Yet again I awoke to a sauna-like hotel room – the heating system managing to beat an open window and far from warm temperature outside.  A lot of the drivers had already left for the circuit to prepare for the early afternoon open practice but again I opted to hang back at the massive hotel reception for a good breakfast.  WKD Imports driver Wesley Keating was in high spirits considering he didn’t make the top 16 for today’s battles – its a real shame for Wes having had such a super consistent year.  With the pressure off the boys had obviously been having some fun.  As Wesley retired to bed, myself, Vince Knight (Aatomotion Video) and Luke Wilson (Zero Media) jumped in another yellow Dacia taxi and headed over to the Palace.

On the start line I bumped into Drift Monkeys Fredrik Øksnevad (check out his driver blog here on the site) and Ove Harlem who had travelled all the way from Norway – Fredrik with a tough day ahead on the judging panel.  The prize fund for this competition was generally much higher than you would typically see in the European events with cash prizes from 1^st (€4000), 2^nd (€2000), 3^rd (€1200) right the way down to 8^th (€500).  With such a high driving standard across the board its makes a judges life so much harder.  Every one of the drivers in today’s top 16 will happily and lovingly trade paint in pursuit of the top step on the podium – rubbing is racing – in all forms of motor sport.

For today’s open practice I opted to go straight up to the start line and Richard Clarke and Faruk Kugay kindly gave me a lift in their BMW official safety car – I’d not ventured here the entire weekend due to moving about the track talking a while.

Up at the top of the hill there is a really chilled friendly atmosphere amongst the drivers – its what I find so much in our sport.  In other forms of motor sport drivers and teams play their cards so close to their chests – in drifting people will always do what they can to help someone else out.

There is always somebody to help – for example – if your super lightweight door happens to fall off at the start line don’t panic – a marshall will soon be along to help pop it back on.  PUZ Team mate Grzegorz Hypki has a good giggle at team mate Marcin Mospinek whilst the marshal comes to the rescue.

It was also really nice to see several of the mainland Europe cars wearing drifted.com decals on their door mirrors – thanks for your support Folks!.  Switzerland’s Phillipe Guillod had unfortunately missed out on a spot in the top 16 battles – his green s14a now nursing a whack on the rear quarter – but this wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying some more runs through the fantastic street course here in Bucharest.

As a car draws up to the start line the driver is alone.  Their mind busy re-analysing previous runs – looking to where more angle could be gained – where to stay on the gas a little longer – where to take a different line to get closer to an apex – so many many variables…The marshal gives the driver the all clear and it all starts again.

Free practice started at 1pm and ran on through to the late afternoon giving the drivers plenty of time to experiment so they could be at their best for the evening battles.  Its always important to keep in mind the extra wear and tear on the car – push too hard and you may not end up with enough tyres or worse still be without a car.  At around 6pm it was time for the battles to begin.

Top 16 Battles

The drivers list for the evenings battle spanned many nations – Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Finland, Ireland, England, Hungary and Poland which had the largest presence in the battles with 7 drivers!  Just before the start of the battles the Polish driver count rose to 8…

The glittering Purple Drift School S14 belonging Bulgaria’s Krasimir Stehanov wasn’t able to continue in the Top 16 battles due to mechanical issues…

So 17th place qualifier Krzysztof Romanowski stepped up to take his place in the red E30 350i BMW Coupe.

As the competitors pulled in front of the palace and the now sizeable crowd we were still a car short.  Brendan Stone’s MG Crash Imports S15 Silvia wouldn’t start at all no matter what the boys did to try and resolve the issue.  A short while later the WKD Imports S13 arrived at the line with Bredan in the pilots seat.  Brendan had the all clear to use Wesley Keatings car – which – he had obviously never ever driven until the moment he pulled up to join the rest of the drivers.  This would make things interesting…

After the driver introductions to the crowd the first 2 cars were sent up to the start line and we were off!

The first battle was between Serbia’s Bojan Kurbalija in the chrome BMW E36 and Krzysztof Romanowski in the red E30 BMW.  In the first battle Romanowski stayed glued to the door of Kurbalija.  In the second battle Romanowski span entering the s-section at the end of the square giving Kurbalija the first spot in the final 8.

Next up was Poland’s Marcin Mospinek in the PUZ/Valvaline Racing  E30 BMW against fellow countryman Bartosz Slolarski in the Purple s14a.  Both drivers are fast and aggressive but it was Slolarski who would move into the top 8 battles.

Next up Hungary’s Adam Nagy in the 1JZ-powered E36 BMW vs Bulgaria’s Todar Dunev in the yellow S13.  Dunev goes through into the top 8 battles after building up a sizeable lead in the second run.

The Dragon Motorsports FD and Brad Hacker were up against local driver Maurias Mitrache in the silver R33 skyline.  After the first pair of battles the judges called a one more time as it was so close.  Brad Hacker took the win from the next pair of battles advancing onwards into the final 8.

Next up we had Ireland’s Walton Smith in the Jap Performance Parts GC8 RB26-powered Impreza and Poland’s Pawel Trela in the space framed 2JZ-powered S13,  After a rather eventful weekend what with having to rebuild the rear of the car on Saturday morning and a crash Walton was back up to maximum attack.  Trela and Smith had been out in open practice together several times during the afternoon in both lead and chase positions – aggression, precision and maximum attack from both drivers.   It was Trela who would be heading into the final 8 after two extremely very close battles.

An all Polish battle next between Greegorz Hypki in the PUZ/Valvaline BMW E30 V8 and Piotr Wiecek in the Bud Nat Auto s14.  In the first battle Wiecek played catchup and pushing hard to re-gain some ground lost the front bumper and a headlight getting a little too close to the front clipping point.  Although Wiecek pushed hard in the second battle the mistake in the first meant it was Greegorz Hypki advancing into the next round.

Next up an all Irish battle – Nigel Colfer in the Maragonni Tyres S13 up against Brendan Stone competing in Wesley Keating’s WKD Imports S13.  The sighting lap through the course was Brendan’s only opportunity to get used to this completely foreign car before the pair of judged runs.  The first pair of battles were too close to call but after another pair of battles Brendan Stone had knocked out fellow countryman Nigel Colfer and was on his way into the final 8.   A text message was now winging its way to Wesley Keating back at the hotel – ‘Your car is in the top 8…’

The bright Purple headlights of Finland’s Juha Rintenen were easy to spot in the last of the top 16 battles against Poland’s Mateusz Włodarczyk in the white E46 BMW.  Both drivers were tearing through the course in very close proximity but it was Mateusz Włodarczyk who took the final place in the top 8 battles.

Top 8 Battles

Our first top 8 battle involved Serbia’s Bojan Kurbalija and Ireland’s Brendan Stone driving Wesley Keatings WKD Imports S13.  Judges required a one more time to make up their minds but it was Brendan Stone who would advance into the Semi finals.  Given Brendan had now only had approximately 8 runs through the course in Wesley’s SR20 powered S-body he was putting down some super consistent lines.   This car must feel so completely different on the front end compared to Bredans own S15 with the nose heavy RB motor in the front.

Next up we had an all s13 battle – Poland’s Pawel Trela 2JZ-powered machine against Bulgaria’s Todor Dunev.  Dunev’s car is a conventional Nissan powered s-body – all be it with a good dose of the laughing gas.  Whilst both drivers were quick through the entire course it was Trela’s Toyota powered s13 that would be the next to claim a spot in the semi finals

Next we had Englishman Brad Hacker in the Dragon Motorsports FD against Poland’s Bartosz Slolarski in the purple S14a.  Great driving from these guys too – both drivers very close throughout the entire course and staying as close as possible to the final rear clip to further convince the judges of their accuracy.  Unfortunately Brad came in a little hot on the final run and span out into the water barriers giving Slolarski a place in the semi finals.

All Polish battle next – Mateusz Włodarczyk in the DOTZ Racing E46 and Greegorz Hypki in the PUZ Drift Team E30 – BMW against BMW.  Close close driving yet again here requiring a one more time.  In the second battle Mateusz Włodarczyk gets a little too close to the clipping point this time sending parts of the water barrier skywards and spinning out – Hypki is in the semi finals!

Semi Finals

Its the semi finals – all four drivers can smell victory and the €4000 prize for first place.  The level of driving to this point has been absolutely stunning and I dare say worthy of a more time consuming top 32 in future.  First of our two semi final battles were between countrymen Pawel Trela in the Trela Motorsport S13 and Grzegorz Hypki in the PUZ drift team E30.  Trela had already dispatched PUZ team mate Marcin Mospinek in the top 16 – could he do the same with Hypki and bag himself a spot in the finals ?

Straight from the off both drivers gave everything…

Pick any clipping point and Trela was stuck to Hypki’s door matching his every move.

The situation didn’t change when the drivers switched place and Hypki stayed just as close…Even after a one more time the judges couldn’t decide so we entered into our third set of battles.

In the first run of the third set of battles Hypki burst into view with tremendous speed – he’d already pulled a serious lead against Trela but this was because he was going waaay to fast.   The rear wheel of the E30 BMW had already bounced up the kerb smashing the rear quarter of the car into a tree slowing it down massively.  With nowhere else to go Trela arrives at the clipping point collecting the front of the BMW and sending it back again into yet another spin into the trees.  After several spins both cars were now at a rest with debris everywhere.

Safety vehicles were quickly on the scene of the accident to help both drivers exit what was left of their cars – it was a colossal impact. Moments later they were being interviewed by Bryn MusselWhite in front of the crowd both wearing big smiles and no doubt still buzzing with adrenaline from the last 15 minutes of their lives.

Its hard to believe shortly before both drivers had been bouncing off trees and scenery – it really drives home the importance of safety and a well prepared car.

This created somewhat of an interesting situation for the rest of the competition.  With Hypki causing the accident it was Trela who would earn the place in the finals, however, without a car he was unable to compete in the last battle and defaulted to second place.  A third/fourth place battle was also not possible as Grzegorz Hypki could not continue on against whoever won the next Semi final between Brendan Stone and Bartosz Stolarski so he earned 4th place.  The last battle of the day would be to decide who would take third place and who would be stood on the top step of the podium.

Brendan Stone had made it all the way in the finals with a borrowed car he’d never driven before and now had to face off against Poland’s Bartosz Stolarski in the purple LS-powered RB Team Nissan S14.  Not in the slightest bit put off by the massive accident both drivers pushed themselves to the limit.

Switching places with now Stone following the situation was no different with him matching Stolarski’s lines perfectly – a one more time was called.

The next round of battles gave us pretty much the same door to door action, however Stone ran a much more aggressive line over the course,  The judges had now decided on a winner and it was podium time.

With Pawel Trela already up in second place spot on the podium the tension was immense – both Stolarski and Stone had driven amazingly well – it must have been a real tough job for the judges to decide between the two.  Positions were announced in reverse order - Stolarski was 3rd meaning the winner of the first Bucharest Drift Grand Prix was Ireland’s Brendan Stone!

With the trophies and prize cheques handed out it was time to run for cover as the champagne began to fly.

The top three drivers posed for pictures before being whisked from the podium for television interviews.

As the crowd eventually dissipated many of the drivers headed back to the hotel to celebrate what had been a truly amazing weekend of drifting – the venue, drifting on the streets, the 20,000 spectators, the sheer number of drivers and countries who had participated had turned this into one of the most memorable events I’ve ever attended.

