What a mess of a title. There was a good chunk of people 'reppin' brands. A mixture of titles, shouted greetings, small standing groups, and chasing each other down on the track.
I've been away from Ontario for 4 years now, and I left it on a very positive note. I have a 4 year old memory in my head, of the generous, welcoming nature of Ontarians. A group of people gathered on an evening to wish me good by many years back.
Returning to the track was like time hadn't passed. The same crew of people were still just as dedicated to the Corolla life style.
Originally meeting up with Phil of the Adrenaline Motorsports fame in his fire damaged MA60 Race car. The day prior I had spent the time aligning the front suspension, and correcting some steering issues with the car. A well desired case of Arizona packed in the back seat.
Brent, another Dorikaze member in KW, needed a hand getting his ST185 GT4 to the track. I gladly helped. It was nice to taste an Ice Capp again. Fuck they rock.
BAM, here we are my first ♣129 Event. Run by Tyte on DK. It's an ultra relaxed atmosphere, with a modern twist. No Helmets! I hadnt been to a no helmet event before, and it was WELL worth it. With speeds too low for great injury, and insurance companies smartening up to their severe hyper sensitivity, cruising the course with the lid off was pleasant!
YESGUY greeted me instantly. My sponsor Rob Lee was one of the first to greet me. The rest of YESGUY was open with welcoming arms. What's so good about YESGUY? If you know your drifting history than you know to thank the HEYMAN group of American Soldiers stationed in Japan in the late 1990's. These guys drifted junkyard Corollas and may have even coined the term 'missile'. These Corollas were mixed with a no fucks given comradery that is nearly identical in YESGUY
History repeats itself, people often complain at the possibility forgetting the fact that good things happened in history as well. This rag-tag group of corolla guys are the exact same lineup of rag-a-muffins from my exit 4 years ago. Left overs assembled from the rejections of the pointless show car crowd of Toronto, these corollas are function. 20v swaps, Coilovers and love all hammered into moving objects ruining tires on the track.
I got to drive. I don't think people there at the track realized the euphoria I was experiencing. 5 months, Since I drifted a car. Sure I went to another country to race cars, but I never did get the chance to actually do it while I was there. This was a pent up emotion that exploded in an amateur output of driving skill. Phil's MA60 was a blast, but a poor tire selection, a very damaged LSD and non-functioning handbrake made for some sketchy, but rewarding interactions.
Brents ST185 was quite the opposite. A rare narrow body homologation car, the recent coilovers and decent tires allowed me to wiggle and waggle in comfort, even tossing in some trail braking AWD slides in some of the tighter corners. This was fun, as it built my confidence back up a bit from my wheel work.
It was great interacting with the old Corolla brethren, discussing setups and idealisms of car construction. I think I realized at some point, I had helped fix 3 different corollas through out the day, and offered some decent advice on improvements and adjustments. The MA60 is quite close, but needs some elbowed grease.
Ken allowed me to borrow his camera throughout the day, and I took good opportunity to make use of it. I had been meaning to do a Drift Tengoku / Option Magazine style article for a while now. A few conveniently located Corollas became my guinea pigs to testing my brain ideas. I also managed to get most of the snaps for this article. Though Ken and Vic are also featured! :) (Greg actually printed the image into a fullsize poster!)
The end of the night was sorted out by accosting a group of waitresses in Wild Wings, where I was served a Hamburger topped with potatoe chips. Our meal was interrupted when staff offered Vic, Phil and myself free drinks to start in their online commercial. Others turned down the opportunity to be a useless background character for free ice tea. Score. After a dear and direct eyeballing by a police officer, and watching a Greg lose his pigment in fear, we drove home and slept. For a few days recovery. Shit was Cash. Full Gallery Below. Thanks Bros!
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Edit: UPDATE!
Greg has since had the Fake Drift Tengoku style article printed as an 80's style wood poster! This poster made my entire return to Ontario worth it. :D
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