Fifteen years ago, I travelled from the Prairies to Penticton for my first team tandem event. That trip was probably my first step into the wider automotive community. It also happened to coincide with the inaugural Drift Union Invitational.
I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think that’s when I started making the trip every second Canada Day long weekend to watch a team tandem event. Then, as the wheels of progress kept turning, tracks closed and it became increasingly difficult to find places to drift.
Luckily for Western Canada, Capital Drift exists, and their problem-solving and event-planning skills are top notch. As it stands today, drifting in Western Canada on the first weekend of July is still alive and well.
I’ll be honest. I used to write a lot of opinionated articles with takes that were pretty easy to agree with. They were good for the clicks. This time, though, I don’t really have any hot takes. Instead, here’s an honest review of the event and the track.
Until a few years ago, the annual July drift event was held in Penticton. For those who don’t know, Penticton is a beach town nestled between two lakes in the heart of wine country. Penticton Speedway was… well, let’s just say it had character as a drift track. Despite that, it regularly showcased some of the best drifting in Western Canada.
In comparison, Quesnel sits a little farther north in the Cariboo region along the historic Gold Rush Trail. As I was writing this, it occurred to me there’s probably a fun history lesson about the region… but that’s not what I’m here for, so you can look that up on your own time.
I digress. The drive to Quesnel from Vancouver is absolutely beautiful, whether you go through Squamish or Hope. The town of Quesnel itself is quaint and has a very different vibe from Penticton.
The real draw here is the track. Cariboo Raceway is an amazing track. Here’s the thing though, I don’t drift, so I can’t really speak to the driving experience. Fortunately, my ol’ pal Kevin from SerialNine has driven more tracks than I can count. He had this to say:
“Cariboo Raceway didn’t disappoint at all. The course flows so well. Each corner perfectly sets you up for the next one. The elevation change down the hill from Turn 2 is sick.”
I’ll add that it was a fantastic venue for media as well. The driving was top notch, but I’d expect nothing less from a Capital Drift event.
Anyway, I mostly wrote this article as an easy way to share all the photos I took. Eventually there will be a video too, but not just yet.
Before I post a giant gallery, I just want to thank Capital Drift for their continued efforts to ensure there are still places for people to go drifting, for all the great events they’ve organized over the years, and for allowing me to be a small part of it.