With a 5am taxi drive from the hotel to the airport there seemed little point in going to bed.  We started the weekend with sleep deprivation and ended it the same way.  By the time myself, Julian Smith, Bryn MusselWhite and Richard Clarke got onto the plane (Julian blagged us extra leg room seats) we were dead to the world for the entire journey back to the Luton airport.  On arrival in Luton we grabbed some strong coffee to wake us up and went our separate ways.  On my lazy drive back up the motorway I had chance to re-play the events of the weekend at a more sedate pace – it had been simply amazing.  Keep an eye on the Drift Allstars website for news on next years season…roll on 2012 and European drifting.

After returning back from the circuit on Friday night we hadn’t really gotten the rest we needed after being awake for over 36 hours – it was a lot to take in.  Just to make matters worse it seemed like the hotel air conditioning wasn’t working too well – even with the thermostat set at a reasonable 22 degrees the room had managed to heat itself up to a stuffy and toasty 31 degrees during the night – not a great way to start the day if your feeling a bit ropey.  I knew we were going to be in for another long day over at the Palace of Parliament so even though I was ready by 9am I hung back at the hotel until about 11am to make sure I was as rested as could be expected.  In the hotel bar the Romanian news station on the TV was again advertising the Bucharest Drift Grand Prix.  After filling up with as much breakfast and coffee as I could myself and a few of the other media guys took a yellow Dacia taxi from the hotel down town to the palace.

The traffic directly outside the hotel was at a standstill before we’d even pulled onto the road.  Yesterday we’d travelled through the city at getaway car speed but it wasn’t going to be that way today from the looks of things.  It took about 5 minutes of moving at snails pace before we finally got a chance to see what the hold up was – A black Mazda RX-8 was now half a foot shorter after a run in with a few other cars.  Once the rubber necking was over with we were back up speed heading down Splaiul Unirii which is separated by the Dâmbovița River that runs into the city.

Dropped at the end of Bulevadul Unirii we took in some of the cold city air as we walked the 500 or so metres to the oval of tarmac in front of the palace.  Even from a distance the venue looked far more complete that it was the previous day and already starting to fill up with drift fans.  Something else was different – there was a smell of rubber in the air and engines could be heard bouncing off the high-sided buildings of the square.

Walking through the pits to get to the track it was strangely empty with most cars 2 streets away on the start line.  The Jap Performance Cars pit was a busy place with Sajid Moghal and Walton Smith busy re-assembling the back of their Subaru after yesterday’s hub bearing destruction.  Garage-D’s Julian Smith had arrived with the necessary parts and the boys had even managed to find a garage near to the hotel to help them press in the new bearing.  Things were looking good – the car was almost ready to roll.  I was so happy that the Jap Performance Parts team would get to run after their epic journey across Europe.

Open Practice

Morning practice was already under way and on reaching the end of the pits I had a nice view right the way up to the end of the street – there was already a good crowd lining the outside edge of the first turn.  I could hear a car in the distance  accelerating hard from the start line – moments later Nigel Colfer came into sight with massive speed and angle.   Considering these early runs were the drivers very first attempts at the course they were already at maximum attack as you would expect at this level of competition.

After the first rear clipping point the drivers then transition back across the wide straight for yet another rear clipping point – its a long fast entry into the next part of the track.  Piotr Wiecek and Brendan Stone hit the second rear clip in very very close proximity for open practice.   Its so nice to have a fast wide track to give the drivers a chance to stretch their machines to the maximum.

The cars then power right into the bowl of the palace square.  With masses of speed and noise the PUZ/Valvoline E30 BMW of Marcin Mospinek enters the square – foot still flat to the boards with a huge amounts of smoke (as if you were in any doubt!).

No long after the drivers enter the right turn they have to immediately transition back for the rest of the long turn.  Carrying so much speed at this point can make the transition in a bit tricky considering the track also narrows a little – many drivers were caught out here on the first few runs through the course.  Finlands Juha Rintanen had no such issues – the change in geometry settings made on the Friday were obviously having a positive effect on things.  The huge rear wing with its massive end plates was now missing from the car after rubbing along the tyre wall on the main straight prior to this corner.

After a foot to the boards run round the outer edge of the bowl the drivers then have to kill significant speed for a fairly tight 180 degree turn to the left.  Midway though this turn the surface of the track changes from normal road to the block paving of the square.  High speed and changing grip levels gave the drivers a real challenge here.

Once round the tight corner the drivers then pass right then left through an s-shaped section of track. It got quite busy here at times.

The drivers then come through the final left hand turn towards another rear clipping point.  Wesley Keating completes another run through the course – his front bumper removed by the water barrier-lined apex.

I waited by the start line for the next batch of cars to come through the course so I could safely move out on the long straight – it was quite misty here at times with the breeze carrying all the smoke back towards us.

Whilst the cars moved back up to the start line I positioned myself in the middle of the long straight.  Moments later the violence of hard acceleration could be heard as the first car piled on speed down the hill into the first left turn.  Pawel Trela bursts into view with his foot flat to the boards – so much smoke is billowing from the rear wheel arches it has nowhere to go and begins to engulf most of the car.  From my vantage point here the sense of speed was incredible.  Trela is seriously on it.

Standing on the apex of the inside of the first turn was insane.  By the time the cars have taken a good run up from the start line further up the hill they are carrying a serious amount of speed by the middle of the turn – cars start off in the distance – they come close – and then disappear down the road into the distance many without a single lift of the throttle.  Poland’s Mateusz Włodarczyk was seriously fast here.  Many drivers were clocked at well over 100mph (160kph) which I do not doubt for one moment having been given the opportunity to get this close to the cars.

Taking a walk back to the other end of the course I passed through the large grass bank in front of the palace – this place was set to be jam packed later on in the evening when qualifying started.  It also served as a good opportunity to grab a bite to eat – I had a busy afternoon and evening ahead of me.  Lets take a look at some of the drivers in action during the afternoons open practice.

Poland’s Bartosz Stolarsk in the Bud Mat Auto S14a…

And team mate Piotr Wiecek.

Romania’s Marius Mitrache was obviously a big hit with the local crowd.

This E36 4door belonging Serbia’s Bojan Kurbalija was flying through the course with a cool looking anti-camera chrome vinyl wrap.

The Dragon Motorsports 500bhp Rotary Mazda FD and Brad Hacker were having a very successful open practice.  The light FD carrying lots of speed in the corner and even hoping a front wheel into the right hander at the end of the main straight.

Walton Smith had missed the first of the mornings practice sessions whilst repairing his car.  The delay had been caused by loosing the spacer ring that sits between the drive shaft and the hub during yesterday’s failure.  Watching Walton wait for the queue of cars to move back to the start line he was buzzing with excitement!  It wouldn’t take too long to catch up on the lost time.

Bulgaria’s Galin Petrov’s was back out for open practice after a busy night righting some of the issues with his car that caused it to fail scrutineers checks on the Friday.  BMW didn’t make a compact version of their E30 back in the day – but if they did – this is likely what it would have looked like – I doubt it would be packing a v8 in showroom form though.

With the close proximity of the cars you’d be forgiven for thinking we were already into the battles.  Walton Smith had a bumpy start to practice after piling into the tyre wall at the exit of the first big turn – fortunately only cosmetic damage to the drivers door.   Coming towards the end of open practice this was a good opportunity to spend time in close proximity to other drivers – many of which had never done battle before given drivers from so many nations.  The E36 4door of Hungary’s Ádám Nagy was packing a very potent sounding 1JZ motor.

Qualifying

With open practice over there was a break for a few hours which I was pretty glad of having been stood up all day.  I found a nice little cafe on the corner of the oval to escape from the cold.  By the time qualifying started the light from the day was gone.

Saturdays qualifying drew one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen at a drifting event.  Drift Allstars MC Bryn MusselWhite got to work and soon had the spectators all pumped up and ready for the action to start – his voice echoing round the streets from the sizable PA system.  His words were then re-spoken in Romanian for the non English speaking members of the audience.

Drivers were queued up at the finish line and guided along the main straight and up the hill to the start line by the safety car – flashing lights and all.  At this point things got serious – with 45 drivers and only 16 places in the battles the field was set to be trimmed down considerably.  Lets take a look at some of the action from qualifying.

Walton Smith had been having a tough event so far what with Friday’s breakage and a crash earlier in practice – the tyre wall had clearly left its mark on the drivers door.  Walton bagged himself 15th place in the qualifying making the long journey the team had made all the more worthwhile.

Polands Mateusz Włodarczyk and the White E46 BMW make it through in 14th place.

Brad Hacker qualified in 13th place in the Dragon Motorsports Mazda RX7.

Polands Bartosz Slolarski qualified in 12th place.

Piotr Wiecek and the Bud Mat Auto S14 bagged 11th place – at only 20 years of age Piotr has a great career in drifting ahead of him.

Bulgaria’s Todor Dunev is a familiar face from the last round of the European Drift All-stars at Wembley Stadium in the UK…10th place for him.

Nigel Colfer qualified 9th in the top 16 – the Marangoni tyres 1JZ S13 Silvia continuing to do well after a very busy year.

Brendan Stone and the MG Crash Repairs S15 qualified in a tidy 8th place.

Hungary’s Adam Nagy qualified in 7th place.

Poland’s Grzegorz Hypki bags 6th place in the PUZ/Valvoline V8 E30…

Team mate Marcin Mospinek comes in with the 5th best qualifying score making use of a huge spotlight in the middle of his E30 BMWs front grille to light the way.

Finnish Champion Juha Rintenen takes 4th spot – the purple tinted headlights make this car so obvious to spot in the darkness.

Romania’s Maurias Mitrache took 3rd place with only a 1 point difference between him and 4th place man Rintenen.  Maybe a large home crowd gave him just that little bit extra?

It was no great surprise to see Pawel Trela qualifying in 2nd place.  Pawel had absolutely flown through the course the entire day.  A very close run thing with only one 1 point separating 2nd and 1st place.

Serbia’s Bojan Kurbala nailed the 1st place spot in qualifying with is anti-camera chrome-wrapped BMW E36 4door with 3 super consistent runs.

With the runners and riders decided for Sunday’s battles the event started to wind down for the evening and it was time to go and escape from the cold and get a bite to eat.  As the crowd began to leave the venue the grass banks in front of the Palace started to empty – a few lights remained on high in the palace where people had no doubt been enjoying the action taking place on their door step.  The organisers of the event had seen a simply HUGE number of spectators through the gates and tomorrows crowd was set to be even bigger.  In all my years of following the sport I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  Sunday wouldn’t come soon enough.

Watch out for the final instalment of Drift Grand Prix of Romania soon.

A week or so ago we got an email from JDM Allstars/Drift Allstars main man Niall Gunn asking us if we would be able to pop over to Bucharest to check out a new format event that was going to be run on the streets – The Drift Grand Prix of Romania.  Legal government sanctioned drifting on the streets of a major European city? Surely not.  After missing out on Lousada I snapped at the opportunity and got the camera back out.

