Hi fellow Speedhunters!
My name is Alok Paleri. I hail from India, but
I have been living in Germany for almost six years now. I was a car nut
since I was a kid, and coming to Germany only helped the cause. I took
my first ever photo in the summer of 2004, and spent the better half of
2006 and 07 visiting the Nürburgring Nordschleife to hitch passenger
rides and take photos of the exotics that flock there – until I
accidentally had a brush with the drift scene. I've been working in the field since then and am now the official media man for the
International Drift Series, the leading and growing series in Germany.
Seen here are some of the drift BMWs that run for gold in the drift
scene over here. BMW is the most popular choice among drifters,
especially the e30 for their low cost and the plethora of tuning parts
as, well as common knowledge about the cars available.
Speedhunters will
be doing a full feature this month on the two e30 Falken BMWs, driven
by Lars Verbraeken and Remmo Niezen, as well as the custom airboxed, M3
powered e30 Touriing driven by Paul Vlasblom, so keep your eyes peeled.
Oliver "Hesse James" Scheurich, nicknamed after the state
Hessen where he hails from, he uses this bone stock e34 M5. It's complete with power
windows, full leather interior, heated seats, stereo and aircon.
He uses it as his daily
driver, as well as for drifting in the Street category of the International
Drift Series in Germany, as well as the Drift Challenge Austria, landing him
fourth overall in the class of streetable cars with engine capacity over 2.5l.
(I do need to assert this, that car is stock, down to the stereo)
Swiss
driver Michael Sahli from Driftteam Switzerland and his e30 336i M
Touring.
He has progressively climbed up to his current second overall
ranking of the International Drift Series Pro Category. Featuring a genius
canvas roof, his car weighs in at just over 1000kg, making it an
unbelievably fun drift tool.
Dutchman
Lars Verbraeken firebreathing e30. It's sound cannot be described, it
simply must be heard.
Until last year the car had no wing, but story goes that
he found a wrecked Porsche cup car and just got the wing off it and onto his
BMW.
Remmo Niezen, nicknamed
"Big Remmo".
Drives his Falken 400hp V8 e30 in the Pro category of
the International Drift Series.
Benno Frieden from
Switzerland is yet another young rising talent.
By the time he finished his fourth
round of the International Drift Series, he was already ranked third place overall.
Markus Millitzer from
Germany uses his fully streetable M3 to drift occasionally in the Street
category of the International Drift Challenge in Germany, and regularly at the
Drift Challenge Austria.
His car is one of the cleanest builds in the game.
Last
but not the least, Patrick Ritzmann, currently the youngest
drifter in the field of the International Drift Series. He just turned 22 just
two weeks ago.
His e34 M5 features a stock engine running at 315 PS, the same
as Hesse James, but this young shot started drifting in the beginning of 2009
and has already climbed till 4th overall ranking in the Pro Category of the IDS.
Alok Paleri