D1NZ is a production car drifting series in New Zealand, a sanctioned championship under Motorsport New Zealand, the official FIA appointed governing body of motor-racing in New Zealand. It began early in 2003 as a small competition consisting of several drifting teams from all over the country in order to organise and regulate Drifting events in the country. Since then it has continued to grow larger and more professional, now involving professional teams and internationally ranked drivers.
The series consists of two national title competitions, the D1NZ Pro Championship and the D1NZ Pro-Sport Series. New competitors generally need to prove themselves in the Pro-Sport Series before progressing into the pro class, unless competing with an equivalent international licence. Organizers aim to promote and educate Drifting in New Zealand, with a regulated safe environment. Despite similar moniker, the series is not related to the Japanese D1 Grand Prix series. It has been recognised as the longest running drifting series in the world.
The Category has traditionally formed a five round national competition with a mixture of tight & technical courses and faster, full throttle race circuits. In 2019 the Pro-Championship tour includes Wellington's Max Motors Speedway, Trustpower Baypark in Tauranga, Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and Pukekohe Park Raceway
Competition format
Drivers compete in a Qualifying session for each event, their qualifying position determines their grid position in a Top-32 or Top-24 seeded battle tree. Each driver receives 2 qualifying passes in a shootout style format, with a marble draw used for the grid order. Each competitor is scored by three judging officials for each pass.
A maximum of 100 points will be allocated by the Judges to a competitor for each Pass in accordance with the following criteria:
Line: 35/100 Angle: 35/100 Style: 30/100
The highest Qualifier shall be the driver with the highest aggregate score from all judges. The judging criteria consist of a racing line set out by the judges, marked by clipping points or clipping areas. +Round Points For Qualifying:Qualifying PositionChampionship Points172635445-849-16317-322
The main competition of each D1NZ event sees the drivers compete through their seeded battle tree in an elimination battle. Competitors are seeded with the top ranked driver drawn against the lowest ranked driver, the second highest ranked driver drawn against the second lowest ranked driver and so on. The number of seeds is based on the size of the field. Each battle consists of two passes, a lead and a chase run for each driver. The winner of each elimination battle is the driver judged successful from both passes, or any re-run battle and advances to the next bracket (Top32, Top16, Top 8, Top 4 etc) The remainder are eliminated from competition. The Top 4 (semi-finals) battle winners shall contest for a place in the round final battle, with the unsuccessful drivers contesting for third and fourth.
The objective for each driver is to set or better their performance in qualifying during their lead run. The driver in the chase position must also set or better their qualifying performance, but use the leading car as a mobile clipping point around the course, aiming to position their car as close as possible to the leading vehicle while fulfilling the competition criteria set out by the judges. +Overall Round Points Allocation:Overall PositionChampionship Points11002803684605-8489-163217-3216DNQ1DNE0
List of Pro-Series Champions Year Driver Team Vehicle 2003 Jairus Wharerau Driftcorp Nissan Cefiro A31 2004 Justin Rood Driftcorp Nissan Cefiro A31 2005 Adam Richards WSR Nissan Cefiro A31 2006 Daniel Woolhouse Dunlop Direzza (Driftcorp) Nissan Silvia S15 2007 Carl Ruiterman E&H Motors Nissan Silvia S14 2008 Gaz Whiter Toyo Tyres (Driftcorp) Nissan Silvia S14 2009–10 Gaz Whiter Big Ben Pies (Driftcorp) Nissan Silvia S14 2010–11 Gaz Whiter Big Ben Pies (Driftcorp) Nissan Silvia S14 2011–12 Curt Whittaker Whittaker Motorsport Nissan Skyline R34 2012–13 Daniel Woolhouse Castrol Edge (Driftcorp) Holden Commodore VE 2013–14 Gaz Whiter Tectaloy Coolants (Driftcorp) Nissan Silvia S14 2014–15 Darren Kelly HiTec Oils Australia Nissan Skyline R34 2016 Curt Whittaker Rattla Motorsport Nissan Skyline R34 2017 Cole Armstrong Cole Armstrong Drift Nissan Skyline G35 2018 Cole Armstrong Cole Armstrong Drift Nissan Skyline R342019 Darren KellyThe Heart of RacingNissan GTR R352020 Liam BurkeKiesel 888 MotorsportNissan Silvia S132021 Darren KellyThe Heart of RacingNissan GTR R35 2022 "Fanga Dan" Woolhouse Castrol Edge (Driftcorp) Ford Mustang GT 2023 "Fanga Dan" Woolhouse Century Batteries (Driftcorp) Ford Mustang GT 2024 Kase Pullen-Burry P-B DRIFT Nissan Silvia S152025 Luke FinkJDM RacingNissan Silvia S15
List of Pro-Sport Champions Formally referred to as Pro-Am from the 2010 - '11 season until its name change in 2015 - '16 to Pro-Sport. Year Driver Team Vehicle 2011 Nico Reid Luxury Sports Nissan Silvia S13 2012 Cameron Vernon Sheep Shagga Racing Nissan Skyline R32 2013 Darren Kelly DKM Fabrication Nissan Skyline R32 2014 Vincent Langhorn Euphoric Motorsport Nissan Laurel C33 2015 Troy Jenkins Brian Roberts Towing (TJM) Nissan Silvia S15 2016 Chad McKenzie McKenzie Motorsport Nissan Skyline R32 2017 Bruce Tannock Mag & Turbo Nissan Silvia S13 2018 Liam Burke LBP Drift Nissan Silvia S13 2019 Michael Thorley Enzed Nissan Laurel C33 2020 Russell Vare 235 Drift Nissan Laurel C33 2021 Shaun Potroz SMP Motorsport Nissan Silvia S14 2022 Connor Halligan Halligan Racing Nissan Silvia S14 2023 Kase Pullen-Burry P-B Drift Nissan Silvia S14.9 2024 Keisuke NagashimaTorque Performance (86Fighters) Toyota Corolla AE86 (SR20DET)2025 Deane YoungYoung DriftNissan Silvia S13
See also Drifting (motorsport) D1 Grand Prix Formula D
References
External links Official website Official sponsor