On arrival at Luton I met up with Drift AllStars MC Bryn MusselWhite and Doritech Motorsports Richard Clarke and we hopped on a Wizz Air flight (there wasn’t much wizz to be fair) to Bucharest – the state capital of Romania.  Bucharest is a large busy city with a population of approximately 2.2million.  It has 2 airports – Henri Coandă International Airport (The big nice modern one) and our airport Aurel Vlaicu International Airport which was the main airport in Bucharest until 1968.  Today it mainly deals with the budget airlines – its more coach station than airport – the baggage Carousel is about 10 feet long.   Over in Luton the staff noticed my pelican case probably contained expensive equipment and they offered to hand deliver it to our plane – it didn’t receive the same treatment at this end but the tough Pelican case is designed to be smashed about a fair bit so everything intact – shooting the Romanian Drift Grand Prix without a camera could have been interesting…

By the time we’d cleared customs it was about 8:30am local time and we finally reached the front of the airport to find our ride to the hotel.  It was a hive of activity with taxi drivers everywhere.  It was at this point it dawned on us we had no idea who to look for – we just knew we were being met by somebody Cristian.  Some of the Dragon Motorsport team were also on the plane and were also waiting a lift.  After a short while a 4×4 pulled up and a smiling Cristian jumped out to greet us – none of us had met him before so I guess we just looked like a bunch of guys trying to find our way to a multi-nation drift competition ?

With the car full to the brim we hopped in one of the many yellow Dacia taxi cabs.  Traveling on the roads into central Bucharest in the rush hour on a Friday morning is enough to wake anyone up one minute stationary the next flying along at maximum attack on the brink of an accident constantly – The 9km ride to the hotel didn’t take too long.  On arrival at the RIN Grand hotel we met up with a bunch of very familiar faces in the form the UK and Irish contingent of the weekends competition.  We needed to get down to the track so it was a quick drop off of non-essential bags and back onto a small coach and out into the busy traffic again.

The bus was full of rather sleepy drivers and teams eager to get to the venue and see find their cars – many had been on transporters traveling through mainland Europe during the week – lets hope they made it there.  Left to right Matt Harman, Nigel Colfer and Judge and Scrutineer Steve ‘Stiggy’ Evans.  The streets were jam-packed again and we witnessed our first Romanian road rage – a car massively cut up followed by sounding horns and then a business lady jumping from her car and full on abuse being hurled at the offending driver.  Most of the streets in Bucharest are WIDE – with the course laid out on streets like this it was going to be seriously fast!

We turned into a wide avenue and there it was – our first glimpse of the Palace of the Parlement which would be our base for the next 3 days – even some distance away the thing was HUGE.

A few hundred metres back from the square in the tree-lined avenue the inhabitants of Bucharest were still going about their business – many probably still unaware of what would be taking place at the Palace over the next 3 days – it wouldn’t take long for them to get the message.

Once track side it was evident a lot of work had to be done before the venue was ready for Saturday and Sunday action – its to be expected really – its the middle of the city and the street running past the palace is a thoroughfare for many of the cities inhabitants – it wouldn’t be fully shut down until the Saturday morning.

As you can imagine with a drivers list from all over Europe cars would be arriving throughout the Friday.  Bulgaria’s Todor Dunev had just turned up with his potent Nitrous powered S13…He had come prepared with plenty of spare tyres and freshly painted bumpers.  Dunev had made his way into the Semi Finals in the last round of the Drift Allstars Europe Championship at Wembley Stadium and was well deserving of a drive this weekend in Romania.

There were plenty of teams who had already established their spot in the pits,   Finland’s Ismo Tenila had parked his bus come car transporter at the back of the pits – in front a beautifully prepared Toyota Cresta – a rare sight in Europe.

Ismo’s car was then placed in a live Romanian TV broadcast to promote Saturday and Sunday’s event.  I’m not sure the TV presenter and team were quite prepared for the large Cresta to start doing smoky circles and those on the periphery soon got out of the way!

After a track side geometry check Juha Rintanen’s 2JZ powered S14 was undergoing some suspension changes in the pits…

Wesley Keatings SR20 powered S15-fronted 180SX – this car would be in for a busy weekend on the streets of Bucharest.

Walton Smith was re-united with his RB26-powered Jap Performance Parts GC8 Impreza after a long trip across Europe.  It was time to fire up the cars and join the queue for scrutineering.

Brad Hacker was eager to get this part of the day over with and was first in line to have Richard Clarke And Steve ‘Stiggy’ Evens check over the car.

No problems or advisories for Brad and the Dragon Motorsports team – the car is built to a very high standard and the car is issued its sun strip and number for the weekends competition.

With a long queue now forming Clarkey and Stiggy were in for a busy morning.  Lets take a look at some of the other cars.

The two almost identical Polish E30 BMWs of Marcin Mospinek and Grzegorz Hypki were both packing the punch of V8 engines along with massively widened front and rear tracks.

The beautifully built NASCAR styled S15 of Anthony Morthley was easily one of the best prepared cars of the weekend…

And with this potent RB27 under the bonnet it had the performance to match its looks too.

Hungary’s Nikolett Szántó was one of the weekends female competitors – her carbon fibre clad BMW Z4 packing the punch of on M5 engine…a serious bit of machinery.

No problems here so Nikolett applies her sun strip.

Whilst the rest of the cars were being checked over I decided to take a walk about the venue.  Trucks routinely dropped off large piles of water barriers that would be use to line areas of the course…

Large tyre walls were built and large concrete barriers were moved into place which are normally used at the FIA GT Car races that also run on these streets.

The road which would serve as the start line for the track was still open to city traffic – tractors and all.  Looking back at the first left hand turn the road was easily six lanes wide and was going to make for some spectacular entries!

Whilst walking the circuit the officials had found an area of ground where the paved area met the main road they weren’t quite happy with.  Not to worry – a few subtle modifications to the ground with a pneumatic drill and we were good to go.  Can you imagine trying to do this at somewhere like Buckingham Palace?

Even though the event didn’t really start until the Saturday morning there was already quite a gathering of people at the venue so it was time to entertain.  Terry Grant stunt driver and world record holder wasn’t able to bring his full arsenal of cars out to Bucharest but the tiny motorbike engined Legend would be enough to seriously impress the crowd.

Terry proceeds to spend most of his time in front of the crowd outside the car – he also used a live TV presenter as part of the show doing inch perfect donuts around her for the evening news slot.

Next up we had champion rally driver Vali Porcisteanu blasted up and down the road outside the palace with anti lag bouncing off the high sided buildings to the applaud of the ever increasing crowd on the slopes in front of the Palace.

And now it was time to bring out the drift cars – First up the 8 strong Polish team – buried in the middle of the very talented Pawel Trela who I’d last seen drive back in 2010′st JDM Allstars round at Wembley.

As the light went away for the day some of the Irish drivers came out onto the track for quick demo.  Walton Smith’s RB26 powered GC8 impreza has had a busy year all over Europe and a third place finish in this years Drift Allstars Championship.  Unfortunately during the demo the impreza sheered one of its drive shafts causing the rear hub bearing to collapse.  The car was pushed off the course on a trolley jack but this was far from the end of the weekend for Walton.  A short phone call later Brother Garage-D’s Julian Smith was on his way to the airport with a few spare half shafts and a bearing in his hand luggage!  That’s dedication for you.

Nigel Colfer was reunited with his 1JZ powered Marangoni tyres S13.  After a 2nd place finish in this years Drift Allstars championship he was surely one to watch this weekend.

Brendan Stone’s RB25 powered MG Crash Repairs S15 Silvia sat popping huge flames from its exhaust on every blip of the throttle.

With the days action drawing to a close it wouldn’t be fair to let the crowd leave without a bit more drifting utilising more of the course.  Stiggy and Clarkey prepared to give the open section of the track a final check over before letting a few of a cars out for a cheeky little drift.  They were most impressed by their BMW safety car complete with flashing lights!

Watching multiple cars manji up and down the street really helped to convey the width of the track after the first turn.  Their would be 2 rear clipping points along this straight and they would be spectacular given the speed the drivers would be carrying by this stage of the course.

As the last few cars cleared the track the event was wound down for the night. having been on my feet for well over 10 hours it was time to go and hunt down some food.

10 minutes later I was at the Unirea Shopping Center in the centre of Bucharest on a busy Friday night hunting down distinctly Western fast food.  Considering the event hadn’t even started yet it had been a pretty amazing day.  I think prior to leaving the UK I had seriously underestimated what was in store over the next few days of my time out in Romania.  The sheer scale of the city and venue, the fact we were actually going to be legally drifting on the city streets, the massive distances that drivers had travelled to all take part in this.  Time would only tell what the next few days would have in store.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of our Bucharest Grand Prix coverage in the coming week…the main event.

With the Semi Pro and Pro Classes settled in the 2011 Maxxis Tyres British Drift Championship it’s time to settle the all important Super Pro class. As the sun started to drop over the Nissan Factory in Sunderland it was time for business, down to the nitty gritty, game-face time. All bets were off and everyone was going hard for the win.

The giant wind farm that surrounds the Nissan Factory was too good an opportunity to miss doing another cinemagraph! Both Paul Cheshire and Danni Murphy above suffered uncharacteristically early exits in the Pro Class. Would there be any more upsets in the Super Pros?

One man with everything to play for was Mark Luney in the SATS Cosworth Supra.

Mark sat in 2nd position behind Team Falken UK’s Matt Carter going into the event. The maths was stacked against him with the points difference, but a win at the event could see him with a chance, pending on Matt’s performance.

The SATS Cosworth team had squeezed over 1000bhp out of the 2JZ engine for the Finals. More than enough to induce some low level Maxxis cloud cover over the North of England!

Team Japspeed’s Paul Smith had a lot to play for too, sitting within the Top 8 of the table going into the final. The 1JZ engine in his S15 does a great job of reducing the MA-Z1 drift tyres to smithereens.

Steve Moore chases down David Waterworth above. Steve uncharacteristically didn’t qualify for Sunday’s Top 16 event.

Following two strong performances at Teesside and Knockhill it just goes to show that anything can happen at this level of competition!

Wayne Keeber is in 3rd position going into the Final round.

Although the title was out of his grasp he had an important 3rd place to defend by the end of the day.

The man with everything to lose was Matt Carter. Everyone was trying to figure out exactly how far Matt had to progress to secure the championship.

With a slipping clutch and having qualified 3rd going into the Top 16 the general consensus was a Top 8 finish would secure the title for him.

Matt was drawn against Jody Fletcher in the Top 16, but a mechanical fault with the Slide Motorsport S14.5 meant retirement was his only option. Matt Carter was awarded a bye into the Top 8, but was it enough?

It’s hard to believe it but Julie Robinson’s 4 door R32 is still her daily driver! Can you imagine popping down to the shops in this, full cage, tuned RB engine purring and diff clunking and skipping away?!

Simon Perry’s R33 was rumoured to be running 800bhp at the Nissan track following a retune.

The smoke trails certainly gave us no reason to dispute this, the ‘Pink Lady’ was looking well.

Another driver who looks like he has found his form again is Stephen Biagioni in the 1JZ Japspeed Subaru.

Two long years and tweaking and bags of seat time are paying their dues and the black and white Impreza is throwing some serious angles and lines.

It’s been a year of ups and downs with the car, remember the theft/M25 incident? Possibly one of the most bizarre experiences to go through for many fans and followers, and for the Japspeed team themselves!

Alan Green’s S14 has had a tough year. A full competition calendar in the BDC and a European tour isn’t easy on a 12+ year old Nissan!

Alan runs a 450bhp Sr20 motor in the car and rumours have it that a new shell is on the card for 2012. Can’t wait to see it!

