Nicholas “Tazz” Barnes has been drifting since he was 14 years old. Now at 23, he is Jamaica’s first Red Bull Car Park drift champion.

Barnes says it is the first competition of this size that he has won and, for that, he is honoured.

“Only 20 drivers were able to compete, I was the first qualified, with that, we didn’t have any doubts where ability, talent or car is concerned,” Barnes told the Jamaica Observer. “We knew we had the right drive and car package; we knew Nicholas Barnes had the ability as well and the win is no surprise to me and the team.

But he was always destined for greatness behind the wheel. While he credits other local drifters such as Cleve “Cutta Hype” Ottey and Maurice Whittingham as men who inspired him to get into the sport, he also has racing in his blood. Barnes is the son of Junior Barnes, who has been known as one of Montego Bay’s top rally drivers and dexterity stars. For this reason, he says his family knew he was born to be in motorsports.

Barnes won the Red Bull event at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on October 1 in his 1986 Toyota Corolla. As a self-described “Toyota Man”, Barnes would have it no other way than to drift in a Corolla.

“My first car was a 1982 Toyota Corolla DX,” he said. “It is known for drifting, but not only drifting, the balance it has is basically one of the best chassis in the world. I’m a huge Toyota enthusiast, so it would definitely be Toyota.”

Now, Barnes is hoping to someday own the Circuit Edition of Toyota’s GR Corolla, which was launched earlier this year. However, as it is a limited edition, with a waiting list of only 200 buyers, he dreams of someday getting his hands on one in the used car market.

But that does not mean that Barnes is not sentimentally attached to his ’86 Corolla. While some may see it as only an old car, he says that considerable investment has been made to make its features as modern as possible, and while he does not focus on how much he has already spent on it, he has no regrets.

“I wouldn’t call it a financial mistake,” he said. “Racing is what we do, it’s my hobby. We don’t ever grab a calculator and try to tally how much we spent on the car because we don’t want to go crazy. I’ve had this car eight years, and it’s eight years of hard work, development, changes and constant improvement. The work on a race car never stops.”

Barnes now turns his attention to the Red Bull Car Park Drifting finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on December 7 and 8. While he has never been to this region, he is not worried about a possible culture shock, given that country’s strict laws. His only focus is going sideways.

“The main focus is just on driving,” he said. “I’m not so concerned about what kind of food they eat or the time zone or anything like that, but we’re just eager to showcase the talent and the skill.”

Barnes has never travelled with his Corolla and won’t be doing so in December.

“They have a donor car in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “There’s a list and the make and model I’ll be driving has not yet been finalised, but we hope it’s something that can give us a fighting chance because I strongly believe that given a fighting chance, I carry out the win.”

He is not worried about whether he will need to practise in Jamaica with a similar car to what he will use in Jeddah.

“The technique doesn’t change and we’re aware of the know-how, so we’ll have ample time to learn that car,” he said.

Barnes is excited about the prospect of local drifting and encourages other local car enthusiasts to get involved.

“We kinda moved away from dexterity to drifting now,” he said. “What happened on October 1 is just the tip of the iceberg and the door has just been opened. Drifting worldwide is basically a genre for itself. The dexterity time attack is not as big as drifting, so to introduce drifting in Jamaica, it will be the next big thing.

“[For anyone interested in drifting], do it as soon as possible, because the Red Bull event may be turned into an annual one. My advice is get ready because that’s how you get to qualify and get ample seat time.”