Interview by Roxy le Roux

Name: Tim Stevens A.K.A. Mr. Rock

Born: 06/01/1962

Car Specs: 1994 Lexus Soarer (Toyota)
2JZ-GTE
T66 turbo
900cc injectors
HKS drift suspension
TRD Roll-cage
On-board computer running Windows linked to ECU and media player.
Full Rockford sound system
Momo drift wheel
Equip alloys
Lots of lighting with some killer vinyl.

How long have you been drifting?
About a year and a half. I did commentating for the first 10 months.

So you did that for the first 10 months and decided that it wasn’t the side of the fence that you wanted to be on?
No, no, I had to get the crowd shouting. I knew what I wanted and I knew that no-one would see the concept. I wanted to see people chant and go bezerk, get the cars pretty and everything else so everything I do is not copied, it’s actually appreciated. That’s why the cars are looking the way they are. I was the first one to put vinyl’s on my car, although it was basic, it was just a pure, pure thing of getting drifting bang in your face. I put that first before I put my own wanting to drive.

What made you decide to start drifting?
I met Florin who was asking if there was any drifting about. I thought about it and then I said that I’d tar the track but we didn’t see each other for a while. I then dedicated to get the track completely tarred from side to side for drifting, because before, it was just an oval and it was just going to be tarred in just an oval. When the drifting came up, I did the whole lot at great expense. Flo then got hold of Bruno and Jonathan and eventually by the second show; Otto came in because they were the Wesbank drifters.
It was a side show, it really was. We were in a park right down at the bottom. I then decided to make it as glitz as I could and because we were so few drifters we started doing the drift gymkhana. It was then to get it on the map so we started with the gymkhana. So the whole event was a few drift cars, if you watch the original footage it’s quite funny actually.

So it all started here?
There was a little bit in Cape Town. NDS was running at that time. So yeah, the rock really made a difference to drifting. I don’t charge any of my drivers. Where else can you go on and have a free track every Wednesday or phone me in the week and say, ‘I’ve got a problem.’ ‘Yeah, try the car? No problem.’? Where else can you do that? You can’t. If you want to go to Zwartkops I think its R500 and hour, IF they let you drift on it.”

What would you say is the most challenging aspect of drifting?
I don’t know. I don’t find anything challenging. I think what’s challenging is never losing sight of the new boys because they really want to take your position, whatever position you are. Whether you’re 4th, 5th, 3rd, 10th, you’ve always got the new boy and it never take anyone for granted. It’s as cool as that. In my life, I just watch other people and I really like it when someone makes their mark and does it like Target Cranes’ Richard. He’s coming on well. And he had a go at the Kyalami one and that I admired and he almost got it right. So that’s my point of view. My challenge is to watch others do well.

What would you say is your inspiration?
To do something new, to bring a new sport to South Africa and to see it succeed.

What goes through your body and mind on a race day?
What’s going on around me. At my own venue its difficult, because I have to make sure that everything is ready, everything is prepared, everything in the pits is right, everything for the spectators is right and then it’s a case of, I just watch everyone else in between on their practicing so I know hopefully what I’m up against when I go out there. It’s an adrenalin rush. Trying to keep up with them, trying to enjoy the tandems and trying and get as close as possible.

Where there things that you had to give up in order to start or continue drifting?
Yeah, because I own the track doesn’t mean that I do things differently. I pace myself; I’m exactly the same as the other drivers, The Team, as I call it. I’m a team member and that’s as simple as that.
On a race day, I’ve got the same rules as everyone else. When they practice, I practice. When they don’t, I don’t. I don’t do it any other way. I want to stay on the level with all my guys so we all progress the sport together and learn from each other more than anything else.

What advice would you give to any new or upcoming drifters?
Watch and talk to the other guys. Looking and listening is a bigger part of learning and the one thing about all of the drifting is that there is not one person here that is not prepared to help teach another person. Juan and I are the main people who go out with people and it’s just dedication to succeed, but you have to learn discipline and self control. That is what drifting is about, the discipline. It’s not something that people just go out there and master. It’s a thing that you have to start, like anything in life, you start with the basics and you learn from there. If you cant afford it, don’t do it.