D1NZ Drifting - Sky Zhao
CRC has a proud history in motorsport in New Zealand. Whilst many Kiwis and international fans alike are familiar with sports such as Speedway and Midget racing, drifting is one of the fastest growing motorsports in the world and we are proud and delighted to have been partnering with one of the best in the business since 2013 – Sky Zhao.
About Sky Zhao
We began our partnership with Sky Zhao back in 2013, not long after Sky had emerged onto the New Zealand drifting scene. Over the past nine years, we have been delighted and proud to watch Sky perform in countless races throughout the world, wowing audiences with his amazing drifting skills. Not only that, but we have also seen Sky grow his Drift Academy International brand here in New Zealand, helping more Kiwis get into drifting and giving thousands of people the opportunity to try drifting for the first time.
We recently caught up with Sky to look back on his experiences here in New Zealand since moving here in 2000 to finish up his high school education before going on to the University of Auckland to study computer science. Here is what Sky had to say when we caught up with him:
Sky Zhao Bio
My name is Sky Zhao. I’m the owner of Drift Academy, Drift Park and an ex-D1NZ drifter. Growing up, I was always involved with motorsports like Rotax Max karting or circuit racing. I started drifting about 15 years ago when the sport was really taking off, and quickly drifting has become one of the fastest growing motorsports.
I competed in the D1NZ National Drifting Championship and NZ Nationals from 2008-2014. My best result is 3rd place, as well as the China Drift Championship where we won the event. I am so passionate about drifting that I started drifting in Japan at the famous Ebisu Circuit. Soon after that I founded my own drift school - Drift Academy here in NZ, as well as in Japan, China, and Canada which just started last year.
New Zealand’s first drift park
Since I travelled a lot to Japan for Drift Academy, I saw so many drift-oriented tracks which are small but are easier entrances for the enthusiasts to join the sport. I have been planning to build such facilities in New Zealand, and after years’ work, Drift Park at Meremere is the first dedicated drift facility in NZ, opening its doors to the drift community in 2018.
Since then Drift Academy and Drift Park has won [Innovation in Sport and Recreation] award at the NZ Sport Awards. Running our own facility means we can run all kinds of events from track day, Drift Academy to MSC Challenge competition which is a franchise of the feeder series of Formula Drift Japan. The series champion every season gets crowned with FDJ license so they can chase their dream on the world stage.
Working with CRC
I have been working with CRC from 2013 with my LS7 7L powered 350Z in D1NZ. Running a race car means we are working on it all the time whether it’s at workshop or at track. CRC products have been my go-tos even before the sponsorship, so we are so happy and passionate to have the products we use that back us up too.
We use a wide range of CRC products. One of my favourite products has to be Brakleen. Running and building drift cars means we are constantly working with each component, to tackle whether it’s oil, grease or dust. Brakleen is the best way to clean them up, makes working so much better, the pressure comes out the can is so good that we can easily clean the areas that are hard to reach. Works perfectly every time.
Away from the drifting
Outside of drifting I also enjoy circuit racing. Every year I do a 12-hour endurance race in Japan, and this year I have acquired a Lamborghini factory race car - Huracan Super Trofeo Evo - which will be doing some fun events and hot laps.
MSC Challenge is approaching quickly. Below are the dates and events will be live-streamed on Facebook and CRC ads will be played during the ad breaks, so tune in to watch some cool drifting!
Drift Academy MSC Challenge NZ Championship 2022 Dates
Round 1 - 12th November
Round 2 - 26th November
Round 3 - 10th December
Round 4 - 11th December
About MSC Challenge
MSC Challenge was started back in 2006 in Japan by Kazuhiko Iwata who also founded the Formula Drift Japan series. MSC Challenge focuses on the "Fun Comp" for drifters with all skill levels, and very quickly it has become very popular among the drifters in Japan.
Sky’s Drift Academy runs the MSC Challenge series here in New Zealand and they are delighted to have the founder Iwata-san and Formula Drift Japan judge Robbie Nishida fully behind the events.
All events will be livestreamed online so this is a great opportunity to showcase your skills to them and the world!!!