The second and founding member of the Motul/Nismo drift team Rob Whyte has confirmed entry into the Tectaloy drift challenge with his team mate Josh Boetcher. With support of energy drink giant Monster energy, Rob has not only confirmed entry but also that he is planning to debut his brand new lightweight “race” Nissan 350Z complete with a supercharged Nismo competition engine that will look similar to the current spec car but will be a whole different story under the skin.
“The car we have been running up until now was essentially a modified road car that has evolved over the years, whereas the new car is a ground up purpose built race car that will take advantage of experience we have in running the Z chassis without the many compromises we have with the current car” said Rob from his base in Brisbane “it will be much lighter and much stiffer and we are planning on being competitive right from the get go with this one”
Rob Whyte has been a consistent force to be reckoned with in the Stadium Drift pro tour and with the 350Z sporting a Rotrex crank driven centrifugal supercharger setup by Bullet supercars that gives it an extremely linear power delivery with zero lag experienced with turbochargers and a complete Japanese built Nismo competition racing engine imported especially for this particular project that draws on Nissan’s years of racing experience.
The guys at Nismo in Japan have also been instrumental in providing setup data for this car allowing the team to fast track development and as you would expect the car carries a catalogue of Nismo race parts showcasing what is available to 350Z enthusiasts through Link International the Australian Nismo distributor
Rob is certainly looking forward to returning to Eastern Creek in 2011 after competing in 2010 and mysteriously losing a tyre in one of the battles and when he jumped out of the car the tyre rolled back and he caught it in an act of extreme showmanship he jumped out of the car caught the tyre! When we asked how he thought he would go against the Kiwi contingent he simply smiled and replied “bring it on I reckon!”
Cant wait to see this Zed!!