Although I was only there for the Saturday (thanks to Winton’s insistence on charging ridiculous amounts for entry across the weekend) the Matsuri was genuinely the best event I’ve attended at Winton.

I really do have to start with the REAPER S14a. You will not find a better looking drift car anywhere in the world. It’s just wild.

Kranze LXZs can make anything look amazing, but this car is just beautifully thought out and has nailed the look 100%. In person it almost doesn’t look like an S14 anymore due to the ridiculous width and the ground scraping height.

I generally try to avoid using the word “perfect”, but, well, what else do you say?

This black JZX100 from SA was tough as nails. Looked like it had just rolled off the boat.

I liked this photo. Sort of summed up the event for me.

Probably my favourite photo from the day. More of this S13 with monster SSRs in another post.

This KE70 van was doing an awesome job all day. Big angle and a heap of speed. Looked like it was a lot of fun to drive.

STANCE.

Sadly it wasn’t all good. This was the result of the scariest crash I’ve ever seen at a drift event. Thankfully everyone was OK.

The other car involved in the crash. Crazy lock, unfortunately it’s at the wrong end though.

The other major accident happened on the front straight (where 95% of crashes seem to happen – take note people!) when an S12 spun and was hit head on by this S13. Note the inventive side skirts, by the way…

At about 7pm on Saturday the S12 was in the garage being put back together, piece by piece. They expected to have it going again that night. True Matsuri spirit…

More photos to come in Part 2…