#BACK WATER DRIFT DRIVERS#
#BACK WATER DRIFT FULL#
#BACK WATER DRIFT SERIES#

In Austria we were at a relatively small and technical karting track, while France saw a big change to a long and fast circuit. One element I’m really enjoying about this year’s DMEC calendar is the variety in circuits. I’m guessing more because of the aesthetic of driving against a wall and catch fence more than anything else. This layout was masterminded by Kristaps Blušs for the annual HGK Challenge, and has been referred to as an ‘FD-style’ layout.

#BACK WATER DRIFT DRIVERS#

The circuit used to extend off towards the forest, with the finish line almost out of sight of the grandstand, however this year the organisers adopted a 180-degree turn, up against a solid wall and catch fence, to loop the drivers back towards the capacity crowd. Another transition and there’s a huge bump in the track – not as big as it once was (it was known as the ‘Riga jump’) – but still enough to momentarily but severely reduce traction going into another rear clip.įor this year’s Drift Masters event this was where the layout changed drastically. Transitioning the other way, there’s a solitary inside clipping point in front of the grandstands, before a fast and bumpy rear clipping zone. This means that by the time the cars burst into sight they’re already travelling sideways at 80mph (129km/h) towards a very small grass run-off and then a very solid wall. It also offers what I think is one of the most impactful elements to any drift track: a blind first corner. There are full-throttle transitions and off-throttle slowing zones. The track here is fast, dangerous and unpredictable. For the fans here and watching online, the drivers, the cars, and the circuit layout itself is what makes Biķernieku, in my opinion, one of the best drift tracks in the world. Of course, it’s only really photographers who care about all that. Mix in some atmospheric light and a fog of tyre smoke and it makes for a pretty place to be. Looming brutalist tower blocks overlook the track on one side, before it disappears into a dense pine forest on the other. This, along with the city’s rich history also gives the circuit a unique backdrop. And when the track isn’t live, the cyclists take the same route around the circuit as the cars. Pretty much within sight of cars billowing out plumes of smoke from their rear tyres you can see families picnicking by a lake, or lycra-clad cyclists whizzing past. The memorial still stands, but Biķernieku is now also a public park, cycle route and, on select dates, a race track. However, Biķernieku is also a haunting reminder etched into the memory of locals as the location of the Holocaust in Latvia. The forest itself was originally chosen as the location of the circuit because of the noise and wind-protection offered by the surrounding trees. It had been three long years since I stepped foot on Latvian asphalt up to this past weekend, and boy had I missed it. In 2016, I visited twice – once for what would be the final Drift Allstars event in Latvia, and then once again a couple of weeks later to shoot the reveal for the now-famous HGK Eurofighter build. In 2015, I went back with Paddy and he returned home with exactly the same opinion. This was in my pre-Speedhunting days, but I’m sure my photos from the event still exist somewhere in the ether of the internet.

#BACK WATER DRIFT SERIES#

My first visit to Riga for the now defunct Drift Allstars series in 2014 remains one of the most memorable drift events I’ve ever attended.

If you’ve been, you’ll already know what I mean. Riga holds a special place in the heart of any drift fan who has been fortunate enough to visit. Of all the events in the calendar, the Latvian stop was the one I was looking forward to the most.

#BACK WATER DRIFT FULL#

So, in 2019, I decided to follow the Drift Masters European Championship (DMEC) series for a full season to find out exactly what had changed. Maybe the honeymoon period was back, or maybe it was because they were both completely new events to me. Feeling like I’d taken a sufficient vacation, last year I shot two drift events – Drift Masters in Hungary and Formula Drift in Irwindale.īoth events were surprisingly amazing. I took some time off from shooting, or even paying attention to the sport, but kept it at an arm’s length. I’d closely followed drifting up to that point for around 13 years, and it felt like the ‘next big thing’ that was peddled around for so long was fizzling out into nothing. The sport was stale, in my eyes – nothing was changing and there was no progression to any part of it.

That was my response if you’d have asked me a couple of years back why I haven’t been to a drift event in so long.

Back water drift