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SpeedMachine Festival 2019

Japspeed’s Paul Smokey Smith joins fellow drifters for demo runs at Silverstone

Combining top level rallycross with drift demos, live music, quality food and more, the SpeedMachine Festival is not to be missed – read our report from the high-octane extravaganza

Images: James Gibson Photography & P T Photo

Held on the last weekend of May, the 2019 SpeedMachine Festival brought together extreme motorsports, live music, Esports and excellent food. This year, the event hosted a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship and featured a fantastic selection of on-track demos, including a Drift Show.

Naturally, Team Japspeed’s Paul Smokey Smith was there with his JZ-powered Toyota GT86. Speaking after the event, Paul said: “The festival was a great opportunity to demonstrate drifting to a wide audience who had never seen professional drifting before, and speak to the public who were keen to find out more about the skill it takes, as well as the effort that goes into building competition cars.

“SpeedMachine Festival is the ultimate paradise for petrolheads, featuring the British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, plus on-track demos of Group B Rally cars, Truck Racing, Drag Cars and also the Monster Energy/Baggsy Drift Invitational,” Smokey continued. “The event carried on into the night with various music acts on the main stage.”

Having recently returned from Round 1 of the Drift Masters European Championship in Austria, Paul was looking forward to the more relaxed atmosphere of SpeedMachine Festival. “The best part of the weekend for me was definitely getting out on the Silverstone circuit and being able to let loose with other top drivers without the pressures of competition. The JZ86 felt superb all weekend and ran faultlessly, plus we had the chance to play around with a few different suspension in preparation for the next round of Drift Masters.”

Round 2 of DMEC takes place in Croix en Ternois, France on June 15-16. Come back soon for our full report.