At 29 years of age, I’m not afraid to say that as an addict, I’ve spent the last 8 years of my life annually sending tens of thousands of Euro up in smoke!
Now that I have your attention, I figure it’s a rather opportune moment to introduce myself, tell you some more about my addiction or as more spiritual individuals would term “my purpose”.Daniel Waldron is my name and I’m a full-time LotusWorks employee hailing from a small village tucked away in the wild west of Ireland. Similarly to the vast majority of modern day society; my job, family & friends, day-to-day responsibilities take up the vast majority of my conscious thinking. However, as with any addict, there is always another subject humming away in the background that at a moment’s notice will fill any available gaps. This same subject undeniably dictates a lot of my subconscious thoughts & actions. This subject is drifting.
“What is drifting?” you might ask. Firstly, it’s the fastest growing Motorsport in the world and to most people it’s a variation of closed-circuit Motorsport, where a highly skilled yet perhaps slightly deranged driver hurtles a purpose built race car sideways, billowing smoke through a complex circuit, marked out by clipping points at break-neck speeds. To me however, it’s something different.
Drifting to me is an addiction or as I more kindly dubbed earlier, a “purpose”. Drifting is what motivates me to work harder, earn more, party less, and in some cases sleep less. Sure, if it weren’t for drifting I would possibly have bought a house, treated myself to annual vacations or got that GTR I’ve always dreamed of. That said, if given the chance to get back any of the time or copious amounts of money that I’ve invested in this niche motorsport, I would refuse it point blank, which is strange considering drifting only favours a small percentage of the vast grid in terms of granting you the chance to step on the podium.
This certainty begs the question, “why not?” which leads to an answer which is quite difficult to justify in words. Drifting is a strange sport, most motorsports tend to cause divide amongst people who share victory as a common goal, yet, if anything it seems to encourage us all to pull together. The community or family vibe that surrounds drifting is second to none and this is plain to see in the Irish drift scene to even the most unfamiliar spectators. Drifting is what makes us all “tick”.
Now that you’ve read this far and have a vague understanding of “my purpose”there’s no better time to fill you in on the specifics of the trusty little 31 year old Corolla that’s shared this epic journey with me. This little legend has been with me through all the highs, such as stepping on the podium alongside world-class drivers like Tomas Kiely and the lows, like mounting a fixed, concrete wall at 70mph in Rosegreen many moons ago. The Corolla AE86, a rather iconic car in the Rally and Drift scene worldwide, at a factory kerb weight of 923KG and pushing high revving 130bhp and 105lb.ft of torque packs quite a punch. This punch however is a mere pat on the back compared to the kick in the teeth delivered by the 520bhp and 500lb.ft of torque it currently produces.
This year, thanks to the help of LotusWorks, my primary sponsor, I will be competing in a full season of The Irish Drift Championship.
Feel free to see how Daniel fare’s out by attending the events or tune in to the livestream on Facebook Live or at www.idcnation.com and watch any of the following rounds:
- Round 3 – Global Warfare 4 – July 1st/2nd – Mondello Park.
- Round 4 – King Of The Hill – August 12th/13th – Watergrasshill.
- Round 5 – Japfest – September 23rd/24th – Mondello Park.
