The season is over, the race suits have been hung up for a break, and the race cars have been torn to shreds for their next round of upgrades. But there was one more event on the Demon Energy D1NZ calendar, one that required no driving, and the suits were not flameproof or covered in rubber. We are, of course, talking about the Demon Energy D1NZ Awards evening held on July 16 at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds.
A chance for teams to get together and celebrate the achievements both on and off the track, it’s become an institution of the series, and also makes for one hell of a good night and an unenviably not-so-good following morning. But that wasn’t stopping anyone from making it a big one, and, by all accounts, it’s a highlight of the season.
D1NZ CEO Brendon White commented, “It’s important to host the awards night to bring everyone together — the drivers in D1NZ are just a big family of people sharing the same passion, so it’s refreshing to get the downtime to celebrate all their hard work together and get excited for the epic season ahead.”
You may have seen the voting going down online leading up to the awards. The fact that they aren’t voted on by a panel, but instead on social media by fans and the drivers’ peers, is the best thing about the awards. Let’s check out the winners …
Pro Awards
D1NZ Giant Killer: Gaz Grove — winner of a $4000 ECU package thanks to Link ECU.
Pro — Best Personality: Cole Armstrong
Pro — Best Drifting Style: ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse
Pro — Standout Run of the Season: Daynom Templeman Pro — Smoke Machine: Daynom Templeman
Pro — Best Presented Engine Bay: Daynom Templeman
Pro — Best Presented Car: Jaron Olivecrona
Pro — Angle King: Michael Prosenik
Pro — Best Tandem Battle: Michael Prosenik vs Adam Hedges at Baypark
Pro — Most Improved: Dylan Woolhouse
Pro — Sportsmanship Superstar: Phil Sutherland
Pro — Fan Favourite: Nico Reid
Pro-Sport Awards
Pro-Sport — Standout Run of the Season: Ian McShean
Pro–Sport — Fan Favourite: Ian McShean
Pro–Sport — Best Personality: Jase Brown
Pro–Sport — Best Drifting Style: Kieran Stewart
Pro–Sport — Hardest Charger: Kieran Stewart
Pro–Sport — Smoke Machine: Chad McKenzie
Pro–Sport — Angle King: Chad McKenzie
Pro–Sport — Best Tandem Battle: Chad McKenzie vs Vincent Hopkins at Baypark (Vincent won)
Pro–Sport — Best Presented Car: Ben Jenkins
Pro–Sport — Most Improved: Cody Pullen Burry, winning a $4000 Link ECU package thanks to Link ECU
Pro–Sport — Sportsmanship Superstar: Bex Bennet and team
D1NZ Prestigious Awards
Team Owner and Manager of the Year: Nicole Harris / FDC5
Best Social Media Development for NZ Drifting Overall: Fanga Dan Woolhouse
D1NZ Top Friend to the sport: Ross Honnor / DDT
Grass Roots Event of the Year: ZeroClass Matsuri
NZ Drifting Ambassador of the Year: ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett
Driver Crew/Team of the Year: Team Jenkins Motorsport
Pro-Sport — Photograph of the Year (Media Awards): RL Photography
Pro — Photograph of the Year (Media Awards): Mad Max — Guy Maxwell
Video Capture of the Year (Media Awards): Jacob Toms for Nico Reid’s first win
Best Full Video Capture of the Year: Seth Devereux / NAC
Best Supporting Media Outlet 2015–’16: Oversteer TV
D1NZ Volunteer of the Year: Daniel Smith
Daniel Baxter Memorial Trophy (D1NZ Ambassador of the Year): Steve Daniels (Maori Made Productions)
