THUNDERHILL WEST

Barely a month after the grand opening of Thunderhill West, the awesome guys at ThunderDrift opened the course for drifting! As the date drew closer, the drivers list looked more and more like the 2009-2010 ThunderDrift Pro-Am roster.

Alex's AE86 Corolla is the same chassis that he used in the 2009 ThunderDrift Pro-Am. The car has changed quite a bit, twice the cylinders and so much more suspension work. Do I spot stock seats and NOS?

Sherry drove the new course as if she had driven it a million times before. The new radiator setup kept the engine temperatures in check.

But this 240SX convertible isn't what Sherry started with. Sherry was throwing around a coupe back in those ThunderDrift Mustache-style days.

We also saw old familiar faces too. Josh Kravitz came out with the same Datsun 510 that everybody knows and loves.

Back then it was so fun to watch Josh Kravitz and Marcus Fry tandem. Where else can you see this?

Matt Madrigali was out there in his always beautiful 240SX hatchback.

Although still the same chassis, probably the only similarities with the 2010 car is the color and the doors. New body kit, wheels, wing, and motor.

Pro-Am winners, Gabe Stone and Jason Bostrom were out in thier FD cars too. Good to see all these drivers that are still around and having fun.

The new Thunderhill West course attracted a lot of drivers. Everybody wants to try out the new layout!

As our team grows and the drift community changes, it's great to see that the gang we started off with still has the same spirit and love for drifting. This ThunderDrift event really made us reflect on the past. Of course we all came out to be part of the first drift event ever at Thunderhill West, but somehow it felt more like a reunion.

But maybe I'm the only one that felt like this. I get nostalgic sometimes. More photos here.

// Mike Tseng