during his first run only managing a 36-point run, which put him outside the top-10.
Jase Brown looked strong on his first run through the first sector, but ran shallow exiting the final corner. He was given deductions for the lack of desired line and necessary angle.
Rowan Bainbridge stacked on the angle as he made the switch into turn one, but over cooked his entry and speared off into the gravel trap on the outside of turn one. In his second run the Nissan Silvia silder kept his car on track, but was down the order in X
Tully Puckey’s first run took him straight to the top with judges awarding him highly in style and angle, but like everyone suffered with his line massively.
Bruce Tannock was the first to make any inroads into a strong run all round, with a 74-point run as he scored highly in line and angle.
Young gun Liam Honnor tried valiantly to qualify for the top-32. The 16-year-old slider initiated strongly into turn one, but he couldn’t maintain the drift through to turn two.
Engine troubles forced Ben Jenkins to drop out of his Nissan Silvia S13. Instead, he was given the opportunity to compete in Fanga Dan’s ex-championship winning Holden Commodore VZ.
The car change brought a new challenge for the Pro-Sport Series competitor who struggled to get to grips with the extra four-cylinders. A spin on his first run saw Jenkins record a zero, but a smooth and consistent line and angel earnt him a top-20 spot.
After the first round of qualifying Tannock led Puckey, Jared Anderson, Liam Sykes and Jackways.
After sitting down the field on the edge of the top-20, Liam Burke launched himself into third with a 66.5-point run, just under eight-points behind leader Tannock.
Despite topping the first run, Bruce Tannock pushed hard in his second. The Achilles Radial drifter ploughed on angle edging his car to 77.5-points.
Another hopefuly was Jared Coombes who improved from 20th to eighth with a solid second run around the Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Club Circuit.
Turbo issues in practice saw Michael Thorley struggle on the opening day. Having languished in 22nd the Nissan Laurel drifter launched himself to the top of the order with a 78.5-point run, just one point ahead of Tannock.
Ultimately he held on to the top spot, as the judges rulled he had one of the fastest and most agressive switches into turn one.
“It was pretty wicked, I made a mistake on the first run and just had to commit to the second,” Thorley said.
“The problem was I knew I had done good practice runs because judge Brendon Duncker told me, so I knew they were judging me on that. So I had to have a good run and threw it all out there—It stuck, just!
“First time on number one, wicked outcome.”
Round four of the Demon Energy D1NZ National Drifting Championship takes place at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park over March 25-26 for the first time on the newly built Club Circuit. For more information visit D1NZ.com.
D1NZ Pro-Sport Series qualifying results:
1. Michael Thorley – 78.5-points
2. Bruce Tannock – 77.5
3. Kyle Jackways – 73.0
4. Blair Gribble-Bowring – 68.5
5. Tully Puckey – 67.5
6. Cody Pullen-Burry – 67.0
7. Mitch Gibbs – 66.5
8. Liam Burke – 66.5
9. Jordy Cole – 66.0
10. Jared Coombes – 64.5
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