It all started with a post on Nissan Silvia forums from Andrew who was looking for a couple of volunteers to help him out with a production assistant role for the Powercruise EC DVD... Free shirts? Free caps? Free entry? I'm in! There was a catch though... You had to be prepared to go on-track, meet and greet high profile motorists in person, go for rides in insane cars, rig expensive film equipment and get involved in the production of a DVD. Alas, prepared to face the challenges, and keen to grow my experience in production and media, I put my hand up and got accepted as one out of two volunteers.
So I rock up to Eastern Creek Raceway, sweet talk the wonderful dear lady at the front office to pass me a media staff vest without having to put a $50 deposit, get to the marshaling area and meet Andrew the producer and Pat the cameraman for the first time.
A brief rundown of what to expect of the weekend, meeting up with Rick my fellow assistant, we then set off into the abyss of roaring motorblocks, spooling turbo's and shredded tires. The job was easy enough, mounting and unmounting cameras to panels, windows, rollcages, making sure they get taken to where they need to be, and just odd runner jobs... Sure this coulda just been another voluntary job to check out something cool and score freebies, but beyond that it was filled to seam-bursting capacity with opportunity for one who wanted to get involved in the scene! Rubbing shoulders with such names such as Luke Fink, Anthony Bilic, the Driftmob team, Trick & Mansweto not to mention working with Andrew Hawkins (ex Ignition DVD, Blood Sweat & Gears now Jet Multimedia). There was plenty of time to wander around, get to know people, check out some crazy rides and having a camera and mount in-hand was license to jump in any car you wished in the open cruise sessions. It was such an insight meeting people from all walks of life, witnessing them come gather together for a common passion in motor vehicles. From young Matt, powersliding in his 2nd car, a Datsun 1600 running it's 2nd FJ20 block, blowing second gear and redline clutch dumping third to initate heart stopping drift, to down-on-his-luck unemployed pensioner Brad in his SLR5000 Torana that he bought and built as a 17 year old, it was unforgettable meeting such a diverse range of people sharing a common passion.
What really dropped my clutch was getting to know the guys in and around Driftmob. So I rock up to the martialing area and all around me I'm surrounded by muscle cars... Loud... Proud... Metallic... Bright... And commanding attention, but then I look through the crowd and find one, two, three, four, five Silvias, lined with a few Skylines... Just chilling out minding their own busines... 'I'm going THERE!'. So in short, I get to spend the next 2 days hanging out with some of Australias finest drifters. Being the production assistant guy, I get to go in-car and on-track to witness up-close, these guys in action!
Here's an in-car shot of Anthony 'Hectic' Bilic as he's getting ready to head out onto the track for the days drift demo, we rigged up a cage cam on his rollcage and my job was to make sure that it was rolling when he hit the track to catch his action. Down to Earth and friendly, Anthony really shows his finesse on the track.
This is the lineup of the drift demo guys... Heading the pack is Andrew's S13 driven by Victoria's Luke Fink... One of Australia's finest... These cars shredded through countless tires over the weekend and Andrew's car ended up blowing a tire and breaking a gearbox!
These are on-track shots of the drifters starting grid... Uwaaaaa! My job here was to make sure that the camera on the blue GTR was running. Basically the cars weren't allowed to be released until I gave the all clear that the camera was on and running! Coooooooooooool!
But of course it wasn't just the drifts that took place... There were plenty of cruises, off street races (drags), burnouts, dynos, show 'n' shines and powerskids! Enveloping the entire raceway in plumes of vehicular madness!
Even a Nissan GTR made it's way to the show... This is the first time I've seen it in person and I got close enough to see the dust that had gathered on it from all the skids everyone was ripping on the track!
The powerskids had my jaws drop to the tarmac... I've always appreciated the deafening roar of high powered big blocks... But to be so close and to smell the combination of methanol, rubber, octane, blood, sweat and gears made it an unforgettable experience! It really was a weekend to remember... It had really ignited a reappreciation in me for the range of motor vehicles that get built and forged a respect and appreciation for those who craft them... These people are just like you and I, some hold day jobs, some don't, some go to school, some like partying hard, others like fishing! Boys and girls alike! Motoring enthusiasm really is alive and well!
This is Trick and Mansweto's Ford Capris, the fastest street registered vehicle in Australia... A-NI-MAL... Trick and Mansweto really are just really loving family guys, it was heartwarming to see 2 honest, hardworking men who's family were all there to support them and have a fun family day out...
All in all, I had an unforgettable day at Powercruise EC... I'll definitely be making a few of the faces familiar ones, and look forward to future events. I'm definitely down for more production assistant work! Thanks to Andrew Hawkins of Jet Multimedia for this amazing opportunity and a truely unforgettable experience... Thanks to Rick for returning my phone and wallet when I ditched em in the suite... And for all the crew and drivers for making the weekend what it was!
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