THE Valley Lakes woke to the roar of more motorsport over the weekend, with the Drift Challenge Australia (DCA) King of the Hill event.
For Limestone Coast driver Tom Hemmings it was a welcome result, qualifying in fourth place and finishing fifth in his Nissan Silvia S14, his best result to date in any DCA event.
Hemmings began his drifting career at the first Mount Gambier event three years ago and now follows the series around the country.
He said his home track is unlike anything else on the circuit.
“I travel around the country competing all year round and the track here at the lakes is unlike any other track I have drifted,” he said.
“Being a street course with walls, it is completely different to tracks like Hidden Valley or Symmons Plains.
“With the walls and elevation changes, coming over the hill at around 120kph is completely wild.”
Hemmings provided plenty of action for spectators, lifting wheels over the hill as he pushed hard for a good result.
In the end his car did take some damage, rubbing the guard rails, but he said that was the nature of the course.
“We have done a bit of damage but nothing crazy,” he said.
“They make fibreglass guards for these cars so we will be able to pull it out and fix it up.
“You do not go into a track like that expecting to come out without a scratch and our damage was a result of pushing hard.
“We really wanted a good result, really wanted to be on the podium, but it did not happen this time.”
Now Hemmings is set to head to the Apple Isle to compete at Symmons Plains, before heading up to Darwin then to Queensland.
A lot of travel is involved to compete in the series, but it seems Hemmings would not have it any other way.
“It is an amazing series,” he said.
“It is well run and organised and a great group of people.”
