The annual festival of Japanese motoring and Motorsport will this year feature the most exciting Drift event of 2011 with Prodrift assembling a spectacular field for the finale of their 2011 Irish Series.The main drifting attraction will be round five of the Prodrift Series and this will be boosted by the arrival for the first time on Irish shores of US based Team Need for Speed with their drivers Fredric Aasbo and local hero Darren McNamara. Aasbo will drive his Team NFS Japan Auto Toyota Supra while McNamara will make his home début with 'Dmac86' the wildest Toyota AE86 drift car ever built.
Joining Team NFS will be a number of other big name overseas entries including UK based Driftworks. Former D1GB champion Phil Morrison, who will drive the Driftworks Nissan S15 which will be making its Mondello Park début. Morrison has long been one of the biggest names in European drifting, both on and off the track, in particular due to his involvement with Driftworks, one of the biggest online drifting communities in the world, and he should be a big draw for Irish Drifting fans.
Jap-Fest always provides an exciting mix of on-track and off-track entertainment and this year will be no different. Round five of the Irish Time-Attack will be one of the other main attractions with a much increased entry expected for this event due to changes to the regulations.
New rules for 2012 will be tested at this event and these rules will see much more highly modified cars and kit cars being allowed to compete. A number of new drivers have already signalled their intention to take part, as a try out for next season, so a very interesting field of cars is expected.
Modified Japanese cars remain the central theme of the event and there will be plenty on display alongside those destined for the track. A large number of clubs and individuals are expected to showcase Ireland’s best Japanese metal alongside an extensive trade area. Some of these cars will also be visible on track during the early morning 'Track Day' sessions.
Tickets for Mondello Jap-Fest are now on sale with an advance purchase offer of free Grandstand seating for all pre-booked tickets. Admission tickets will be available on the day of the event, but with limited availability of Grandstand seating these may not be. The only way to ensure the best seats In the house, overlooking the drifting arena, is to book in advance.
For information on Mondello Jap-Fest see www.mondellopark.ie/japfest or call Mondello Park on 045-860200.