The purple S13 of Ashley Stevens is always very camera-friendly. It’s strange how some cars seem to come out better than others in photos. Ashley’s car always ‘pops’ nicely.

Daniel O’Brien made the grade and qualified for the Top 16, above his car squats down at the back under power and almost lifts the front inside wheel.

Top 3 Qualifiers

1st. Shane Lynch Japspeed V8 S15

2nd. Paul Smith Japspeed 1JZ S15

3rd. Matt Carter Falken 1JZ S14.5

Top 16

The first battle of the Top 16 was Simon Perry against Competition Clutch driver Gav Cummings.

Simon in the bright pink R33 seizes upon an opportunity given when Gav makes a mistake in the first run, Simon takes the victory and moves on.

A battle that we usually expect to see nearing the finals is up as championship 2nd place Mark Luney in the SATS Cosworth Supra pairs off against 3rd place Wayne Keeber in the Mint Tyres Soarer.

Luney comes out of the all Toyota battle victorious! An early exit for Wayne, where would this put him in the points?

Mechanical issues had plagued Alan Green’s Team Falken S14.5 and last minute manifold repairs in the pits saw him just get out on time to face Ashley Stevens.

Alan’s car still isn’t right so a 5 minute rule is called. Ashley goes on to take the win and progression into the Great 8.

Paul ‘Smokey’ Smith in the Japspeed 1JZ S15 is up against the other Competition Clutch car of Dan O’Brien next. Paul takes the advantage on the first run by maintaining a gap.

But uncharacteristically sends his car into a 360 in the second run, giving Dan O’Brien progression to the next stage.

A close fought battle between Stephen ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni and David Waterworth next. Waterworth is fresh off a podium at Silverstone and is driving on form so takes the first run.

A run off-line in the second run sees David hand the advantage back to Baggsy and by a narrow margin the Japspeed Subaru makes it into the Great 8.

One of the funniest sights of the 2011 season greeted us when Julie Robinson went up against Ian Phillips’ white LS3 R33 next. Julie completely wipes out the clipping point on the first corner, sending plastic barriers and Maxxis banners everywhere! Needless to say, Phillips goes on to the next round.

Great 8

An epic battle to kick off the Great 8 between Mark Luney and Simon Perry. Approximately 1800bhp tries it’s hardest to spin the earth backwards as they launch towards the first corner.

Two very close battles ensue but Mark Luney is judges to have the advantage.

Perry can’t do enough to pull it back, Mark Luney is in the Semi Finals!

Ashley Stevens and Dan O’Brien step up, Ashley takes the lead run by storm but a mistake towards the end of the course gives Dan O’Brien a strong advantage.

Ashley chases down Dan in the second run and sticks to his door throughout the course but he can’t do enough to overcome the error in the lead run, Ashley is out and Dan O’Brien makes his first Semi Final of 2011!

With a slipping clutch Matt Carter of Team Falken limps his car to the start line to face off against an on-form Baggsy. It’s an uphill battle at best for the Falken driver!

Matt can’t match Baggsy’s runs and for only the second time this season Matt Carter doesn’t progress to the final stages. If the maths was right though he had done enough to secure the championship.

Not much could have been done to prepare Sunderland for the barrage of noise and thunder that they were about to receive as the twin-turbo Vh45DE of Shane Lynch’s Japspeed S15 and the LS3 Corvette V8 in Ian Phillips’ R33 faced off.

Ian plays a safe chase run against Shane, but throws a huge amount of angle into the corners.

Shane makes mistakes chasing down the Pro class driver Phillips and is marked down. Ian Phillips is in his first Super Pro Semi Final.

Semi Final

Mark Luney and Dan O’Brien kick off the Semi Finals. A David vs Goliath battle of epic proportions!

Dan does his best but Luney can’t be beat and goes through, leaving Dan to fight it out for the 3rd place.

With one half of the Final decided it was time to decide the other. Ian Phillips, promoted from the Pro Class vs Baggsy in the Japspeed Impreza.

The tension was too much for some people as the drivers navigated the course on their first run. Things were close!

However no amount of angle could save him and the second run saw a mistake by Phillips and Baggsy into the Finals!

Much to the delight of the onlooking Maxxis girls.

3rd Place Playoff

Before the Finals run we had to decide on 3rd place. Phillips vs O’Brien.

A huge advantage to Phillips in the first run means O’Brien can’t do enough to claw it back. Ian Phillips takes 3rd place in the Super Pro Class!

Finals

The stage was set. Luney vs Baggsy. Mark Luney no stranger to Finals this year with a number of podiums under his belt and Stephen Biagioni chasing down an elusive podium after two difficult years of adjusting to the Japspeed 1JZ Subaru.

Luney leads. Masses of Maxxis MA-Z1 tyre smoke covers the crowd. Baggsy is chasing, but Luney has a gap and more angle. Advantage Luney.

Baggsy leads and Luney is right on him. Baggsy’s line is super clean and navigates the course well, Mark not far behind. The judges have a decision.

The trophies await. As a title sponsor for 2011 Cosworth have provided trophies made from part of an actual F1 engine for the winners. How cool is that?

The crowd have had a long day watching us go from 84 driver across 3 classes down to just 6 podium places. The top 3 Super Pro drivers are about to be announced.

Mark Luney takes the win! Driving through an arm injury no less, amazing driving from him and support from the SATS Cosworth team. Baggsy takes second and Ian Phillips a great result with 3rd.

Stephen Biagioni is elated with his first podium in a long time! Looks like the Japspeed driver and car will be a formidable force in 2012.

BDC Front man Mark ‘Sweeps’ Buckle puts in a heck of a lot of work in the UK and Europe to make drift events and drifting itself successful and popular. After much head scratching, checking and double checking, the championship results are in. The 2011 Maxxis Tyres British Drift Champion is…..

Team Falken UK’s Matt Carter by a narrow 3 point margin! Mark Luney managing to take it right to the wire by winning the finals!

2011 has been an amazing season in the BDC, we’ve seen the level of driving increase from all drivers at every single round and we have to say it has been an absolute pleasure to take photos and write about the championship. The final Super Pro points standings and full gallery of all 3 classes can be found below. See you in 2012!

Constructors Championship

1st.      Team Japspeed 226 points
2nd.    Team Falken UK 224 points
3rd.     Mint Tyres Motorsport 193 points

The North of England. Home to heavy industry and mineral extraction in years gone by. The prominent giant steel structure of the Angel of the North towers down over any visitor from the South, a reminder of where you are and the industrial history that surrounds you. In recent times heavy industry has given way to the manufacture of different commodities. The Nissan Manufacturing Plant was opened in Sunderland in 1986 and it’s huge premises produces many of the popular grocery-getters occupying our roads today such as the Nissan Note, the Qashqai and the questionably styled Nissan Juke.

For one weekend only, the British Drift Championship was in town. Maxxis brought along their own angels to Sunderland, which do you prefer? Giant steel man with wings, Maxxis girls, giant steel man with wings, Maxxis girls. Hmmmmm.

We have to be thankful for two things. Firstly, that Nissan’s taste in the 80′s, 90′s and early 00′s was much better than it is today. And secondly we have to be thankful for the huge expanse of tarmac that makes up one of the many car parks surrounding the plant.

Because large expanses of tarmac make for excellent inner city racetracks and allow organisers imaginations to run wild when it comes to track design.

As seems to be common occurrence at drift events nowadays we had the odd celebrity or two on hand. Some singer bloke from Ireland?

And 2011 X-Games RallyX Champion Lian Doran would be doing his best to keep the Japspeed ‘loaner’ car pointing shiny-side-up.

Going into the Final round of the 2011 British Drift Championship all three classes were open for grabs with no one drivers across the board having enough points to be considered ‘safe’.

The Semi Pro Class was up for grabs with Matt Campling in the running in the now ACT Clutch sponsored S13. Matt had literally just finished dropping in a 1JZ engine before this round. A strange change to make for the final crucial round, only the event would tell if it was a wise choice.

Marc Huxley was his opponent for the title. Each driver’s progression through the event would decide who took the title.

In the Pro Class it was between Michael Marshall above, fresh from his podium at Drift Allstars Wembley.

And Grant Laker, who had also competed at Wembley in the purple GDA S13.5.

And in the Super Pro Class it was down to Team Falken’s Matt Carter who lead by 16 points.

Over Mark Luney in the Maxxis Tyres Cosworth SATS 1000bhp Supra behemoth!

At the end of the weekend champions would be crowned.

With all day Saturday set aside for qualifying there was seat time a plenty to be had. Plenty of time to test the opposition and get a feel for battle drifting where you can’t always pick the line you want.

A combination of a long season’s use and abuse on the cars and the harsh surface at Nissan was playing havoc with reliability across the field however. Danni Murphy’s green monster has had a busy year across europe. At the JDM Allstars event only a few weeks ago the car had suffered an exhaust manifold fracture and this weekend appeared to be suffering from boost related issues at lower rpm – once above 5000rpm it was its usual potent self having to drive around problems is far from ideal.

Several of the drivers were experiencing issues during practice. Team Falken’s Alan Green (above) had a manifold split and team mate Matt Carter had a small engine fire to contend with.

In between running repairs the drivers were getting the hang of the course and running some awesome lines and angles throughout. Looking at practice, the event was anyones for the taking.

As far as my 200 mile trek north may have seemed at the time, some drivers really made a journey to attend this round. Dutch drifters Sharon De Ridder and Dennis came all the way from the Netherlands with their white E36.

They share the car as they compete in two different classes. I first met them earlier this year during the Falken Nurburgring trip. Great people and they make some great BBQ food too!

BDC front man Mark ‘Sweeps’ Buckle is somewhat of a priest at the alter of drift . With his biblical start line presence he summons the drift Gods and brings thee drift upon thou tarmac-eth. Go forth and smoke ‘em. Holding a car on the line when a driver is buzzing to be on their way is a big responsibility and the adrenaline is only unleashed when the all clear is given over the radio by the course marshals.

Three and four car drift trains started setting off, a clear sign that driver’s confidence was growing.

Some epic twin battles were unfolding already, and this was just practice!

As qualifying gets closer the driver’s main opponent to overcome is often nerves. It’s amazing to see how a completely confident and aggressive driver in practice can be reduced to making mistakes and running a safe line by the presence of a scoresheet and the watchful eyes of BDC judges Mitch Clark, Rich Newton and Julian Smith.

What is also amazing to see is the skill level of drivers increase as the season goes on. I can see quite a lot of driver promotions on the cards for the 2012 season!

The top 3 qualifiers for the Semi Pro Class are as follows -

1. Marc Huxley

2. Mark Lappage

3. Andy Stroud (who was borrowing team mate Jordan Patton’s R32 above)

Semi Pro Top 16

Christian Lewis and Owen Taylor start off proceedings, Christian piles on the pressure in the green R33 and sails through to the Great 8.

Stuart Egdell is next in the black S13, up against Gareth Taylor in the brown/beige/orange/unsure S14a. Stuart is super clean and consistent and takes the victory.

Ashley Willis and Belinda Challis line up. A very close battle between the two but mistakes by Willis puts Belinda through to the next round in the Castrol R32.

Friends Mark Lappage and Andy Arnott are paired off. A big mistake by Mark Lappage on the first corner gives Andy a big advantage and send him into the next round.

