The course was pretty simple, cars had to make 360° turns around 4 barrels (2 barrels per section) and return to their respective starting points. Sprinklers were used to keep the course wet (this was to prevent excessive wear on the tires). Paul Bourne used his Impreza as the course car and demonstrated what the drivers had to do. One could barely hear one's own thoughts as Paul's car (right) approached the starting line. As the Impreza launched from the line and proceeded to be propelled around the barrels, there were instantaneous cheers from the crowd. Effortlessly, "The Surfer" glided around the barrels, giving patrons a close-up view of how 4 wheel drifting and sliding is done. After thrilling the crowd over by the eastern course, the crowds to the west were the next to be left in awe of Paul's skill. This was just a warm up and preview of what was to come later on. With their appetites teased, fans only wondered what to expect from the other sliding demons to come, (namely Geoffrey Ullyett and Tony Pile).

Rear wheel drive vehicles were the weapons of choice for many competitors, this is as a result of the ease with which they get sideways and drift with not a lot of effort. There were, however a number of front wheel drive machines around. Adrian Linton (2002 Motoring Club and Rally Club Champion) drove a Toyota Corolla (left) and Ian Weekes in a Nissan Sentra were among those front wheel drive competitors who impressed, not only in crowd pleasing, but also in posting some fairly quick times. There were, however 2 cars which had the crowd buzzing J.R. Cumberbatch's Corvette and a green and yellow Ford Maverick (V8 engine…raw power). J.R's Corvette (right) was a bit too much of a handful, with its excessive power and length making it a bit too difficult to perform efficiently on the course. He later returned with a front wheel drive Honda Integra (this too, proved to be difficult to manage on the course). The machines of the day were Toyota Starlets, all rear wheel drive (with one exception of a GT Turbo). The drivers of these machines thrilled the crowd, especially Karl Waterman. Karl, despite having never driven in competition before gave quite a good showing of himself, leaving the crowd in awe of his deft car control (right). It is interesting to note, however, that when the MC (Darrin White) announced that this was Carl's first time in competition, one cameraman noted "Wait 'til Vaucluse man!" If Carl's performance on Sunday was anything to go by, Vaucluse patrons will have another sliding ace to hail for.

We all know it just wouldn't be dexterity without an Escort or a Datsun somewhere in the mix-up. First-timer Dwayne Beckles (left) in his Datsun gave a good representation, after shaking off some first run jitters he got going, even showboating for the crowd. There is, however, one Datsun, which every fan knows. Its name is Yellow Fever, its driver is Geoffrey Ullyett. Geoff didn't disappoint, as he lived up to his title as a sliding ace. Whenever Geoff rolled to the line, the aural volume was unbelievable. Somebody mentioned Escorts? Oh yes. Rashid Nakmuda (left) in his Escort Mark I was impressive as a first timer. This was despite having a slight incident with the fencing upon exiting his section of the course. Andrew Jones was at his sideways best in his Mark II Escort. He too gave a good account of himself. Who could forget the White Escort belonging to Mr. Tony Pile? Known as another sideways specialist, he did justice to his reputation. Now for an Escort a little more modern than that of Mr.Pile's…the Ford Escort Cosworth WRC of Roger "The Sheriff" Skeete. A favourite with many, the Sheriff performed reasonably well. Even though at one time he stalled his Cossie and on another occasion he had to change the tires because the car was coming around as he would have liked. When he got things sorted out, he had the Ford spinning like a top.

Head to head racing was keenly contested and some close finishes took place. Probably the closest one being between Geoff Ullyett (right) and Tony Pile, with a mere 2 seconds separating them. The races didn't even have to be close to be entertaining. Once such case was Roger Skeete against Geoff Ullyett, the reputations of these 2 drivers alone was enough to send the crowd into a frenzy. The last run of the day, however summed up the entire day's happenings in one race…sliding and car control. Tony Pile versus Geoff Ullyett…it just doesn't get much better than that. I was really sad for those who had camcorders (I was one of the "unfortunate" ones who did), after all, who would you focus on? I guess I did like most people would have, filmed Geoff (who was on the West course) when he was close to me and then Tony when he came below. It was a great spectacle to behold. The crowd was already screaming for more before the race was completed, however, when the MC announced that the 2 drivers would give a display of synchronised sliding, the crowd became euphoric. Seeing these drivers on separate courses was one thing, but seeing on the same course at the same time was something completely out of this world! Synchronised sliding…and who more fitting to display it than these 2 talented drivers. It was great and the fans enjoyed every moment of it. When they were done the drivers got out of their vehicles to thunderous applause from the crowd. Crowd pleasers they are, and their efforts, so too the others of all the drivers were appreciated to the greatest extreme.

The event lacked nothing, it was action-packed and well attended. Apart from the odd shower everything was quite outstanding. The MC and the DJ kept the crowd entertained and aware of the drivers' times, even slipping in the occasional joke. It was well co-ordinated and ran quite smoothly. Kudos must be given to PB Events Ltd, the Motoring Club and the sponsors: Banks Breweries Ltd, Nestle, Zephyrhills, and Orchard Vibe. The management of Julie'N must also be given thanks for allowing their facilities to be utilized. I can hardly wait for the next one, which is 4 weeks away and I'm sure this sentiment is shared by all who witnessed what transpired. For those of you who missed this one, ensure that you don't miss the next 2.