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Drift Matsuri 2019: The Report

Drift Matsuri held its 7th annual end of year event at Anglesey Race Circuit in North Wales. Since 2013 it has grown to become the one event that many of the drift scene strive to do regardless of other competitions, practice days and demos.

The weekend really starts early as most people try to leave work early on Friday, making their way to the track from all corners of the United Kingdom along with a few from Ireland.

The paddock quickly filled up with drivers setting up their pit area and checking over their cars before a long weekend of drifting. The rain didn’t dampen people’s spirits as they caught up with friends, fitted their sun strips and got their cars scruitineered.

Saturday morning kicked off with driver briefings before the tracks went live for the morning session. The usual three tracks were open for all drivers, giving them the option to swap between them as much as they wanted.

The fast track is always popular as its one of the only times that drivers can drift at such high speeds with many drivers managing to link the first corner to the hairpin without needing to manji the straight.

The touge track is the other busy layout with the queue often being the biggest throughout the event. The drivers didn’t have to wait long between runs with large trains of cars leaving the start line.

This track twists its way up the hill to the top of the circuit before looping back around and down to the finish. It’s a favourite of many of the drivers and spectators too as the view is incredible!

Aside from the attraction of being able to drive several different tracks within one venue, Drift Matsuri gives drivers of all abilities a chance to drift together and learn from each other. It’s not uncommon to see a British Drift Championship driver on track with drivers that may have never competed before.

The spectators get to see a wide variety of cars on track, the usual S-Chassis and R-Bodies were well represented but also some rarer cars were out on track.

Harry Hudson has been getting everyone’s attention this year in the ex-Huxley Motorsport RA28 Celica. The car is driven hard in Driftcup and this event was no different, Harry managed to hit some tyres causing some damage to the car but he was still enjoying himself afterwards!

Ford might not be the brand that you associate with drifting but they were out in force with a few Escorts and even an Escort van.

A quick walk through the paddock wasn’t possible with so many cars to draw your attention away at every turn.

The end of the day came around after what felt like only a few hours but as the light faded the drifting wasn’t over. A selection of invited drivers lined up for the night demos. Think 40+ drivers, very little lighting other than what’s on the cars and large trains of cars on track at the same time.

The drivers really excelled this year with their lighting solutions with several cars sporting rally light bars and neons.

The night session was purely for the entertainment of the crowd which loved every minute of it.  

After an hour or so the drivers all left the line together for a couple of runs in trains of 20+ cars before the session ended with a fireworks display.

That ended the track action for the day but the party was only just starting for many people around the track. The official party was in one of the pit garages with Mike Lewis smashing out the tunes until the early hours but groups of friends could be seen all over the paddock having their own parties.

Sunday morning was a slow start to the day for the guys that partied until late but for others they were eager to head out onto the tracks for another full day of drifting.

After another 7 hours of drifting the paddock slowly started to clear out, drivers loaded up their cars and headed home, memories made that will need to last through the next year before we will do it all over again. Until next time!

Drift Matsuri 2018: The Report

For 6 years, Drift Matsuri has marked the end of the season for many in UK Drifting with a festival weekend at Anglesey Circuit.

More than 150 drivers took part in the on track action with multiple layouts in use throughout the weekend with thousands of spectators lining the track to catch all of the action. The paddock filled up quickly on Friday evening as people headed to the track from all over the country, it wasn’t uncommon to find people that had travelled 7 or more hours to be there.

There was something for all levels of drivers, the first of the three tracks was a simple hairpin which was being used to attempt backward entries by the more experienced drivers.

The next track is the touge style run up through the corkscrew before cresting the hill and winding its way back down the other side, a favourite for drivers looking to run in large trains of cars.

The final track layout is the fastest of them all, many of the BDC drivers were managing fourth gear for much of the track although drivers will less powerful cars were still having plenty of fun on this layout too!

As the tracks opened on Saturday morning the drivers flooded out onto the start lines, all trying to get the most seat time out of the day. The drivers swapped between the tracks whenever they wanted so if there was any downtime on one track everyone ran on one of the other tracks so there was no reason to be sat in long queues for anyone.

