Driver powers up the ranks

By Marc McGowan
DRIFTING is set to become an even bigger part of Andy Roney’s life after he took out the second-tier class of the Drift Nationals at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Narre Warren resident competes in the Super Drift category with his Nissan 180SX and bettered his third-place result from his sole appearance in last year’s five-round series.
This year there was only one round of the series due to the global financial crisis, but it will return to five rounds in 2010.
Roney also finished runner-up in last year’s Victorian Super Drift Series to Leigh Pidwell.
Roney’s team-mates Pidwell and John Dreyer were not as fortunate in the national showcase – both suffered blown engines.
“It was awesome (to win) because we’ve put in a lot of work getting all three cars up there and two blew up and mine was the only one that lasted,” he said.
“It’s good to get one on the podium and win.”
The Super Drift class is a feeder competition for the elite Drift Australia Series and Roney is hopeful of attracting enough sponsorship to step up in the coming years.
The entry per round for the Drift Australia Series is around six times as much as for Super Drift events.
Winton Raceway is the only track in Victoria that allows drifting.
But what exactly is drifting?
“It’s not actually a race, per se; it’s more of a style sport,” Roney said.
“It’s based on two cars that go at the same time and you get one lead lap and one chase lap.
“The idea is basically whoever can stay as close to the guy in front and emulate what they’re doing, and it’s based on the three criteria of speed, line and angle.
“You go as fast as you can on the proper line, hitting the ‘clipping’ points they say, with as much angle or going as sideways as you can get it.”
Roney has been involved in the sport for five years and officially for the past two.
“It’s a great entry-level motor sport and it’s a tight-knit community where everyone knows each other and helps each other,” he said.
“You don’t have to have the fastest car; it’s just about going as hard as you can.
“The best thing about it is there’s an opporuntity for young guys to get their cars off the streets and get on track and go as hard as they want in a safe environment.”
Roney is eighth in this year’s Victorian Super Drift Series after car problems in the opening two rounds that he sorted out before the nationals.
The final round is at Winton on 1 November and he needs a victory there to score a potential podium finish.
But Roney’s main focus is next year’s national events – whether that be the Drift Australia Series or the Super Drift Series.
“We’d be happy to go in the Drift Australia Series if we get the backing, but we’ll at least be going in Super Drift,” he said.
“Unfortunately there are no national events in Victoria, which makes it hard for the Victorian guys, but we’ve got some really good drivers here.”