Drifting to the top of the pack

Connor Halligan explains drifting and the finer points of his pro level drift car.

Connor Halligan may be a drifter, but he’s got a clear idea of the line to take to get ahead in his chosen sport.

By Chris Marshall

Halligan finished third in this year’s D1NZ Pro National Drifting Championship behind Luke Fink and Dave Steedman and knows a top result here would help with any future plans to head overseas.

The young Taupō engineer who has been competing seriously for five years moved up from the D1NZ Pro Sport Championship three years ago after his 2022 win in that lower class.

The last few years have gone fast, he says.
With the two rounds of a drift race – one as the lead car and one chasing – possibly lasting only around a minute or two, and a knockout format, that perception is not surprising.

“Usually if you lose, you get a quick interview and a ‘see you later’. It's pretty cutthroat... You go head-to-head and if you win, you move on. If you get knocked out early, that's your weekend over. Back on the trailer and home.”

So, at the top level, one mistake can prove critical.
“That's just part of it, that's how it works, the results are cool, but we enjoy ourselves while we’re doing it.”

As well as his mates crewing for him, Halligan’s family are heavily involved with mechanic roles filled by father Craig and brother Rhys, who are both based at Craig’s business Engines and Spares.
A lot of the work and repairs on the heavily modified Nissan Sylvia S14s Halligan drives are completed at the workshop.

The cars are basically a superstructure with a fibreglass skin for sponsors’ names, with Halligan’s main vehicle powered by a three litre straight six Turbo engine out of a Toyota Supra, with “fresh air anti-lag and a few other bits and pieces”.

A popular choice for rally driving.

“But I'm one of the first people to run it in New Zealand (for drifting). So that's been a bit of a trial this season, but it's gone pretty well.”
Contributing to Halligan’s third placing was a round win but also some bad luck – clutch trouble in one round and rubber in the timing belt causing the motor to fail in another.

“It's pretty reliable, most of the time. This got a full rebuild before this season. This off season we’ll just be tightening it up, fixing it up and trying to work on the setup for next season, go again, try and get the New Zealand title, hopefully.”

Which would set him up for a possible foray into European or American competition which would likely be self-funded to start with – with a view to being picked up by a team based on results.

Competition drifting races are not timed but duels of line, angle and style, as determined by three judges, with the chase car trying to get as close to the lead as possible in moves and proximity – switching back and forth following the inside curve.

Taking a smooth line as the lead, putting the back or front of your vehicle at certain prescribed points on the track while the chase aims to put their front wheel opposite the lead’s A pillar – the structural upright framing the windscreen – can mean vehicle touches or collisions with concreted sided tracks are fairly common.

Hence the fibreglass skin which will give and is easy to repair.

Trying to hit the A pillar, metaphorically not physically, dropping back and accelerating for the next turn and predicting the lead driver’s line was the hardest part, said Halligan.
But aftermarket hydraulic handbrakes working a second set of callipers in the back of the car helped.
“They'll lock the wheels when we are trying to make the car continue to slide while it's not accelerating. You use that and sometimes a bit of brake and as well… There's quite a bit going on, actually, you’ve got three pedals, steering wheel, a handbrake and your gearstick to think about, so six inputs.”
Repairs or alterations at a meet can happen pretty quickly with a quick change differential in the back and adjustable shocks.
“So she's a pretty serious motorsport nowadays.”
As well as family, Halligan is helped out by a number of national and local sponsors.

“I couldn’t do it without them, Hog Haulage, are our title sponsor for this year, and Fineline Painting, Henson and Murray out at the track, they built the motors for us. We get a lot of help.”
And while people might equate drifting with bogan behaviour, Halligan says it's actually high precision driving.

“Sometimes you see top tier drivers from other motorsport disciplines do it and they don't fend as well as you would think… We do get lumped in with that crowd a lot, but we're trying to be as professional as we can.