IT was a great show of skill at Sunday’s Seaboard Marine Total Drift Invasion held at Dover Raceway in St Ann. The accolades went both ways from the fans and the Ter-Tech drifting team.

“Dover is the most unique track we’d ever drifted and it’s amazing. This was the best reception of all the Caribbean islands we’ve been to,” Harri Tervola of Ter-Tech told Auto.

The show was a bit truncated due to Saturday’s inclement weather and an incident which saw a member of the drift unit feeling Dover bite. Jason Jiovani’s Nissan 240SX slid off at Pinky’s Bluff smashing its nose. That, however, didn’t change his opinion of the circuit.

“It was just body damage. The elevation changes made it fun and I loved the crowd,” he said.

Jiovani offered advice on how to enter the sport of drifting to the throngs of interested fans surrounding him after the event.

“Get a car with a similar layout like the 240SX and learn how it handles first before moving to massive horsepower,” he explained.

The challenge of drifting on a circuit with such unusual topography meant time had to be spent dialing in the cars. Once sorted, both exhibition runs on the Sunday were a hit with the fans. The clear favourite was Bill Stenger. His super-aggressive style had him sideways for what seemed to be an eternity, and always managing to come within millimetres of the corner walls. He also gave his seal of approval to Dover’s track.

Nu-Gen Motorsportz, which was formed in March of this year, and partnered with the Jamaica Race Drivers Club to bring the drifters were also pleased with the way the sport was received.

“We will be trying to develop drifting here in Jamaica by having high-speed drift event and working with local talent,” Catherin Rose, secretary and operations manager, Nu-Gen Motorsportz said.

— Rory Daley