The weekend really brings everyone together one last time before the winter, from BDC drivers to grassroots drivers, which means it’s a great chance for people to drive with more experience drivers and learn from them.

As the sunlight faded the tracks closed to the majority of drivers with around 40 selected drivers lining up ready for the night demos. In the past we have seen battles between the UK and Irish drivers but this year they would all work together to put on a show for the crowds.

The atmosphere around the track was great with everyone joining the commentators in some banter whenever the odd car had to be recovered off track or tyres put back in place, even the drivers that had spun out were joining in!

The evenings track action came to a close with a fireworks display and possibly the longest drift train the UK has seen, with all of the drivers that leaving the start line one after another. As they got to the hairpin there were cars everywhere with drivers taking different lines, everyone made it through without any damage so it was now time to party through into the early hours!

Sunday morning is always quiet in the paddock with everyone recovering from a late night on Saturday, it’s also the ideal time to take a look around at the variation of cars that come to the event. BDC driver Matt Denham’s RX8 sat looking a bit sorry for itself after breaking early on Saturday morning.

AE86’s always make a popular appearance in large numbers at Drift Matsuri, this year was no different.

The tracks were opened up for another day of drifting shortly after 9am but that wasn’t the only thing for spectators to do during the days, one of the garages had been turned into a carpeted RC Drift track.

By the end of Sunday the drivers had started to filter out of the track, several cars were needing repairs, others had ran out of tyres but they all left with smiles on their faces!

It’s been another memorable Drift Matsuri, bring on the next one!

The Drift Matsuri 2018

It is with great pleasure we can announce the Drift Matsuri at Anglesey circuit will take place on Saturday and Sunday the 27th and 28th October.

Once a year the picturesque circuit opens its doors to drifting.

This allows us to run 3 very different track, the National track which contains the bank hairpin and the fastest corner drifted in the UK.

The Touge track, up the Cork Screw and over the mountain. This is one of the highlights for many with trains of cars using this layout all weekend.

The Hairpin, used by the experts for practicing backwards entries. Along side them, drivers who want to get their nerves settled and maybe its their first event. The perfect section of the circuit for beginners.

The night time demo is also a highlight for many. Drivers are invited to take part in what is a fantastic spectacle. The track may appear lit to you, for the drivers its a different story. They need all their skill and judgement to make sure they are prepared for drifting at night time.

The after party – the ‘Party in the pits’ sees the beats drop when the engines are turned off.
DJ Kuta will be dropping the tunes once again. Those who have been know how good the vibe, tunes and whole experience is.

Tickets

www.driftmatsuri.com/tickets

Drivers

A weekend ticket is £340
A Saturday ticket is £179
A Sunday ticket is £179

Spectators

Advanced tickets

A weekend ticket is £30
A Saturday ticket is £20 (Pay £30 and have £10 refunded on removal of Saturday wristband* before 9pm). *Only Saturday wristbands will be refunded.
A Sunday ticket is £15

On the gate prices

Weekend ticket £35
Saturday ticket £25 (Pay £35 on arrival and have £10 refunded on refunded on removal of Saturday wristband* before 9pm). *Only Saturday wristbands will be refunded.
Sunday ticket £20.

There are few more announcement to be made in the run up to the event, so make sure you check out our Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat account at @driftmatsuri

Spring Matsuri 2018 booking details

With the date now set in your diary, time for some information.

The details you all need for the event are as follows:

Tickets will go on sale on Sunday the 11th February 2017 at 8pm.

Details of where to buy tickets will be announced on Friday 9th February at 9pm.

Driver tickets 

Saturday

There will be a two types of driver tickets for Saturday;

The first will be for the Outer Paddock area ONLY. This will be the same track as used for round one of DriftCup on Sunday. A bespoke layout which will encourage proximity drifting. Places will be limited to ensure plenty of seat time for all – £99 (Driver only)

The second driver ticket will be for the Infield and Oval layouts – £179 (Driver + 1)

*** Saturday Outer Paddock driver ticket is a single ticket for the driver only *** This will allow the driver to attend as a spectator on Sunday.

