Summer Review 2013

With the Summer drawing to a close and the nights getting a little darker we at the SXOC thought we would give you a little something to reflect on the previous months. We have had a fantastic summer such as the Castle Combe Spring and Summer Action Days and all 5 rounds of The British Drift Championship.

SXOC at Castle Combe Summer Action Day
SXOC at Castle Combe Summer Action Day

But it was topped for us by our flagship Weekender event that really did combine amazing scenery, driving and bringing our fantastic community together.

The Weekender saw over 100 SXOC members take an epic ride up to Anglesey for what we think was to be the best Weekender yet and certainly our highlight of 2013. Arriving at Anglesey was a joy in itself with me opting to take the “scenic route” a great 6.5 hour convoy through the beautiful Wales countryside. The circuit offered fantastic facilities and plenty of place for us to pitch camp. The weather in the run up to the weekend was great and didn’t disappoint when we invaded.

After the frivolities of Friday night arrival and a quiet drink, we awoke to glorious sunshine on Saturday morning. As the cars lined up for their sighting laps, there was a great feeling of excitement on probably one of the nicest days of the year. The relaxed attitudes and friendly mindset was evident from the start and unsurprisingly the day passed almost entirely without incident with everyone, novice and track veteran alike, having a fantastic day.

A highlight for me was the mix of different marques we had on track this year, really made for some fun driving. The club were joined by a few select members of the MX5, Clio sport and 350z boards on track as well as a few of our own members bringing some noteworthy cars.  Giblets’ Westfield is always a big favourite with nearly 800hp/ton, the R35 GTR just looked amazing and who could forget being joined on track by Dunc’s race prepared Radical to really show you how things should be done.

Dunc's Radical
Dunc's Radical

Few notable highlights from the day were Ken trying to set fire to his car (a power steering fluid leak dealt with quickly and expediently by the marshals as well as our very own in car trained marshal “Fullmetalgasket”) Anthony Rickson (aka Giblets) in his mental Westfield, dialing in an extra bar of boost to try his first 900bhp/ton track lap, and who could forget our own club chairman deciding that drifting Princess Tash’s MR2 was the way forward.

FMG on Track at Weekender 2013
FMG on Track at Weekender 2013

And, of course, Clive’s constant ‘issues’ with rear wheel traction. That leads us onto the Saturday night. First off , the team competitions. Algie had organised an It’s A Knockout style competition for some prizes. As usual everyone got into the spirit of the evenings entertainment and got stuck in.

Weekender Fun and Games
Weekender Fun and Games

Later in the evening in true SXOC fashion, we partied and we partied hard. Smoke machine, laser show, cocktail bar, live DJ set, naked dancing, and general banter. Everyone had a ball, got involved and had a laugh.

Laser show at Weekender 2013
Laser show at Weekender 2013

Sunday morning/afternoon was a much more chilled affair with the annual raffle, trophy presentations and some relaxed chat.  The local power ranger fan club were visiting which gave us some track action to watch. Sundays are always seen as a relaxed slower paced day and with the beautiful scenery and sunshine everyone was in great spirits and had a smile on their face.   We had our traditional charity raffle on the Sunday, which raised £570 for race to recovery.

Raffle time at Weekender 2013
Raffle time at Weekender 2013

This was only made possible by the generous support of our traders and all those who donated some great prizes. We all headed home on with some epic memories of a smashing track, a fabulous track day and as usual night time activities, which always leave an indelible impression. Be sure to mark 2014′s event on your calendar as a must for the summer.

 

As most of us will be tucking up our S-Bodies for the winter in favour of a more corrosion resistant daily we would like to thank you all for another year of support and hope you all get involved next year for more top notch fun and don’t forget to keep an eye on the local area sections for the upcoming festive meets.

 

The honour roll for 2013 was as follows

SXOC 2013 Best S Body awards
1. Mapboy for his stunning Sil80 – The attention to detail!

2. LED Sandwich for his beautifully turned out RS13 200SX

LED Sandwich 2nd Place Car Of The Year 2013
LED Sandwich 2nd Place Car Of The Year 2013
 3. Jon for his daily driven 210k S14. A real testament to the marques durability and how to make it work for you/best model pose!
Jon 3rd Place Car Of The Year 2013
Jon 3rd Place Car Of The Year 2013

Best Non S-Body – Giblets’ Westfield

Chairman’s Choice – Clive’s V8 powered S14 drift car (seen above)

Court Jester
Legendary Giblets for outrageous drunken behaviour in the face of common sense

Stig Of The Weekend
Kieran O’Quick for pushing his almost standard S14a to its limit all day.

 

What’s next?

Heading toward that time of year where a lot of SXs are put to bed for the winter whilst dailies are out taking one for the team. But Club activities still go on.

Check your area for whats happening and the national events area for details of the big Christmas shindig here.
Aaron, aka LED Sandwich