Next on the circuit Matt Campling in his newly 1JZ’d S13 versus 2011 X-Games Rallycross Champion Liam Doran driving the borrowed Japspeed S14. Two close and pretty epic battles ensued, and after a One More Time is run Matt Campling goes through.

Kirsty Widdrington puts up a valiant fight against 3rd qualifier Andy Stroud but cannot match his aggression. Andy is into the Great 8.

Championship contender Marc Huxley in the KE70 is also on top form and makes it into the next round.

Sam Holt chases down Lewis Cracknell above, an on-form Sam pressurises Lewis into mistakes and fills the final spot in the Great 8.

Great 8

Christian Lewis and Stuart Egdell are first up, there is very little to divide them.

However the judges rule that Stuart has the better drive over the two battles, Christian’s event is over.

Belinda Challis and Andy Arnott are next, Belinda is driving well and pulls a nice gap when leading. The judges however can’t decide and it goes to OMT.

Followed by another OMT at which point a straighten by Arnott sees Belinda into the Semi Finals!

A very close battle between Andy Stroud and Matt Campling follows. Campling is throwing some insane angle into the first corner and is judged to be more deserving. Campling moves into the Semis.

Sam Holt and Marc Huxley line up. in the first run Sam makes a huge mistake, handing Marc a 10-0 advantage. However in the second run after Marc starts out cautiously he throws it all away tapping into Sam! 10-0 is ruled the other way and they go One More Time! Marc goes on to secure the final spot in the Semis.

Semi Finals

In the Semis the first battle is between Belinda Challis and Stuart Egdell. Stuart maintains a gap between Belinda in the first battle, however Belinda forces a mistake and books her place in the Final!

Two drivers at the top of the table and fighting for the championship are paired off next, Matt Campling in the orange S13 and Marc Huxley in the KE70. With mistakes from both on their first runs the judges decide to run them one more time. Could the pressure be forcing cracks?

Unfortunately Huxley’s tyres give up in the second run putting Matt Campling through to the Final!

3rd Place Playoff

With some new rubber fitted Huxley manages to push past an on form Egdell in the 3rd place playoff and takes the bottom step on the podium.

Semi Pro Final

Two drivers fighting for different reasons in the Finals. Matt Campling fighting for the championship win and Belinda fighting for much needed points progression before the end of season! As the drivers navigate the course the fight is close, but Campling has the edge.

The judges confirm it, Matt Campling takes the Semi Pro win at the Nissan Factory and with that takes the Semi Pro championship!

With the Semi Pro Class settled there is no respite, the Pro Class step up.

Pro Qualifying

Top 3 qualifiers -

1. Ian Phillips

2. Martin Richards

3. Micheal Marshall

Top 16

Justin Clarke goes through to the Top 8, chasing down Adam Day in the GT ART R33.

Grant Laker goes through to the Top 8 against Dutch visitor Dennis in the E36, despite putting up a good fight.

Next up is Jordan Patton and Justin Griffiths. Justin’s white Rocketbunny S13 has a bumper-less white R32 absolutely glued to it’s door for the duration of the track. Jordan progresses through.

With Martin Richards battling for the top spot in the Pro Class progression into the later stages of the competition were a must. However Semi-Pro driver Sam Holt had earned promotion into the Pro Class and provided a major upset, sending Richards into a spin and putting him out of the competition, and ending his championship hopes!

Jarek ‘Jeek’ Federico in the V8 5 series was up next against Chris Hawkins. Jeek puts the big BMW into a spin entering the final transition, putting Chris Hawkins through to the next round.

Fresh off a podium at JDM Allstars Wembley Mike Marshall was up against Pete Green.

The two have met several times throughout the year and the battles never disappoint. Mike Marshall does enough and is also through to the Great 8.

A rather poorly sounding SR in Danni Murphy’s green S14a lines up against the RB of Nathan Chivers’ white S14a. Danni’s car is not well at all and can’t keep up, Nathan is through.

In the battle of the R33s top qualifier Ian Phillips goes against Adam Blackwell. Ian’s LS3 intake sucks his front bumper up and spits it out of the exhaust. Om and indeed Nom.

The second run is close but Ian has a slight advantage from the first run and goes through.

Great 8

Grant Laker (above) is on form and makes light work of Justin Clarke in the first Top 8 battle.

Sam Holt was out to majorly upset the Pro Class, after putting out a championship contender in the first round he goes on to second Jordan Patton packing home after Patton drives off track chasing Holt.

Team mates Chris Hawkins and Mike Marshall are next. Hawkins has less angle on initiation (above) but Marshall makes mistakes. Hawkins is through.

In the last Top 8 battle Nathan Chivers tries to chase down the mighty V8 R33 of Ian Phillips but can’t match him. Phillips is in the Semis.

Semi Finals

The first Semi Final battle is between Grant Laker and Sam Holt. Grant is driving on form and has a great lead run.

But Sam Holt is proving difficult to chase and Laker makes contact, handing Holt the win and a place in the Pro Finals!

The other Semi Final battles between Ian Phillips and Chris Hawkins are close but Phillips takes a slight advantage to put him through to the Final with Sam Holt.

3rd Place Playoff

Grant Laker and Chris Hawkins are battle for 3rd and 4th place. The first battle is close but Grant Laker wins, securing a podium.

Pro Finals

No-one would have called it, Semi Pro Sam Holt in the Pro Finals against Ian Phillips. How hard can Sam rock the boat?

Two close runs kick off between the two drivers. But by a narrow margin a winner is chosen.

Ian Phillips wins the Final round of the 2011 British Drift Championship Pro Class! He misses out on the ultimate championship win though….

….to Michael Marshall in the MnM S15, who takes the 2011 Championship by just 3 points! Congratulations!

Stay tuned for the Super Pro Final coverage and full image gallery for all three classes soon! Final standings below for Semi Pro and Pro Classes respectively.

Final Semi Pro 2011 Maxxis Tyres British Drift Championship Standings

Final Professional 2011 Maxxis Tyres British Drift Championship Standings

The annual Wembley event is the feather in the cap of the Drift Allstars season. Real professional drifting in the heart of the capital city, an ‘if the people won’t go to the racetrack, we’ll bring the racetrack to the people’ kind of affair.

For 2011 the track was moved back to it’s location from a few years back due to building work on the site from last year.

This means sadly no jump this year, but a more impressive backdrop close to the mighty arch of Wembley Stadium.

The location couldn’t be more ‘English’ if it tried. Big red London buses pass in front of a curry house in the background.

We all walk around in bowler hats and drink tea too you know. Except Motormavens’ Daniel Bridle, he’s not like the rest of us.

The other natural assumption that comes with Wembley is the famous wall.

Despite claiming a few victims during Friday’s practice the drivers were still keen as ever to get up close and familiar. James Deane does his best to go through it above.

We’re becoming a bit blasé about international superstar driver invasions recently. Oh look, there’s Dai Yoshihara, hey Dai.

Dai was due to be driving the 1JZ Driftworks R32 but a last minute failure saw him step into the 2JZ 700bhp Driftworks S15 instead!

It’ll do for a back up car I guess.

2011 Prodrift champion Alan Sinnott was present in his awesomely prepared AE86.

Matt Carter of Team Falken came along to play in London town too. Matt went on to qualify second.

Current points leader in 2011 Drift Allstars James Deane qualified in the top spot, something which is becoming a common occurance this season!

Nigel Colfer was backed by Maragoni tyres for the event and needed a victory over Deane in the early stages of the event to be in with a chance of taking the title.

Brad McQueen in the OUCH Tattoos S14 was running well all day.

I’ve been watching Brad drive for years and every time I see him he gets more and more accurate and consistent.

Christy Carpenter’s Yokohama/RHD Japan/ACT Clutch S15 is one of my favourite cars in the field.

So wide, low and aggressive!

Christy is set to join us in 2012 to write a driver blog. Stoked to have such an amazing driver on board!

Several international competitors made the journey to the UK for the flagship event.  Italy’s Fillippo Pirini in the extremely potent turbo-charged NB MX-5.

Malta’s Shawn Spitteri in the bright orange Mazda RX7 FD

Polands Krystof Terej in yet another FD – a popular car in todays round.

We last saw Spaniard Lluis Lopez back at Lousada, Portugal in 2010. A new year and a new paint scheme for his S13 and some awesome driving saw Louis qualify and progress into the Top 16.

Todor Dunev was over from Bulgaria in his yellow S13 running a big old bottle of blue in the boot.

I wonder if he wanders into his local tuning shop and declares ‘I need NOS! One of the big ones. Make that two, and Harry, I need it by tonight.’ Or rather ‘Имам нужда от NOS! Един от големите. Уверете се, че две, и Хари, имам нужда от тази вечер.’ (God bless you Google Translate).

Either way, it works.

Super smooth and smokey runs from the Bulgarian all day and night.

This Latvian BMW E30 was running the most lock I have ever seen on a drift car. Over 65 degrees apparently. The driver was pulling off some extreme backwards saves around the course.

Got wacky much? S14-ute conversion with a Celica front, Integra rear and an LS engine. The drugs are goooood.

As the sun fell the heavens opened and the prospect of a smokey Top 16 under the stars faded.

JDM Allstars commentator Bryn Musselwight had the tough job of keeping English people enthused in the rain and it worked. He made the sun return briefly before the battles began.

Nonetheless the media gabble do their best to keep upbeat. From left to right Dan Buck Joyce chats and Paddy McGrath and Ross Ianson of Speedhunters. Ross is a nice bloke usually, honestly.

Into the Top 16 and WKD Imports Wes Keating was up against James Deane in an all Irish battle.

James sticks to Wes’ door and progresses through to the Great 8.

Another Irish pairing up next Nigel Colfer in the Maragoni S13.5 vis Gavin Lenihen in the other S13. Colfer, still fighting for the championship with James Deane at this stage puts up a strong fight and takes Lenihen to one more time!

The first run is too close to call but Colfer pulls a lead on the second run and goes through to the Great 8 to join Deane!

Yet another Irish pairing puts recently crowned Prodrift champion Alan Sinnott against Dan Moorhead.

The little Corollas SR20 turbo engine makes it a potent lightweight beast – it can carry some serious speed through the course.

Sinnott’s red AE86 has too much pace and leaved Moorhead in his smoke. Sinnott is in the Top 8.

Finally a battle between nations as the UK’s Grant Laker faces off against Spanish champion Lluis Lopez.

Lopez taps the wall chasing down Laker resulting in a flailing rear bumper and is in top form.

Lopez puts in two unstoppable runs and sends Grant out of the competition, Lluis is into the Great 8.

Team Falken’s Matt Carter is up against fellow UK driver Michael Marshall. Marshall’s driving is on fire and a mechanical problem with Carter’s 1JZ powered S14.5 leads to a false start and a forced re-run.

On Carter’s chasing run he is absolutely glued to Marshall’s door, but following too close into the final transition sends the Falken car into a spin and costs him the battle! Marshall in the MnM S15 moves on.

Mike Deane and Paul Howard are up next. It’s cool to see such a minimal-styled drift car in these days over big lairy decals and sponsor graphics. I’m feeling the clean style of Paul Howard’s JDM Garage cars. Some of you may recognise this as the famous ‘Angry Pirate’ an RB-powered S13 with R32 rear lights that is pretty infamous in the UK/Euro drift scene.

Two white S-bodies shine out against the darkening tarmac. The sun has long left us and shooting conditions are tricky to say the least! Paul Howard has the edge over Deane and pulls a surprise victory!

