The top level of Drift Australia saw Federal Tyres supported drifters Khudar Elhaouli, Tom Monkhouse, Eugene Arendsen and Nathan Weissel in good position to end the year at the "pointed end of the field".
Federal Tyres sponsored drifter Nathan Weissel had an eventful year and coming in to the final round in 12th spot overall he was confident that he could pull it all together for a strong finish to the season. In the top 32 battles Nathan knocked out fellow Federal Tyres driver and Rookie of the year Trent Whyte, taking him through to the top 16 where he managed a comfortable win over South Australian Jack Monkhouse.
Nathan went all out in the top 8 against Beau Yates and after an extremely close, fast paced battle Yates took the win by the narrowest margin, giving Nathan 6th spot for the round and 10th overall for the championship.
Khudar Elhaouli blasted on to the Drift Australia scene this year with his bright Orange Chev V8 powered Nissan Silvia, his amazing skill and control along with huge amounts of smoke making him a crowd favourite.
Coming in to the final round at Oran Park Khudar was confident of a strong finish after taking 4th place in round 4 at Eastern Creek earlier in the year.
Khudar put on a show for the Oran Park crowd, making it through to the top 4 battle in style, disposing of all who stood in his way.
In the battle for 3rd place Khudar faced off against 2nd placed Luke Fink, after a thrilling battle that was almost to close to call Luke took the win by a narrow margin handing Khudar his second 4th place in as many rounds and 4th overall for the season!
Khudar was also awarded the "Spirit of Drift Trophy" for his unshakable up beat and positive attitude all year.
After qualifying on Sunday morning, Tom Monkhouse managed to put down a near perfect run earning him the 3rd place position and shooting him straight through to the top 16 battles.
After a strong finish to the weekend Tom managed to round out the season in an impressive overall 8th position.
One of the most well known characters of Drift Eugene Arendsen came in to round 5 in 10th position for the championship. Confident of a good result over the weekend Eugene put on a show for the Sydney crowd.
Making his way comfortably in to the top 8 battles Arendsen took on the series leader Leighton Fine in a sensational battle which saw Fine narrowly take the win, Eugene finishing the round in 7th and year in 9th spot overall.
Team mate of Eugene Arendsen and fellow Federal Tyres drifter Trent Whyte finished his season in 20th spot after blowing an engine earlier in the year and missing one of the previous rounds, but Trent's efforts and skill did not go un-noticed with him receiving the "Rookie of the year" trophy at the awards dinner on Sunday night.
Another 2008 season rookie - Luke Jacobs caught the attention of Federal Tyres after displaying his skill and very entertaining driving style earlier this year at round 3.
Luke turned a lot of heads coming in to D/A from the Super Drift series half way through this year and proving that he has the right stuff to compete with some of the big names of drift.
Unfortunately a blown motor forced him to pull out of the final round but Luke has high hopes and is confident of a great season in 2009.
Super Drift competitor Sam Pass has proven that he is a true contender for the top spot in 2009 by finishing the 2008 season in 5th place overall, a fantastic result considering that he could not make the opening round in Tasmania early this year!
A highlight of the 2008 season for Federal Tyres has been the team drift competition, with Nathan Weissel, Trent Whyte and Eugene Arendsen getting together to make up "The Federal Express", the 3 drivers showing off their amazing skill by drifting at high speed most of the time within inches of each other.
"The Federal Express" took out the team drift competition back to back at Eastern Creek and Oran Park Raceway this year earning them the title of team drift specialists!
Federal Tyres would like to congratulate all of the 2008 Drift Australia competitors and we look forward to seeing what the 2009 season will bring, its sure to be another fantastic year!
Media contacts:
Brett Quodling - Sales and Marketing manager, National Tyre Wholesalers
Ph: 1800 050 060
Mick Hart - Sales and Marketing, National Tyre Wholesalers
Ph: 1800 050 060
Submitted on 2008-09-26 20:03:34