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'Drifter' cars nabbed for backroads speeding

Drivers who took their Western Speedway race plans onto Willis Point Road Saturday afternoon didn’t make it to the finish line.

Drivers who took their Western Speedway race plans onto Willis Point Road Saturday afternoon didn’t make it to the finish line.

Saanich police impounded three vehicles in the 5600-block of Willis Point Rd. near Wallace Drive June 16.

The most brazen of the drivers was a 21 year old Metchosin man, clocked at 137 km/hr while passing another vehicle in the 60 km zone. His Nissan 240 SX was impounded for a week and he was fined $483 under the Motor Vehicle Act.

A 32 year old Port Alberni man and a 35 year old Kamloops man, both caught travelling at 106 km/hr, were each fined $368 and saw their vehicles impounded also. Their cars – another Nissan 240 SX and a Nissan Sylvia – were marked with racing numbers on the front windshields.

The men were in town to race at Western Speedway, where they were to set race in an event involving intentional oversteering known as “drifting.”

In addition to the fines, the three drivers are also responsible for paying the towing and storage fees, estimated at $350 to $400 each.

Six more motorists were fined by the end of the day along the same stretch of road.

“Willis Point is a focal point for our traffic safety officers and will remain so, especially as the summer is upon us,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen.

Saanich police will continue to randomly monitor roadways throughout the municipality this summer, Jantzen said, including Willis Point Road, where speeding has been a longstanding issue with area residents.

nnorth@saanichnews.com