Mondello Park in Co. Kildare hosted one of the year’s biggest motoring festivals over the weekend. The finale of the Irish Drift Championship (IDC) took place during a larger showcase of Japanese motoring icons called Jap-Fest.

Patrick ‘Carspotter’ Cummins writes:

An array of super-quick, finely-tuned Japanese automobiles from across the decades were on display as well as a host of specially modified drift cars. The drift championships themselves were not the only competitive events to take place; barrel sprints, time-attacks and conventional races all ensued, pitting interesting machinery against each other.  Admittedly, I’m not an expert nor a particular enthusiast for fast, Japanese supercars but one can’t deny the power, speed and skill evident over the course of the festival. This is the first part of two in which I showcase my favourite finds from the day:

Barrel Sprints: “As aforementioned, barrel sprints took place in the paddock area throughout the day. The idea of this fun event was to have each driver drift 360º around three sets of tyres and then stop dead on a marked line. It made for some interesting battles but also some rotten luck. A number of drivers hit the cones, some spun out of control and one very unfortunate Silvia driver destroyed his clutch within seconds!”

Rolls Royce Silver Shadow: “Firstly, let me apologise for the bad front-end picture. There was a lot of interest in this car and, by the time I had went back to get another photo, the Roller was being prepared for its inaugural drift outing. It really took my eye (and everyone else’s) and inside it had a very funky hydro-handle (handbrake lever). Shane Lynch of Boyzone is the owner of the car and an avid drifter himself. Out on track Shane gave us a demonstration of the Roller in action for the first time. It didn’t disappoint! As an interesting side-note Shane has a lot of motor racing experience including competitive stints in the British GT Championship.”

Toyota Corolla DX 2.0L Twin Cam: “If you are a keen Japanese sports car or drifting enthusiast then an early-mid 1980s Toyota Corolla DX will probably appear underwhelming. Even the bodywork wasn’t exactly immaculate on this almost-original example. However, the thing that makes this ‘almost original’ is perhaps the very reason why it has appeared here. It is loaded with a 2.0L Twin Cam engine which I’m sure adds a considerable amount of grunt over the original! I’m particularly delighted to see that the owner has decided not to bother with cosmetic add-ons on such a rare motor.”

Honda Civic EG:“I liked the look of this EG Honda Civic with Integra DC2 front lights. I have to plead ignorant in explaining the details of what lies under the bonnet but you can see for yourself. What I can say is that the owner kindly gave us an example of him red-lining it – I thought my ear drums were going to explode and several cars in the vicinity had their alarms activated by the noise.”

Pics Patrick Cummins

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