We bring you some of our favorite photos from the Up in Smoke tour with Monster Energy. Who doesn’t love a bit of drifting?
Drifting, we chuffin’ love it. In fact, we’re such fans of the concept of a whole load of sideways smokage we decided to bolt together a makeshift V35 Skyline drift car, slap in a top-notch JVC sat nav, and send FC OG Midge, along with FC Social Media guru Archie Wright, on the Monster Energy Up In Smoke Tour.
The concept is simple. It’s also right up our street. This full-on European road trip is laid on by drifting supremos at Crew Sade and sponsored by the mighty Monster Energy. A weeklong adventure, this year the tour saw a route taking a whole load of drifters from Rockingham Speedway here in the UK (which they re-opened specially for the event), to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Andorra. Taking in a whole load of stunning circuits and drifting venues along the way.
But, was it everything our boys expected? Well, according to Team FC it was much, much more. For a start, they didn’t think they’d see cars that were quite so hardcore making the whole 2500-mile trip. We’re talking proper competition-spec drift cars with all the trimmings… and drivers who certainly knew how to use them. That is what’s know in the business as bravery for sure.
Famous faces
We don’t just mean from the pro drifters in attendance on the Monster Energy roster, either. Big names such as Baggsy, Luke Woodham and Shane Lynch, along with X Games Champion Liam Doran. No, there was plenty of mad cars and uber skills on display from just about every driver on the tour… and most of them didn’t hold back one little bit. Trust us when we say that these guys go hard, breaking many a part and bush fixing the cars along the way.
With everything from smashed drive shafts and wheel bearings to shattered exhausts and even the odd blown head gasket, it’s a testament to the teams that every car that entered completed the entire route. In other words, the roadside mechanical skills seemed to be right up there with the actual drifting. There was also a whole load of eseential support from the guys at Garage-D and North Devon Tyres following along to sort out the non-stop rubber swapping duties – which, quite obviously, was crucial to the success of the tour.
And then there was the rather naughty late-night streetos. That’s right, despite what we originally expected, the action wasn’t even limited to the safety of the circuits. Meeting up with local modified car fans in each location, many of the cars got more than a couple of extra shake downs. In some cases, they even made the local news in each country. So, when the guys at Crew Sade said they wanted to take drifting back to its roots on the streets, they clearly weren’t joking.
Away from the drifting
Aside from the actual drifting though, there was plenty of camaraderie between the teams. And that’s without all the weird and wonderful behind-the-scenes antics such as tattooing on the go in the back of a drift car with famous artist Mica Dori (not to mention giving our Midge a rather nice tattoo for the tour). Along with the stars of Channel 4’s Hillbilly Nation doing what they do best – keeping everyone smiling by creating absolute carnage. But then again, that’s what a tour like this is all about – it’s the journey, right?
As you would expect there’s full article (along with our rather epic full-length video) coming just as soon as our duo have recovered enough to tell the full story.
But, in the meantime, have a little look through our monster gallery of some of Team FC’s favorite images…
Words: Midge Burr.