The next Top 16 battle is somewhat of a legendary pair off. Walton Smith in the JPP Subaru vs Daijiro Yoshihara in the Driftworks S15.

Dai is gelling with the car flawlessly. Sadly part-way into the first run Walton’s Subaru snaps a driveshaft and he is forced to retire. Dai is in our Top 8.

The final Top 16 battle is Yokohama/ACT/RHD Japan driver Christy Carpenter against Bulgarian Todor Dunev.

Christy pushes hard but has mechanical issues and is forced to retire. Dunev will face Dai in the Top 8!

The first Great 8 battle will be the championship decided. James Deane vs Nigel Colfer! This should be a final or something?!

Amazing driving from both but Deane has the edge and takes the win. With this he seals the 2011 championship too!

The Corolla of Sinnott vs the S13 of Lopez is next. A clean first run is followed by an amazingly close spin against the wall caused by Lopez! A collision is narroly avoided and Lopez bows out of the competition, Sinnott is in the Semi Finals.

Paul Howard is up against Michael Marshall next. A couple of clean runs follow but Howard makes a mistake and Marshall finds himself in the Semis!

Dunev vs Yoshihara next. This has got to be the first Bulgaria vs Japan drift battle ever?

Dai pulls a large gap on the first run but when it comes to chasing Dai struggles and straightens twice. Todor Dunev beats Daijiro Yoshihara and is our last Semi Finalist!

Drift Allstars Champion James Deane and Prodrift Champion Alan Sinnott are first to battle for a place in the Finals. A fairly safe first run from both drivers means it all comes down to the second run.

Sinnott leads and Deane is in his door. Deane books his place in the Finals!

Todor Dunev and Marshall meet for the first time in the other Semi Final.

Two close runs follow but Marshall manages to pull ground on Dunev.

The BDC Pro driver is into the Final!

Before we decide the winner 3rd place has to be decided. Dunev vs Sinnott.

The Irish champion is on form and is judged to have pulled a sufficient gap. Sinnott takes third, a great result!

A Final that not many would have called awaits us! James Deane vs Michael Marshall.

Deane is fast, aggressive and accurate as ever. Marshall follows close.

But Deane follows closer.

It’s decided, Deane takes the win!

Drift Allstars Wembley Final Results

1st. James Deane

2nd. Michael Marshall

3rd. Alan Sinnott

Drift Allstars is in the bag for another season! The Final Championship standings….

1st. James Deane

2nd. Nigel Colfer

3rd. Walton Smith

Full image gallery below!

It’s been a busy few months of drifting – as we get closer and closer to the end of our “summer” there is an awful lot left to fit in before it becomes cold and miserable for another 8 months.

Only 2 weeks ago we took a trip north to Knockhill circuit up in Scotland for round four and now we find ourselves at Silverstone circuit for Round 5. On the 4th of September the circuit played host to the TRAX 2011 Performance Car Show.

This is now an annual event in the UK and always draws in big crowds with lots of club stands, tuner stands and public track sessions there is something for everyone. From low-riders and stanced out air-rides….

….to ridealongs with experienced drivers in a fleet of Nissan backed 370Z and R35 GTR cars – or maybe a more race car like experience in track prepared Lotus Exiges.

Its a busy, busy day and there simply wouldn’t be enough time to run a full quota of cars across all classes with the now massive BDC driver’s roster. The time slots on the busy track would be enough, however, to hold round 5 of Super Pro championship (don’t worry – Semi-Pro and Pro drivers will be up at the Nissan factory in Sunderland later this month!). A lot of the people at the show were not there specifically for the drifting – but they would no doubt to lining the edges of the track whilst it took place.

Maybe some of the spectators have never witnessed drifting first hand and maybe after today many of them would be inspired to visit some more rounds of the championship – events like this are great for boosting peoples awareness of the sport. One thing is for sure, the stands are never busier than when the drifting starts!

Silverstone was one of the first motor racing circuits in the UK to allow drifting on their hallowed tarmac. I remember back in 2005 watching many of my D1 heroes fighting it out with the best drivers in Europe at the time in the D1 exhibition match – it was immense. Being stood with my AE86 and meeting Keiichi Tsuchiya was so far removed from watching video Option DVDs was unreal.

Practice

With rain and constant drizzle in the morning it would likely be that practice and qualifying sessions would be smoke-free – watching some of the morning track sessions revealed just how slippery the Silverstone tarmac was with a good layer of the wet stuff settling on top of it – so many front wheel drive cars getting into near uncontrollable tank slappers through the Brooklands corner into the Luffield complex – RWD and AWD cars treading very gingerly round the section and waiting until the end of Woodcote turn before building up speed.

With only twenty minutes of open practice allocated starting at 11:10am precisely it was time for us to make our way onto the track. Todays judged course would be the tried and tested section of track used in other drift events. Lets take a look at the course.

Drivers set of from the start line and accelerate under the bridge down the long straight that leads to the Brooklands complex which houses the BRDC stand.

The initiation into Brooklands has a HUGE entry speed – probably one of the fastest in the entire calendar – if you are lucky you may even see a backwards entry.

Drivers clip a front apex here and whilst piling back on speed they drift towards the outside edge of the track before transitioning back for the entry into the long over 180degrees Luffield turn.

Judges want to see drivers with their front wheel within one metre of the inner rumble strip here on the apex – after the apex the drivers then push back out towards the outside edge of the track to place the back of their cars as close to the rumble strip as possible and hold their angle for as long as possible.

As the drivers pass the pit entrance just before Woodcote turn the judge course ends. Drivers continue along the old pit straight round Copse and Maggots before peeling right to re-join the back of the queue to do it all again.

Qualifying

With practice over there was an hours wait before qualifying. The drivers took a few minutes out to sign autographs and meet with fans.

A great chance for drivers to chat to fans and for the fans to grab a memento of the day.

At 12:10 the the circuit was ours again. With the rain reduced to light drizzle the track was still damp – not even the track sessions and constant streams of cars had made any real impact and the racing line still wasn’t dry. A damp track really takes some of the aggression out of driving – tyres don’t reach temperature and changing levels of grip keep the drivers busy. At times like this under-steer is much more prominent so drivers have to really smooth out their throttle inputs often needing to hold part throttle to keep their line instead of being flat to the boards – it slows things down – but its still very very graceful to watch.

Top 3 qualifiers were:

1st. Phil Morrison

2nd. Fredric Aasbø

3rd. Shane O’Sullivan

Formula Drift’s D-Mac managed to qualify in 5th place which all things considered isn’t a disaster given this is the first event the Team Need For Speed AE86 has competed in. Darren had some serious steering issues to resolve with the car after its first long-term shakedown back at AwesomeFest in August. From what I can understand the triple rotor Mazda powered car was making use of a Vauxhall Corsa electronic steering column (rather than a fluid run power steering rack) and manual rack which was causing some issues with winding off steering lock as the car was transitioning or straightening up.

This is likely because the electronic assistance isn’t designed to allow lock to be wound off as quickly as would be required when drifting (A motor around the column controls how quickly it can move). The Corsa electronic steering rack is very popular amongst rally drivers who run Ford mk1/2 escorts – whenever I’ve seen this drivers usually have an adjustable pot on their dashboards (similar to a remote brake bias adjustment knob) which can adjust the load on the column (they have their own ECU) – maybe this is how the problem was solved? If we find out we’ll let you know. The technical side of things isn’t something we usually go into but if you’d like to see more technical content in our articles we can give you it.

Top 16

First battle of the day was between D-Mac and Wesley Keating. The Need for Speed Ae86 takes the advantage in the first run. This time following the AE86 stays glued onto the door of Wesley’s S13. D-Mac goes through into the Top 8.

Next up Stephen Biagioni in the Team Japspeed 1JZ Subaru vs Simon Perry in the ‘subtle’ Skyline Owners R33.  Baggsy doesn’t get to the required angle in time and tags the side of Perry’s Skyline in the first corner causing a spin giving him the advantage. The Pink Skyline remains glued to the lead car in the second battle so Simon Perry goes onwards.

Then it was Daniel Moorehead paired up with championship leader Matt Carter in the Team Falken S14.  Dan Moorhead is too fast into the first corner and goes wide off the track giving the Team Falken driver the advantage. Even though Matt only needs to put in a safe run to go into the top 8 this doesn’t stop him from remaining in extremely close proximity to Mr Moorehead through the entire course. Matt Carter advances into the top 8.

Next a very exicting battle between Team Falken’s Alan Green vs Fredric Aasbø in the Team Need For Speed Supra. Our first glimpse Fredric in battle mode!

Aasbø completes the first run with a clear advantage over the Team Falken driver and drives superbly again in the second run moving onwards and upwards into the next round of battles.

The battles came thick and fast. Our next paring was Wayne Keeber in the Mint Tyres Toyota Soarer along side Team Japspeed’s Paul ‘Smoky’ Smith in the S15 Silvia.  Paul has to straighten in the first corner and Mr Keeber gets the advantage. The pressure is now all on the Team Japspeed driver to force an error in the second battle but he unfortunately has to make yet another correction in the first turn meaning Wayne advances into the Top 8 battles.

Mark Luney vs Declan Munnelly.  Two completely opposite approaches to drifting here.  Marks Supra has 1012bhp for today’s outing at Silverstone – Declan’s little mark 2 Ford Escort runs a Vauxhall C20XE 2.0L 16v engine (found in Astra and Cavalier 16vs – of Cosworth origin) with independent throttle bodies making about 270bhp.

Declan does all he can to try and get away from the huge Supra but it just isn’t enough. Mark Luney heads up into the Top 8.

An all S15 battle next. Team Japspeed’s Shane lynch vs BDC 2010 Champion Driftworks Phil Morrison -V8 twin turbo against 2JZ turbo power. Phil is no stranger to Silverstone and manages to pull a good lead on Lynch in the first battle getting the advantage. The 2nd run seals it for Phil mirroring Shanes line perfectly.

Shane O’Sullivan vs David Waterworth are the final pairing in the Top 16. In the first run Shane runs wide onto the outside line and loses ground on David. In the second run David takes the advantage with some great driving and progresses to the Great 8 in his S13.5!

Top 8

As Simon Perry and D-Mac headed out for their practice run Darren pins the front of his AE86 to Simon’s door for the entire circuit. This battle would not disappoint! The first run was a mirror of the practice, Simon could not shake the lightweight Corolla and D-Mac is militeres from the pink R33′s doorhandle around Luffield.

They switch positions for run two but Simon can do nothing to catch the Need for Speed Ae86 and D-Mac goes through to the Semi Final.

Championship leader Matt Carter lines up next to Formula Drift star Fredric Aasbø. Fredric leads the first run and pulls a gap from Matt Carter initiating into the first turn. The Supra is fast! Matt simply can not see through the smoke following through Luffield.

The second run starts and Aasbø is all over Matt as they transition into Luffield and the judges award the red, white and black Need for Speed Supra the win and the progression into the Semis.

Two drivers no stranger to the circuit at Silverstone are top qualifier Phil Morrison and SATS Cosworth driver Mark Luney in the Supra. As the combined total of 1700bhp hurtles towards Brooklands and around the loop there is nothing to separate the drivers going into run two.

Phil plays chase in the second run and closes the gap on the Supra.

He is awarded the advantage and goes through to the Semi Final!

