Event: Sunday/Sabbath Funday

At Winnipeg’s Springs Church on Sunday, Chris Gonzales, Kyle Zimmer and Collin Melody were on a mission from God. Well not actually, I just like to reference the Blues Brothers whenever possible. In actuality, these guys were busy drifting the parking lot for hundreds of onlookers.
We sound like a broken record whenever we talk about Chris, but it blows my mind that he only started drifting a few years ago. Chris now has enough experience and credibility to be part of drift demos in his hometown.

Collin Melody of Empty Pockets Drift Crew and his turbo-powered KA made the trip up from the U.S. to participate in the demo. It’s not too often you hear of an American coming to Canada to drift, but this day seemed all about opposites.

Usually drifters aren’t invited to tear up parking lots. For the most part, even mentioning an idea like this ends with confusion and/or laughter. Chris must have used that considerable charm of his to get this off the ground.

It’s hard enough to find a venue to drift, but finding one that lets your friends all drift at the same time is unreal.

So, from 1 PM until their cars stopped working, the sounds of squealing tires and Gonzo’s V8 could be heard around the lower east of Winnipeg.

Seeing as we were in a place of faith, Chris had faith that if I stood on the course he wouldn’t hit me. So I put my faith in Chris and became a human pylon.

Collin Melody took Chris’ lead and decided I made a good pylon.

I think I take Kyle Zimmer for granted as a driver. Living in Regina, I could go shoot his Drift West competition car whenever I like, but I don’t. I always think, “Oh, I will get him next time.” I think that makes me an awful friend, but it is nice to see Zimmer actively pursuing drifting.
Collin really stuck out from the two flat black drift cars that accompanied him on the course.

Kyle is one of the only guys I know who raves about the RB20. The finicky engine must have overheard Kyle’s stellar review of its performance, because later that afternoon it developed a case of stage fright. Kyle’s Skyline started running lean, but it was nothing Kyle can’t fix and he should be ready for Round 3 this weekend in Penticton.

When I first heard they would be drifting over a three-hour span, I wondered how they would make it to the end. While they did make it, they arrived broken. Drifting is essentially a time bomb for your car; it is never the matter of if something breaks, but rather when and how bad.

I think it is the passion that people have for drifting that keeps me so interested in it. Obviously it is a passion I share but I can’t really explain it. If I were to try, I would say drifting is about relationships. Hopefully you break even in the end, but really the only thing that matters is the good times.