Last year I was unable to participate in any practice or competition. All motorsports are expensive and I couldn't afford the time and money to be active last year. This year, I will focus on attending a lot of practice session. Not sure if I will attend any competitions in the PowerDrift series, but time will tell.

I have not upgraded my turbo yet, which means the car is not optimal to drive. I have however, modified the driver seat and installed it directly on the floor. This gives me much more headroom and should make the experience more enjoyable. New parts has been purchased and will be installed in the coming weeks, including the hydraulic handbrake.

Here is a short video of me driving at Gardermoen Raceway.

Here are some photos taken by kjeltring.no and Daniel Hovdahl from the second round in PowerDrift this season. I did not make the top 16, but it was a very fun weekend and a lot of great driving.

Here are some photos that I took while the car was prepped for the License Day. The car was incredible dirty as it’s been in the garage all winter and this was the first time it was complete and ready for the road. It has later been washed and cleaned and should be polished soon.

License Day is over and I got my drifting license and my car was controlled and approved. Unfortunately, I had some problems with the car afterwards and was unable to get any track time. Here is a HD video I captured and recorded from the day at Rudskogen, Norway.

Today was the first time in 8 months that the car was started. The engine started on the first try and everything sounds and looks good. Tomorrow is the License Day of PowerDrift Series, which is what I’ve been working towards during the winter and a lot of effort in the last 3 weeks. I hope I can capture some video from tomorrows event and publish it here on my site.

Purchased various parts from Gundersen Motorsport, everything in Sparco of course.

Purchased 6 new wheels from Oljeskiftexpressen, quick and good service. They are 17” rims with dimensions of 225/45 on the front wheels and 235/45 for the rear.

A lot of progress recently, working to complete the car for License Day 26th of April. Built a fully custom instrument panel, electrical wiring harness is still being worked at, it’s getting better and removing unused wires.

Tested the electrical system and everything seem to be in order. Installed the wire for the main power switch, which is used for emergencies. Tested the seat belts in the Sparco seats, the belts fit well in the roll cage.

Here is the custom instrument panel that I built, all the gauges and switches has now been glued to the panel:

The main power switch wire cable:

Here are the Sparco seat and belt:

I’m going with an “Pitch Black” theme for my car this season. I’ll probably not going to get any sponsors this year so I’m painting everything in metallic black. I’m even getting black wheel nuts! My starting number #42, my name and the PowerDrift logo will be the only decals for this season, at least until I get someone to sponsor me with an Garret GT35R Turbo Kit.

Ordered some new parts from RHDJapan.com to improve the steering and handling of the car. Additionally I had to replace the original Air Separation Tank (AST) in plastic with one from RE-Amemiya. Here are some photos:

I’ve created a special Facebook page for my drifting project, this is a place where I will keep an updated dialog on what’s going on with the car and you can contribute with your own photos, videos and comments.

Please join us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/FDBoycom-Drifting-Project-by-Sondre-Bjellas/63033227495

The start number list for PowerDrift 2009 Season has been published and I was lucky to get #42 has I had last year as well. Check the full list: http://powerdrift.no/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=173&Itemid=118

As you can see the list is already long and it’s evident that the drifting motorsport is growing in Norway. As of today, there are 205 competitors in the Norwegian PowerDrift Series.

Kenneth Moen is #1 and is probably the most recognized drifter in Norway and has been very instrumental in getting this motorsport to be accepted and grow in Norway. Fredric Aasbø with #2 took part in the Red Bull World Drifting Championship in USA last year and is one of Norway’s young drifting talents.

There are some other Mazda drivers, Sindre Haga #15 which drives an RX7 FC. He helped me learn some drifting techniques at Gardermoen Raceway. Martin Sørlie #22 helped me as well on the same track, he is also driving an rotary powered RX7 FC. It’s obvious that Nissan is the major brand amongst drifters, here is the full list of rotary powered drifters:

#15 Sindre Haga, Mazda RX7 FC3S ca 400hk - PRO
#22 Martin Sørlie, Mazda RX-7 250hk- PRO
#42 Sondre Bjellås, Madra RX7 FD 1993 325 rwhp - SemiPRO
#103 Shaun Evans , MAZDA RX-7 Type R
#107 Henrik Holmsen, Mazda RX7
#117 Carl-Andre Forsberg, Mazda RX7 400hk
#122 Christer Kvalheim, Mazda RX7
#130 Bjørn-Vidar Hvitstein, 1992 Mazda Rx7 300hk - Club
#146 Tommy Tallakstad, Mazda RX7 300hk - Club
#196 Thomas Omdahl, Mazda RX7 500-700hk – PRO

This is going to be a very interesting season with a lot of burnt rubber, smoke, noise, cheering and fun!