Another Great 8 and Wayne Keeber is paired off against David Waterworth. Pressure from David on the first run puts Wayne into a spin, the drivers piroette and bump slightly amongst the smoke.David goes into the second run with a 10-0 advantage, meaning a safe run sees Mr Waterworth in the Semi-Finals.

Semi Finals

As the first Semi-Final battle gets underway there is a scrabbling amoungst the Speedhunters media team to get the ‘money shot’. Team Need For Speed Drivers Fredric Aasbø and Darren McNamara face each other for a place in the finals.

Aasbø is so fast even the huge power/weight ratio of the Rotary Corolla cannot keep up. Fredric takes the first run based on the gap that accumulates.

Into the second run and the gap swings the other way, Darren carries good speed around Brooklands into the transition.

But Fredric closes in and is judged to have done enough. He books his place in the Finals.

Driftworks Phil Morrisons and Scotland’s David Waterworth go up for the other spot in the Finals. Phil leads the first run, submerging the white S13.5 in thick Federal tyre smoke. The gap closes, opens and closes between the two cars over the run. Phil is judged to have run the better line and takes the advantage.

Run two and both drivers drive well but both make slight errors. Phil goes on into the Finals based on his first run victory. But first David must face D-Mac for 3rd place.

3rd Place Battle

On the practice run D-Mac has a problem and calls a 5 minute rule! Unfortunately gearbox problems end Darren’s event and David Waterworth steps up onto the lowest step of the podium.

Final

What an epic Final line up. Fredric Aasbø in the NFS Supra vs Phil Morrison in the DWS15.

Run one is the stuff of drifting dreams. Both cars are mere centimeters apart as they exit the course. Amazing drifting from both! We struggle to see the track as the smoke breezes over us.

Run two and Phil chases Aasbø into Brooklands. The second run is just as close. The judges have made a decision, but we can’t call it, it’s too close!

As we wait for the podium role call to be made the result is confirmed. The winner of the British Drift Championship Super Pro Round 5 is Fredric Aasbø!

1st. Fredric Aasbø

2nd. Phil Morrison

3rd. David Waterworth

With Aasbø being a non BDC regular and Phil Morrison taking time out this year the big points earned don’t really change the Super Pro championship standings.  The drivers at the top of the leaderboard (still need to see the current points standings) stay as they were after knockhill.  Matt Carter still has a good lead over 2nd place man Mark Luney but its still all to play for with 1 round remaining.

We head up to the Nissan Factory in Sunderland in 2 weeks time for Round 5 for Semi Pro and Pro – and Round 6 for Super Pro.  Its the last round of the 2011 Championship and should not be missed.  This is your last chance to catch the British Drift Championship in 2011 so please do your bit and get up to Sunderland and show your support!

Some of the Super Pro’s had driven Knockhill many times before, including Team Japspeed’s Paul Smith above. He jumped straight out on track and atacked Seat Curves at full chat.

Japspeed teammate Stephen ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni was looking at ease with the Subaru throughout practice. It’s interesting to watch as a driver gets to grips with a new chassis over a season and the improvements in Baggsy’s game is notable.

Scotdrift’s David Waterworth was absolutely flying in practice. The commute to the track more akin to popping down the road than the usual long haul to pretty much every other BDC event in the calendar for David, being a Scottish national.

Dan Moorhead was one of the Irish drivers who made the long journey over to Knockhill to compete in the Super Pro class.

Matt Carter was looking for his first win in the 2011 calendar, having finished second at every round so far this year! Nevertheless the consistent results meant Matt was going into the event in first place in the standings.

Mark Luney in the SATS Cosworth Supra was out to upset Matt’s game plan. Mark sat in second in the championship going up to Scotland. Could he throw the championship wide open going into Round 5 at SIlverstone?

Top 3 Qualifiers

1st. Simon Perry

2nd. Wayne Keeber

3rd. Mark Luney

Top 16 Battles

Japspeed team mates Paul Smith and Stephen ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni faced off first. Smith failed to score in the second battle so its Baggsy and the 1JZ Impreza into the Great 8.

Scotland vs Ireland up next with David Waterworth vs. Dan Moorhead. Despite being on fire all weekend, Waterworth fails to score in either lead or chase runs advancing Dan into the Top 8.

Next up Team Falken’s Matt Carter against Steve ‘Speed’ Moore. Matt takes the first run, Moore the second leading to a OMT. In the second set of battles Matt’s first run seals it and he goes onwards into the Great 8.

Super consistent Wayne Keeber vs.Competition Clutch driver Danny O’Brien were up next. O’Brien doesn’t score on the first run and Keeber goes into the next round.

Ashley Stevens was looking comfortable in his 1JZ S13. He went up against Wesley Keating who qualified so highly that he earned the chance to compete in the Super Pro Class. No points for Wesley in run one and a rough second run meant his day was over and Ashley Stevens would be moving onwards.

Championship contender Mark Luney in the SATS Cosworth Supra was up against Team Falken’s Alan Green. Alan tickles the gravel and Mark storms both runs with great speed and moves into the Final 8.

Team Japspeed’s Shane Lynch vs. Micheal Marshall up next. Michael again qualifying high enough to compete in Super Pro.

After the first run it was level pegging but Lynch sealed it in the second and bagged a place in the Final 8.

Top qualifier Simon Perry in the pink Team Skyline Owners R33 was up against Jody Fletcher in the Slide Motorsport S14a. Perry laid down a stunning first run but unfortunately span out in the second battle. Jody Fletcher was into the Great 8 knocking out last years 2nd place Super Pro championship man.

Top 8

First of the Top 8 battles was Stephen Biagioni vs. Dan Moorhead. After two very close battles a OMT was required – Moorhead spins out in the second battle and Baggsy goes into the Semi’s. The Japspeed Subaru is starting to emerge as a competitive force!

Two drivers no strangers to making it into the final stages of the Top 16 are Team Falken’s Matt Carter and Wayne Keeber. Matt Carter takes the advantage in both runs and with it a place in the Semi-Finals.

Ashley Stevens chases down the mighty Supra of Mark Luney asthey emerge over the crest of Seat Curves. Although Stevens put in the best second run the damage was already done following a spin in the first. Luney into the semi finals.

Team Japspeed’s Shane Lynch was paired with Jody Fletcher. A spin from Fletcher in the second battle and Shane advances into the Semi Finals.

Semi Finals

Playing out the pre-event Facebook banter between the two teams it couldn’t have worked out better. Team Japspeed vs Team Falken . Stephen Biagioni vs. Matt Carter. Two very close runs but an on-form Carter is judged to have deserved the win and advances into the finals.

An all Maxxis battle was set for the other place in the Finals between Mark Luney and Shane Lynch. Luney takes the advantage in the both the lead and chase runs knocking out Shane and putting him on a collision course with championship leader Matt Carter for the second time this season.

3rd Place Battle

The 3rd place battle was an all Team Japspeed lineup involving Biagioni and Lynch.  It must be hard for a team manager looking on to see both their drivers up against each other knowing only one can advance – either way it would be a 3rd place podium for the team.  The Japspeed Subaru makes a massive error on the first run meaning 0 points.  Shane doesn’t take it any easier on the second run making sure of a 3rd place spot on the Podium!

Final

Our 2 Super Pro finalists are Mark Luney in the Team SATS Cosworth Supra and Team Falken’s Matt Carter in the S14.5. Luney’s car had the very obvious power advantage and the Nissan was the much lighter of the 2 cars. In the first run Carter straightens after the hill but just as it looks to be falling into Luney’s hands a massive spin just before the last corner of the judged area of the course hands it back to Carter – very out of character for this super-consistent driver.  Matt Carter must be able to taste victory by now but must stay focused to ensure the win!

Yet again in the second battle Luney spins in almost exactly the same spot – watching the car transition back before the last turn the steering seemed incredibly slow (later reported as a power steering system failure by the team).  Team Falkens Matt Carter would be crowned King of the Hill in BDC Round 4.

So there we have it – another truly spectacular round of the British Drift Championship.  Round 5 of the Super Pro championship takes place at Silverstone Circuit on Sunday the 4th September as part of the TRAX car show.  See you there ?

Full event gallery from all classes below….

It really doesn’t seem like six weeks since we were up in Teesside for Round 3 of the 2011 British Drift Championship but never the less we have now reached the midway point of the season. In the weeks leading up to the event excitement began to swell – Knockhill is one of the most technically challenging courses on the calendar and drivers simply love to compete here. Its a mammoth journey for fans and competitors alike with most living in the more densely populated parts of the country (i.e the Midlands and the South). On Thursday night and Friday morning there was a barrage of Facebook updates from fans and competitors – the mass migration to ‘The Hill’ had begun. Having never visited Knockhill Circuit (or Scotland for that matter) I wasn’t going to be missing out this year.

Friday: The Long Trip North

With the Friday off work I was all prepared for a mid-morning start to my journey north but this didn’t quite work out as I planned (I’m lazy) and by 3pm in the afternoon I decided it was time to be on my way. My 330D was filled to the brim with the dirty oily stuff, the sat-nav powered up and the post code of my hotel a few miles from the circuit punched in. An impressive 315 miles with an estimated journey time of 5 and a bit hours – surely I could improve on that somehow? The orange blobs of congestion didn’t give me much confidence – I should know better – anywhere on the M6 near Manchester and Liverpool on a Friday afternoon should be avoided at all costs.

Approximately 140 miles into thejJourney the fuel gauge had barely moved so there was no reason to stop – one thing with my previous M3 was your were never that far away from needing to refuel so it was always a good opportunity to grab a nice cup of Java. It felt very strange leaving motorway services without needing to fill the tank (again) – I had a very smug smile on my face as I passed the pumps. With my coffee steaming away the cruise control was resumed at a ‘brisk’ cruising speed and we were back onto the now quiet M6. Just past the infamous shotgun wedding capital of Gretna Green (think Vegas – without even a slight hint of Vegas) I joined the M74. By now there was next to no traffic on the roads and I could make some serious progress – this part of the country is idyllic – nothing but hills and peaks as far as the eye could see. By the time the days light had faded away I was amazingly close to Edinburgh – I took a slight detour along the M9 so I could travel over the infamous Forth Road suspension bridge that spans the Firth Of Forth estuary – it really is spectacular – but nowhere to stop and grab a photograph which is a shame. Just 20 minutes later I pulled into my five star priced 2 star Premier Inn in Dunfermline (the infamous Edinburgh Fringe festival hikes up the prices at this time of year) that would be my base for the next 2 days. After enjoying a nice cold pint of beer and chewing the fat with a few BDC competitors also staying at my hotel  – I had nothing to moan about with my journey – for some of these guys it had been well over 14 hours from further south in the country – made worse by the lower speeds that come with dragging a car on a trailer.

The other half of this weekends Drifted double act Jordan Butters had had a similarly long journey up from Peterborough but I’d catch up with him on Saturday morning. I decided to call it a night – sleep didn’t come easily from all the excitement of the weekend we had ahead of us – not to mention its hard to ignore re-runs of the Inbetweeners.

Saturday: Open Practice

Well rested and well fed it was Saturday morning and time to head over to the circuit for the mornings briefing. After a short 10 mile drive I arrived at Knockhill Circuit. As I pulled up the main road into the circuit grounds I could hear cars out on the track – there was a regular trackday taking place that morning so there would be no drifting out on track until after lunch. This gave competitors a chance to establish their camps in the pits and ready their cars for a weekend of mayhem out on the hill.

