Expanded Drift series kicks off in Wellington in the New Year
The capital is set to get its first proper taste of multicode motorsport action since the Nissan Mobil 500 street race when the NZ Xtreme Motorsport Series and D1NZ National Drifting Championship debuts at Wellington Family Speedway in Upper Hutt in January next year.
It will be the first time the series has ventured to the capital and the first time in over 20-years Wellington has had a fully-fledged, weekend-long motorsport event.
Upper Hutt’s Wellington Family Speedway will host the first round of the 2018 calendar with the grass infield set to be fully paved. The hope is to transform the Speedway into a multi-purpose facility, with provision for drifting, driver training and other events during the year.
The first round of the series will coincide with the launch of the NZ Xtreme Motorsport Series. Come January 12-13 drifting, Rally X and UTV racing will all take place at the Speedway venue, with D1NZ and Wellington Family Speedway owners working together to ensure the success of the venture.
Local support for the event has already begun to grow with Wellington Speedway President Chris Hadley eager to get involved.
“We are extremely excited to be working with the NZ Xtreme Motorsport Series and the team from D1NZ,” Hadley said.
Upper Hutt City Council Mayor Wayne Guppy put his support behind the move and said he’s excited to have multi-code motorsport back in the region.
“It’s really exciting to see a major motorsport event once again taking place in Wellington, and we’re proud to support the event right here in Upper Hutt.”
Last year D1NZ made bold steps forward in circuit building. The 2016 – 17 season began with a Southern Hemisphere first by building a circuit inside Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Only two months later the series went inside ASB Bay Park Speedway for the series’ first Speedwaybased drift circuit where Kiwi drifters got a taste of wall-riding for the first time.
The opening round of the D1NZ National Drifting Championship kicks off at Wellington Family Speedway over January 12-13, featuring drifting, Rally X, Super Moto and UTV racing.
For more information visit nzxms.co.nz