Cursed Sundays, Bringing the Bash Back
Just a week ago I was standing track side at the Port Macquarie Kart Racing Club taking photos and hanging with mates while cars belted past spewing smoke from their rear tires. Along with the other almost 50 media people that attended we had the best seats in the house. I was attending Bring the Bash 3 hosted by the Cursed Sundays Drift Club which had previously been held a little closer to home but the new track at Port Macquarie was a ripper and the five and a half hour drive led to some good banter with the boys on the way up.
1. A Day at "Garage R"
I was messaging Chevelle the weeks before the event hoping to grab a few pics before the drifting took some bodywork casualties and was pleasantly surprised to be invited around to the local "Garage R". A few messages to confirm with Danijel and the date was locked in.
When I arrived just before midday there was plenty going on in the front yard, as well as further back up the driveway where I noticed a tire machine which pretty much ran non stop all day.
Meeting some new people especially with nice cars is always awesome and being there to hang out and 'chew the fat' about their machines is equally exciting for me.
Despite being surrounded by Nissan S-Chassis' there was only one SR20 and it was sitting on a stand in the garage, the engine of choice for the boys was the Toyota 1JZ. The particular one below in Jye's car making between 330-350kw (~440-470HP) depending on the boost setting. Most of the cars run Origin Lab kits, Jye's had the additional bootleg wing which was found in the back of the garage some time ago. It sits on 17" Enkei RPF1's with a 5 stud swap all round as opposed to Danijel's car still rocking the 4 stud.
On another side of the driveway was Chris' Rb25 swapped 13 proudly wearing the words 'Team Shit' on the rear window. A new subframe was going in, rear window and roof spoiler receiving the silastic treatment and one coilover which resembled a banana was swapped over for a new replacement. Unfortunately the NSW Highway Patrol took an interest in the car and decided to christen it with a little red sticker otherwise known as a major un-roadworthy defect, thus ending the days this car would legally see road use until the defects are cleared and a new roadworthy blueslip is obtained.
Danijel's 13 was also hiding a 1JZ, the vvti engine making more than enough power in its standard form for drifting use. As you might be able to see the fenders were a late addition to the car which went for paint midweek before the event. I can't help but nod my head at his choice to retain the 4 stud and run a small Japanese wheel. The iconic Longchamps sitting much better with plenty of clearance with the added fenders.
For the Verossa a quick adjustment of ride height and replacing a dodgy TPS was all that was needed before she was good to go. The new wheels went on without a hitch and the rest of the body kit eventually found its way onto the car from the lawn. A bit of soapy water and a good rub down from Chev had the Ross looking a million bucks in no time.
It isn't a day with the boys if there aren't some shenanigans along the way and the banter was pretty consistent the whole time.
Eventually I had to run but the work was far from over as things were finished up midweek leading up to the trip to Port Macquarie, which is where the real fun was too be had.
2. Bash - Round 3
When you first arrive at events like these it's always fun to have a wander and see what people had brought to the event, especially after a five and a half hour drive. For some brave souls the cars that they drove up would also be drifting the following day while some of the less road legal cars such as the SR20 swapped FD below took the usual route on the back of a trailer.
It was an early-ish start for most as track briefing was at 8:30 and coming into the winter months there a bit of a fresh chill in the air. Briefing was over reasonable quick with most of your basic ground rules covered, considering the number of drivers and media gathered a megaphone might have made things a little easier to hear.
It didn't take long for the sound of various Japanese engines on cold start to fill the air as cars were rolled off trailers and last minute checks taken place. I'd had a peek through the vents the day before but with the hood up the rather blasphemous swap had me intrigued as some serious work had taken place to get everything sitting and running happily, I forgot to take a closer bay shot but the paint job on the valve cover was a nice eyecatch too.
Drifters always seem to have interesting taste when it comes to the interior and exterior of their cars, novelty items and stickers often adorn everything and can say a lot about a person. The Street Karnage boys love their gold not only on the outside of their cars but inside as well, check the WeAreLikewise Nad shifter and gold mounting screws on the wheel.
Finally we're up to the drifting! For a first time track everyone picked up the lines pretty quick and with up to six cars running at the same time led to some interesting situations. There was a good variety of cars out including an r31 skyline, a sc300/soarer, the sr20 swapped A31 Cefiro and of course Chev's Verossa.
As I mentioned before having six cars on track at one time can get a bit messy, especially since there was a good mix of engines, drivers and setups. However the various drift clubs who had turned up on the day like to stay together often with spectacular results. Gravy Garage are well known for their tandem efforts but Revolution Motorsports were no slouch on the day bringing out their bright red cars, which were hard to miss. The Cursed Sundays banners were everywhere on the day, I swear there was at least one in every train that went past.
My cousin also made the trip up in his Jap spec S15 Silvia and was kind enough to give me a ride on the day. Last time I rode with him he was on stock arms up front but he had new B knuckles, LCAs and extended tie rod ends for extra lock which made the car flick and transition a lot faster and with heaps more angle.
To wrap it up I'll leave you with some footage from the day. I've got like 200+ clips which made it into a 8 minute edit on our facebook page but here are 3 short ones I picked. Hopefully these events continue on next year or even sooner, but for now I'll stick to reminiscing on the cracker of a weekend this one was. Cheers to Cursed Sundays for hosting and big thanks to Chevelle and Taylor for taking me on some runs.
The full Bring the Bash 3 album can be found below just click the button.