Sunday and weekend tickets

You will be able to buy a driver ticket for Sunday – £179 (Drivers + 1)

A discounted driver ticket for the weekend – £340 (Driver + 1)

The driver MUST be named within 7 days

*** DRIVER TICKETS ARE NONE TRANSFERABLE – DRIVER TICKETS CAN NOT BE SOLD ***

Garages

Garages (24 available) that holds two cars for the weekend with access from Friday £100

Spectator tickets Online

A Saturday spectator ticket will be £20, £30 payable and a refund of £10 if the holder leaves site before 21.30 with removal of wristband.

A weekend spectator tickets will be £30 if bought in advance from the website.

A Sunday spectator ticket will be £16.50 if bought in advance from the website.

Spectator tickets on site

A Saturday ticket will be £25, £35 payable and a refund of £10 if the holder leaves site before 21.30 with removal of wristband.

A weekend spectator ticket will be £35

A Sunday ticket will be £20

*** All spectator tickets are none refundable ***

Passenger wristbands will be available for sale at £25 per day

Additional drivers will be charged £50 per day

Camping is free of charge for all

Drivers, if you buy two tickets or someone else pays for your ticket, you MUST tell us the drivers name. Tickets WILL BE REFUNDED if we are not told within 14 days!

Driver tickets are not to be sold or transferred. The person named must be the driver on the day. There will be a reserve list set up for those who miss out on buying a ticket.

*** RESERVE LIST ***

If you fail to secure a ticket, we will be operating a reserve list, to be placed on the reserve list you must send a message to us via the Drift Matsuri facebook page. Drivers will be placed on the list in the order of request.

The reserve list will not be started until all places have been sold. We will announce on Facebook once the event has sold out. No reserve list entries will be taken until this time.

Refunds

All driver and garage tickets:

A 75% refund will be granted up to and including Sunday the 4th March 2017.

No refunds will be offered after Sunday the 4th March 2017.

*** All spectator tickets are none refundable ***

The event will run an open pit lane policy on all tracks.

There will be a radio controlled drift track operating within one of the garages. If you have a radio controlled drift car then make sure you bring it with you.

Refreshments will be available on site in the cafe.

The event is for EVERYONE, whether you are drifting or not, this is the event to be at!

Cars do not need to be caged and drivers of any level are welcome due to the nature of four different tracks.

Helmets and seat belts are mandatory.

Car specification:

No oil or fluid leaks will be tolerated.
All vehicles must have front and rear functional tow hooks or straps present. BMW OEM screw-in tow hooks are not acceptable as they shear when pulled at an angle. If towing hooks/straps are not fitted, cars will be recovered by whatever means necessary and DM staff cannot be held liable for any damage caused.
All vehicles must be maintained to a satisfactory standard.
The noise limit is 105 DB at three-quarters throttle in a static test.
Cars must have at least 2 working rear brake lights.
Cars must start the day with both front and rear bumpers fitted.
Cars must have headlights or headlight covers and tail lights fitted into the factory positions and in reasonable condition.
Cars must have all factory glass or Perspex replacement windows (driver and passenger window glass can be replaced by approved netting).
Cars must have all panels present (including bonnet) and in reasonable condition without any sharp edges.
Rude or offensive stickers/number plates must not be fitted.
Cars may be subject to checks by Drift Matsuri staff at any point during an event and may be prohibited from using the track until any faults are rectified.
All decisions by Drift Matsuri staff are final.
Have a 1kg hand held fire extinguisher fitted

The official film from the Drift Matsuri 2017

The fifth Drift Matsuri at Anglesey took place over the weekend of the 28th and 29th of October.

Over 200 driver descended on the picturesque venue and enjoyed a relaxed and fun atmosphere which the Matsuri creates.

Take a few minute of your time to enjoy just some of the highlights of the event.

#DriftMatsuri2017

Drift Matsuri 2017: The Report

The 5th annual Drift Matsuri was held recently at the picturesque Anglesey Circuit, this event has become the place to be for the end of season party over the last few years.

The event saw over a hundred drivers on three separate tracks over the two days with a huge variety of cars, from the usual S-Chassis’….

Skylines….

and BMW’s,

Rarer cars like a Daihatsu Charmant….

Jaguar E-Type…

The Driftworks freshly built 1972 Toyota Hilux, dubbed the DWHi5.

As usual the Toyota AE86 was well represented at the event with at least 5 on track over the weekend.

