DANIEL WOOLHOUSE, AKA 'FANGA DAN',
IS A three-TIME D1NZ CHAMPION AND PROFESSIONAL DRIFTING DRIVER FROM WHANGAREI, NEW ZEALAND
Growing up in Hastings around his fathers car yard sparked an automotive lifestyle at an early age.
Spending time on the yard washing and prepping cars for sale, Dan was surrounded by iconic Japanese vehicles synonymous with early drift culture - Nissan Skylines, Cefiros, Toyota Supras and Mazda RX7s to name a few.
At 10 years of age Dan would move north to Whangarei, and with a passion for rear wheel drive cars his teenage years saw plenty of vehicles in his ownership, repairing and selling a range of JDM vehicles for income.
By the early 2000's drifting was rising from the underground into a professional motorsport and, after following the culture and competitions in Japan, Dan and 7 others would go on to form New Zealand's first drift team, Driftcorp.
Driving for Driftcorp (the now iconic 7-championship winning team) he began drifting competitively in 2003, entering his first full season in 2005 driving an RB26 powered Nissan Laurel C33 in the D1NZ National Drifting Championship, finishing 3rd overall in his rookie year.
Earning the nickname "Fanga", he would move to a purpose built Nissan S15 Silvia which went on to win the 2006 D1NZ Championship in just his second year of full competition, also becoming the third Driftcorp driver to win a national title.
In 2008, Woolhouse built and drove one of the first Holden VZ Commodores in competitive drifting, powered again by a 2.6 liter Nissan RB engine.
In 2010, 'Fanga Dan' represented New Zealand and competed in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia driving for Goodyear Racing in the Holden VZ Commodore, claiming wins and podium finishes in Formula Drift Asia and the Goodyear International Drift Series.
Dan competed overseas again in 2011 and 2012, driving for Castrol Edge in the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge as part of the annual World Time Attack event in Sydney, Australia.
After retiring his championship winning Nissan S15 in 2010, now driven by Driftcorp team-mate Robee Nelson, Woolhouse went on to compete a rebuilt LS2 V8 powered Holden VZ Commodore in the 2013 D1NZ Championship Series for his naming rights sponsor Castrol Edge, in which he became the 2013 New Zealand Drift Champion.
In late 2017 Dan and the FDC Motorsport Team embarked on a new challenge, teaming up with CTB Performance, Ford New Zealand and Mustang RTR (USA) to bring the first ever Ford Mustang RTR to competitive drifting in the Southern Hemisphere.
The 2018 D1NZ Season saw Dan behind the wheel of two brand new Ford Mustangs, the 550hp Supercharged V8 Activaction Car used for Hotlaps & Promotional activities, and the USA-Built 900hp Roush-Yates V8 powered Ford Mustang RTR Spec-5D (Formerly campaigned by Formula DRIFT Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr).
Despite his first year competing in a Left-Hand Drive configuration, Dan scored two Top-5 finishes including a 3rd place trophy at Round 2 of the D1NZ Series held at ASB Baypark Stadium, as well as finishing up 7th overall in the 2018 Series after battling with the top-5 Championship contenders for much of the season.
The FDC Motorsport Team learned a-lot about the new cars and took away a wealth of knowledge and competition data from 2018,
and are excited for the 2019 D1NZ Season.
Awards & Achievements
D1NZ Drifting Championship
40+ Podium Finishes
2006 D1NZ New Zealand Drift Champion
2013 D1NZ New Zealand Drift Champion
2012 D1NZ Championship 3rd Place Overall
D1NZ Annual Awards
2016 NZ Best Social Media Development 2016
2016 Team Owner / Manager of the Year 2016
2016 Pro Hardest Charger 2016
2016 Pro Best Drifting Style
2012 Daniel Baxter Memorial Trophy
2012 D1NZ Drift Ambassador
2009 Angle King
2009 Best Style
2009 Best Team Drift
2009 Best Drift Team
NZ Drift Series
2009 - 4th Place Overall
2008 - 4th Place Overall
2007 - 2nd Place Overall
Mad Mike Summer Bash 2017
3rd Place Overall
Red Bull Drift Shifters
2014 3rd Place
2012 3rd Place, Top Kiwi
D-Comp Taupo 2013
1st place
Formula Drift 2010
FD Asia Singapore = 3rd
Goodyear International
Drift Series 2010
Thailand Round 1 = 5th
Thailand Round 2 = 5th
Malaysia Round 3 = 1st
