Name: Otto Graven
Date of Birth: 1975/05/21
Car Specifications: 2006 Nissan 350Z
C5R Corvette engine
Jericho Gearbox
Custom Suspension
Quaife Diff
Custom Body Kit
Tein Coilovers
Sparco Seats
Almost everything is customized in house here at Monstermob, if we tell you everything we might have to kill you!
Sponsors: Monstermob Car Specialists, Graven Mining.
When did you start drifting?
At the end of 2005 on the back streets in Kimberley
Of all the current drifters, you’ve had the most variety in terms of drift cars. Give us a bit of the history of your previous rides.
BMW M3 CSL – First drift car – if I look back onto this car’s setup and I compare to the cars I drive now, it was pretty much a stock standard BMW with the exception of Tein coilovers, today the car only retains half of it’s original chassis, the rest is customized.
BMW M3 – second drift car – this car’s only advantage to my first BMW was the twin turbo and the manual gearbox.
Nissan Skylines (R33) x3 – These three cars were instrumental in the development of Monstermob drift-spec vehicles. They have essentially allowed us to play around with the various setups and are collectively responsible for setting what we hope was a benchmark for local drifters in terms of a car’s setup. We are currently still using these skylines for training and setup development for the 350Zs.
Nissan 350Z – Currently run 3.
- C5R Corvette engine – This car is almost ready to make the trip over to Long Beach, California for the first round of the Formula Drift Series. I am expecting great things from this vehicle and am confident that we have the right setup to get us to the podium.
- VQ35, that was stroked to a 3.8. It has a single turbo (GT40) and makes around 590kW – this car will also be going over to America.
- VQ35, with performance cams and has NOS.
Monstermob Raceway has become the home of drifting in the Northern Cape. Apart from your own track, which other track do you like drifting at?
Kyalami is currently the only track in South Africa that comes close to a technical course in layout with high speeds, apart from our Monstermob Raceway which allows for high speed initiations and precision driving.
You were planning on competing in the US based Formula Drift this year (2011), how’s the progress going with that?
I have been granted a Formula Drift Pro License so at this stage it’s all systems go. It’s going very well; the cars are almost ready to be shipped over to the States.
Will you be taking one of your cars over or using a US based FD car?
I’m taking two Z’s with me.
Having competed in D1SL and attended numerous D1 rounds, how does the competition differ from South Africa?
There is no comparison; lets just say that local drivers would have to spend years training to get to the current Japanese level. There are some local guys that have enormous potential, I have said it many times before and this probably wont be the last time, Drifters need to train, burning tyres doesn’t constitute advanced / technical training and essentially isn’t going to develop a drivers skill. You don’t have to have an enormous race track to achieve this, what you have to have is a clear idea of where it is you want to go as a driver and what you need to have in order to get there.
The Monstermob team is growing at a rapid rate – who should we be looking out for?
Jason Ayrton Senna Webb. Seriously, his father was a huge fan! He is 16 years old and proved something to me in my 4 years of drifting – some have it, and most don’t!
What’s one of your scarier moments behind the wheel?
I am fortunate enough that I don’t ever get scared.
Who inspires you?
Nobishige Kumakubo (Team Orange, Ebisu Track Owner)
I admire this man’s technical and precise driving style, his focus is immense.
Diago Saito gives a new meaning to the word: commitment, he puts 120% into each and every single run.
My aim is to perfect Kumakubo’s precision driving style with Saito’s aggressiveness.
Which driver to you most like doing tandem runs with?
Jason Webb.
What goals have you set yourself for 2011 (locally)?
My focus this year is to do well in the FD series, when I am in SA I am going to be training, drivers are more than welcome to come and join us.