The three layouts included a touge style course that ran up and over the top half the track in the opposite direction to the way that the circuit runs during race weekends.

The fast track used the first three corners of the circuit, this had many drivers using third or fourth gear throughout each run as they tried to link the track with just a quick manji down each straight.

The third track was the single hairpin, this had a long run up to the corner to give drivers a chance to practice backward entries without the risk of hitting anything.

The event had something for every level of driver, from grassroots to BDC Pro drivers, everyone was welcome and often the grassroots drivers would come around the corner with a BDC driver following closely.

Saturday night featured the third showdown between the UK & Irish drivers, in the past this has been won by James Deane and Richard Grindrod.

The crowds gathered around the outside of the track to see who would take the trophy this year.

As the battles went on a few people were shining through as strong contenders including Martin Richards, Matt Carter and William Rose.

In the finals Matt Carter threw the car in with a huge backwards entry, impressing the crowd and taking the win from William Rose.

Now it was time to party through to the early hours before another full day of drifting.

By the end of the weekend there were many exhausted drivers, broken cars and shredded tyres throughout the paddock.

It was another successful weekend and a great way to end the season. We will leave you with some more photos from the event, until next time…..

Discounted spectator tickets

We are delighted to tell you some great news!

ALL spectator tickets will be discounted if bought in advance.

If you wish to come on Saturday only, not a problem. You will get to see drifting all day long on all three of the tracks. The fun begins when the sun sets. British VS Ireland and YOU are the judges!

You the spectators will decide which driver goes through from each battle, the commentary team will build you the hype and you make the call.

Once the winner has been presented with his or her trophy, the party really gets started with the ‘Party in the pits.’ Mike Lewis returns to throw some dance floor fillers in to the small hours.

If you just want to come and see some fantastic cars in action on Sunday, then we have a MASSIVE diversity of cars attending as always. From the old school to some of the latest cars on the market.

Ticket prices are as follows.

Advance tickets

Saturday only £20  *£30 payable, your wristband removed and a refund of £10 before 10pm*

Weekend ticket £30

Sunday Ticket £16.50

On the gate prices

Saturday only £25  *£35 payable, your wristband removed and a refund of £10 before 10pm*

Weekend ticket £35

Sunday ticket £20

On line ticket sales will close on Wednesday the 25th October at 8pm

*** Please note that spectator tickets are none refundable ***

Drift Matsuri 2017 details

Ladies and gents

The details you have all been waiting for are here.

Tickets for the event will go on sale on Sunday October the 1st at 2000 (8pm).

They will go live on the ‘Tickets’ page.

We will be operating an open pit lane policy on all three tracks.

A single day driver ticket £179

A weekend driver ticket £340

All drivers tickets will include a plus one.

All drivers will be able to attend the event for the weekend whether driving Saturday, Sunday or both days.

A garage which holds a four cars £200

Spectator tickets in advance are

Saturday £25
Sunday £20
Weekend £35

Passenger wristbands will be £25 per day and available from 0930 on Saturday and Sunday.

Camping is free of charge for both Friday and Saturday night.

As at all previous events, we will be limiting numbers to ensure plenty of seat time.

The mix of cars will include retro, modern, classic and current IDC and BDC championship drivers.

There is a track for every level of drifter, from the ‘Backwards entry track’, to the ULTRA high speed ‘National Track’. If you fancy plenty of twinning the “Touge Track’

There will be round 3 of Britain vs Ireland. Who will take round 3? James Deane won round 1, Richard Grindrod round 2, who will win round 3?

Once the ‘Night Fight has finished, the party gets started in the pits. Mike Lewis will be dropping the tunes and playing until the small hours.

The on site cafe will be open for refreshments all day everyday and the bar will be open until late.

Set your reminders to be at THE event to end the 2017 drift season in the UK.

 

*** Please note that all spectator tickets are none refundable ***

The Drift Matsuri 2017 date confirmed

THE end of the season event everybody wants to attend has been confirmed.

The Drift Matsuri will once again return to the wonderful circuit of Anglesey Circuit in north Wales.

There will be three tracks, an open pit lane, night time drifting, and of course, the after party!

More details coming soon!