Car enthusiasts are always looking for an excuse to post photos of cars. I mean, we don’t really need an excuse – we’ll do it anyway. However, the excuses still exist. Don’t believe me? Just think of March 2, 3 and 4: Days that have all become synonymous with Skyline appreciation day. We also have July 7 for RX7s and August 6 for the AE86 (and now apparently the FRS?). There’s even a day for the JZX81, but let’s be honest – it’s a bit of a reach.
I (occasionally) drive a JZS161 and I’ve looked; there isn’t really a day for my chassis. There are, however, a bunch of parents posting pictures of their kids at 161 days old. And as someone who has a kid, I can’t tell you how much of a waste that hashtag is. Actually, while we’re on it… parents, you don’t need to make a post to commemorate a random amount of days. The first year of a child’s life, you can have every three months, and after that, just commemorate every 365 days (a.k.a. birthdays). That’s what they’re there for.
But I digress. A lot of us Toyota enthusiasts get the short end of the stick. as there can’t really be a day to celebrate our chassis. In some ways, that’s were September 9 comes in – and no, it doesn’t use your standard numeric date to celebrate Wayne Gretzy, who is forever tied to “99.” Instead, it asks you to take the “S” from September and pair it with the date of the 9th. Once you figure out this long equation that may or may not require new math, you get S9, which is obviously an abbreviation for SerialNine.
It may be bit unconventional, but it’s well worth just accepting the logic that gets you onboard with “S9.” Also, if you know anything about SerialNine, you’d know that unconventional suits them. Think about it: They are shop tucked away in the greater Vancouver area that primarily creates parts for RWD Toyota Sedans.
In the past “S9 day” has been a in the form of a block party, which is actually a laid-back car show. The turnout for those parties was always great, but given the COVID climate, a car show probably wasn’t the best idea. Besides, the SerialNine has deep roots in the drifting scene.
This year has been the year of private track days. Well, technically 2020 has been the year of many other things, but being a car guy, it has also included many private track days. Private track days are great because organizers get to be bit choosier with what cars attend, and I don’t have to overhear the occasional onlooker in the crowd talking about their future plans to “V8 swap the world” and “crush everyone.”
To say the day was just about drifting would a huge understatement. There was an entire agenda for the day. Having people drift at a track is one thing, but making an event out of it is a different thing entirely. I won’t go into too much detail about the agenda items, as I think it’s better left as a surprise. We did get T-shirts and lunch, so that was a nice touch.
The list of attendees is exactly what you’d expect from a SerialNine drift event: Most cars were JZ-powered and sedans. I will fully admit that I didn’t do my best that day to capture as many photos as I would have liked. That said, I wouldn’t say the day went fully according to plan.
I don’t think it was in the plan for Gerard to stove his Aristo into the wall or for Kevin’s Altezza to eat axels, but such is life. It’s sort of part and parcel of drifting. Like life, not every day can be a good day; it’s peaks and valleys. The good part is at least these incidents occurred on a track that was near home and no one was seriously injured.
In hindsight, there were things I’d do differently. Like maybe pack more batteries for my camera or just shoot less video footage. However, I don’t have a time machine and even if I did, maybe using it for the 2020 S9 day wouldn’t be the best use of it?
Maybe I’m making it sound like the day was a wash, but honestly it wasn’t. Any time I get a chance to spend time doing what I did that day is a treat, especially when you get to experience it with people who are committed to the cause. For example, my long-time friend, Carter Jackson, made the trek from Saskatchewan to drift for the day.
The SerialNine events will always rank among my favourite events of the year – even if it’s just a bunch of cars parked in a parking lot, or cars drifting around a track. I’ll even go through the hassle of plating my Aristo and running the risk of getting a VI in Vancouver, just so I can have my car there for these events.
The SerialNine drift day has so much potential and I truly believe it will continue to get better and better each year, or as long they choose to do it.