About Team CTS Drift

2006 DEBUT SEASON

Team CTS Drift debuted in 2006 with one of the first big dollar drift cars to enter the Australian Drift Circuit.

The car itself had engineering, preparation, and presentation of world class standards, coupled with a truck and transporter complete with many spares and tools to compete at the highest level while maintaining absolute reliability.

The 2006 season started with unknown wheel man Craig Vanderstelt (a well known sprint car competitor) to drive the brand new car.

2006 was our shake down season with an extensive R&D program embarked upon to find all the bugs and possible breakage points in advance of a title chase in 2007.

By the end of the season The Team CTS 180SX along with Craig were constantly threatening for podium finishes with a reliable car and dedicated team the key to what can be considered a fantastic debut year.

SEASON 2007

Season 2007 started out with a well known driver coming to the team after Craig Vanderstelt moved back to Sprint Car Racing.

Christian Pickering debuted with the Team in Perth with a solid second place finish. The team then followed this up with top 5 finishes for the next 3 rounds to position them for a shot at the title in the final round.

The Championship chase went to final battle of the year and ended with Robbie Bolger defeating Team CTS Drift at the same time taking the title and leaving Team CTS Runner Up.
So close yet so far.

To ease the pain of defeat in the Drift Australia Championship, Team CTS recorded a title with the G1 South Australian Drift Championship. Not a bad consolation prize considering the effort the team put in for the year.

D1 ALL-STAR USA APPEARANCE

After the successful year in the Drift Australia Championship Team CTS Drift was invited to the USA for the D1 World All Stars event held at Irwindale, California.

After making the long trip from Adelaide all the way to California the team made the most of the fantastic opportunity by putting on a great performance in front of the international crowd.

The car and driver performed faultlessly during the event, again proving Australian Drift and Team CTS's place on the world Scene with a great Top 8 Finish. After drawing D1 Champion Ken Nomura and pushing him all the way the team was eliminated but not embarrassed.

SEASON 2008

After Parting ways with Christian at the end of 2007, Team CTS recruited Drift Australia stalwart Leighton Fine for driving duties in the Team CTS Drift 180SX.

The team kicked of the season with a win in Tasmania, then followed it up with another win in Queensland at Round 2.

Round 3 was the first major disappointment the team had suffered with mechanical gremlins bringing the car to a stand still in the Top 16. While not a major problem as the team was still leading the championship, it did allow the rest of the field back into contention.

Round 4 put the team to the test, 3 re-runs and 8 head to head battles later Team CTS Drift came out on top with its third victory of the year. While ordinarily this would almost secure the championship, the team was in a difficult position from its Round 3 dramas and would have to beat hard charging Luke Fink in the final round to secure its maiden Toyo Tires Drift Australia championship title.

The final round didn't start the best with Leighton slamming the car into the wall in practice. The teams peerless preparation for any situation would see the car ready for battle on the Sunday and still in with a chance of taking the title.

The two title antagonists met in the Top 8, with the Team CTS car not in the best of shape it would be a difficult task to take the title against a hard charging Luke Fink. But after all the hard work and dedication the teams determination and a little luck would see the Toyo Tires Drift Australia title heading home with Team CTS Drift and an especially happy team Owner.
The 3 year program could finally be judged a success.

SEASON 2009

With Drift Australia deciding to limit competition due to the Global Economic Crisis the team has been concentrating on developing the car for 2010.

The changes have come far and wide, with a new driver, hard charging new comer Simon Podlewski, a new crew chief in Davon Thompson and a new mechanic Adam Strugala being enlisted to take care of the newly updated and much improved Team CTS Drift 180SX.

With the team owner known for giving new comers a go at proving them selves in top class machinery Simon was a natural choice, with his knowledge of cars to his previous competition experience in drag racing, drift is just another hill to climb.

The first round of the G1 SA Drift Championship would prove what a wise choice Simon would be with a fantastic second place in his first major competition with the team.

2009 ended with the team taking the Runner-Up position at the Drift Australia "Drift Nationals" event. This was considered a fantastic result as Simon had never driven the track in competition before the event. Shortly after the Drift Nationals the team had to fight it out for the title at the final round of the G1 State Drift Championship. After and action packed day the team secured 4th position for the event, and inturn the championship.

What started out as a development and learning exercise ended up being a fantastic season jam packed with plenty of action and a few wins for their hard work, all that is left now is to back it up in 2010 and go for the Drift Australia title.

STAY TUNED...........