Team Japspeed took pride of place at the top of the pits. Talk of their Facebook group was that they were gunning for a podium and points at Knockhill.

Team Falken UK had set up stall behind Japspeed, Matt Carter chasing down the illusive first place podium after three second place finishes.

The Knockhill track is both incredibly fast and technical – with many many undulations and drastic changes in camber through the lap it pushes drivers of all disciplines to the limit – be it single seaters, touring cars or motorbikes its definitely one track you must drive at some point in your life. If tarmac is not your game there are also several rally cross tracks on its  periphery. Due to its remote nature there are no real motorsport haters to get in the way of things and there is always something going off with lots and lots grassroots motor sport and track days available to the public.

The drivers briefing commenced at mid day and judges Jullian Smith, Rich Newton and Mitch Clarke showed drivers the course layout and the lines they were expected to take. Knockhill has recently installed new tops to its apex curbs in an attempt to calm down the BTCC drivers (event here in 2 weeks time) – drivers were warned about these and one of today’s key aspects of judging was precision. Today drivers were expected to keep within the confines of the tarmac and if they were to stray from the tarmac onto the grass/dirt they would get a big fat zero for their run – this would make things interesting – flamboyant dirt drops in qualifying would quickly waste runs and ruin any chances of a place in the battles.

With the driver and media briefing over it was time to grab a quick bite to eat before we ventured out to the various vantage points – at times the beautiful scenery made it feel more like a nature reserve than a racing circuit. Lets take a look over the weekend’s course with the help of some of the qualifying runs.

Darren Matthews stands atop the pit straight crest and sends cars down the hill towards the Seat curves.

‘Seat Curves’, formerly ‘Duffus Dip’. One of the most intimidating initiations in European drifting, possibly the world? The drivers initiate long before the remainder of the track comes into view.

Drivers pile on as much speed as they possibly can and throw their cars at the completely blind crest. Its a leap of faith.

Judges want to see the apex clipped perfectly here. Ian ‘Bizz’ Philips drove here last year so was already familiar with what’s in store on the other side of the crest. Making sure you don’t take too much of the curb – especially so now with the extra inner height.

The hill really is steeper than it looks. It’s only from standing on the track looking up the hill that you can appreciate it (or from diving off the top of it sideways at 90mph into the gravel). After the apex you dive into a deep gradient for a rear clipping point be careful not to push too far or you’ll be onto the grass and get zero points.  The gradient of the circuit then reduces a little as you transition back for the right hander that is the Scotsman Corner.

Be careful not to cut too tight or you’ll be onto another double-decker curb and in the air, single-wheel drifting.

Throttle to the floor and accelerate towards the end of the judged section, as Adam Blackwell does above.

Semi Pro

Qualifying

Semi Pro qualifying took place on a slightly different track layout at the other end of the main straight which made use of Hislops straight and the Real Radio hairpin. Drivers started heading anti clockwise back along the pit straight down the hill into a left hander that made use of the tarmac adjoining the two straights. Drivers had to put their cars close to the wall with a rear clipping point as they headed down the gradient into a front clip right-hander back onto Hislops back straight.

They then had to manji the remaining length of the straight into a front clipping point at the Real Radio hairpin. Drivers again needed to manji the short second of the start/finish straight until they crossed the finish line on the judged section of the course level with the first corner where the track started.

Top 3 Qualifiers

The Top 3 qualifiers in the Semi Pro Class were as follows….

1st. Matt Campling (Car 31)

2nd. Marc Huxley (Car 66)

3rd. Adrian Brannan (Car 37)

Top 8 Battles

The Semi Pro drivers were at this point offered the choice. Compete their Top 8 twin battles on the more sedate end of the track that had played host to their qualifying, or throw themselves sideways-first off Seat Curves on the full Pro track. Naturally they chose the later!

Belinda Challis was first up in the Castrol R32 vs Christian Lewis (above) in the Team Green/Touge Automotive R33. After a collision earlier in the event Christian was left with a slightly wonky ‘crabbing’ R33 making it very difficult to drive. Belinda progresses on into the competition.

Ian Waddington and Marc Huxley stepped up next. Mistakes from Waddington meant that he fails to score on both runs. Marc and the little KE that could progress on.

The Toyota Supra of Ashley Willis vs Adrian Brannan’s Ford Sierra were the next Top 8 pairing. Ade suffers a wiring loom problem on the startline and fails to launch unfortunately. Ashley progresses through!

Following a collision and a trip into the gravel on the first run between Sam Holt (Car 96) against Matt Campling (Car 31). Sam Holt goes through into the Semi Finals.

Semi Finals

After two runs in which the leading driver span out Belinda Challis and Marc Huxley go One More Time. Huge angle from Huxley awards him progression into the Finals!

Two drivers battling for a place in their first Finals were Ashley Willis and Sam Holt. Sam Holt heads to the finals as Ashley spins on his first run.

3rd Place Battle

Belinda Challis squares off against Ashley Willis’s black and white Supra. Belinda mounts the high curb and scores a zero for the run, giving Ashley 3rd place.

Final

Sam Holt is well known for not taking drifting too seriously, so to find him here in the Finals with his pink smoke tyres was pretty cool to see. Despite his reputation for a bit of a joker, the joke was on Sam when the people who sprayed his S14 left him a secret message ready for when his bumper (inevitably) parted company with the car.

Marc Huxley is no stranger to finding himself in the Final stages of competition. However, despite a strong first run a crucial error saw him hand the Finals and the event to Sam Holt. Congrats Sam!

Pro Class

Top 3 Qualifiers

The Top 3 qualifiers in the Pro Class were….

1st. Wesley Keating (Car 38)

2nd. Martin Richards (Car 61)

3rd. Jordan Patton (Car 57)

Top 16 Battles

Ciaran Sinnott vs. Ian ‘Bizz’ Phillips. Both Sinnott and Philips charge for the hill with maximum aggresion. Sinnott pushing very hard and ends up tagging Bizz into the first corner pushing both drivers into the gravel. With Ciaran scoring a big fat zero on his first run Ian Philips has an easy (but destructive) spot in the top 8. A rear wheel destroyed and the drivers side b-pillar sill pushed in as a reminder.

After a busy time in Semi Pro Marc Huxley is back out in Pro. His first opponent was Martin Griffiths. Griffiths fails to score in both runs with a spin and failing to stay within the confines of the tarmac. Marc charges into the Top 8.

Micheal Marshall was up against Justin Griffiths. The first battle was extremely close with both drivers scoring 5 points each. The second run was a different matter with Justin failing to score. Marshall goes into the top 8.

Martin Richards vs. Adam Blackwell. A fairly even matched first battle with Richards taking a slight advantage. On the second run Blackwell fails to score sending Martin Richards onwards into the next round of battles.

Steve Whitbread (above) was paired up with Marcin Klawikowski.With a Big fat zero for Klawikowski in the first battle it was Whitbread into the Final 8 even though his opponent put in the second better run.

Jordan Patton (R32) started his journey with a first battle against Pete Green (E30). Pete scored a full 10 points on the first run with Patton leaving the tarmac. Patton was the better of the two in the second run but it would be Green continuing on into the Top 8.

Justin Clarke (S14) vs. Jarack Federico (BMW). Jarack in his mighty BMW V8 drops a wheel off track in the first run – the damage is done – Clarke goes into the 8.

Next up Wesley Keating in the WKD Imports S13 against Team Falken’s Paul Cheshire . Cheshire scores a zero in the first battle and with Wesley putting in super consistent runs he goes into the next round of battles.

Top 8

First of the top 8 battles saw Ian ‘Bizz’ Phillips up against Marc Huxley in the little KE Corolla. Bizz spins on the first run followed by Marc spinning on the second. With a One More Time obviously required Huxley scores zero in the first round giving Bizz a place in the Semi Finals.

It was then Micheal Marshall doing battle with Martin Richards (above).

Richards scored zero points in the first run giving Marshall a bit of a breather in the 2nd run and a place in the Top 4.

Steve Whitbread vs. Pete Green. Green into the top 4 after Whitbread failed to score in the first battle.

Justin Clarke vs Wesley Keating (above). Keating puts in a great first run and backed up with another great job in his leading run took the final place in the Top 4.

Semi Finals

Ian Phillips vs. Micheal Marshall (above). Marshall took the advantage in the first run and with a draw in the second run he was into the Finals.

Pete Green vs. Wesley Keating. Keating takes to the gravel trap at the top of the hill in the first run. Even being the better of the 2 drivers in the second run it was Pete Green who would be going into the Finals.

3rd Place Battle

The third place battle was on. Would it be Phillips or Keating stepping onto the lower step of the podium.

Following a spin in the first run from Phillips, Wes takes the 3rd place podium!

Final

The pro final saw Micheal Marshall fighting it out with Pete Green. The first 2 battles were too close to call resulting in a OMT.

The second pair of battles was just as intense but it was Marshall who would be today’s king of the hill in the Professional class.

Results

Semi Pro Class

1st. Sam Holt
2nd. Marc Huxley
3rd. Ashley Willis

Pro Class

1st.Michael Marshall
2nd. Pete Green
3rd. Wesley Keating

Stay tuned for Part II: Super Pro Class and full gallery.

In 2010 Mallory Park planted itself firmly on the drifting map within the UK offering monthly full circuit drift days.  After the typical bumpy start any venue experiences when it adds drifting into it’s schedule word finally got round of just how amazing the place is.  It offers everything from tight and technical, gradients, long fast balls out 180 degree turns – its a great place for seasoned pros and those just starting out alike – areas of the circuit are gentle enough for beginners with plenty to build up to as a drivers skill and proficiency improves with every extra bit of seat time they get.  The circuit itself is set on the edge of the small sleepy village of Kirkby Mallory – if you could live in the village with an infinite supply of tyres and drive the circuit every day it would be nirvana.

In October 2010 the guys over at Driftworks made an announcement on their blog.  It wasn’t an event report, a photographic documentary of usual mad happenings in their HQ, a snapshot photograph or video of some cool drifting back in the day – it was the announcement of  Awesomefest!.  If three days of solid drifting wasn’t enough to wet your whistle there was also:

• track sessions for drifters
• demos from pro drivers including ride alongs
• 2 different motocross tracks (already in place at the venue)
• a fun fair
• a big top housing a massive sound stage with music and dj’s for most of the weekend
• a skate park
• a BMX ramp park
• paint balling
• on-site camping

Best of all – once you’d paid for your track time and entry everything else was free – well apart from the food and drink to keep you going but thats understandable.

Nothing like this had ever been attempted in the UK, could it turn into something similar to the likes of the Gatebil weekends over in Norway or the Drift Matsuri that takes place at the Ebisu venue in Japan? Only time would tell.

One thing I’ve found about drifting is an awful lot of the drivers and those interested in drifting seem to have dabbled in other extreme sports during their lives – and some still do.  Its almost like when our bodies get too warn down we get our adrenaline kicks from destroying tyres instead of bikes, skateboards and ourselves.  This was made obvious in the conversations leading up to the event as many photographers and videographers decided to dust down their old bikes and boards – its a pretty neat way of moving about the infield paddock and likely to end in injury in the parks.

As the event drew closer and closer regular updates on the Driftworks blog announced pro drivers that would be in attendance over the weekend.  Team Falken Tyres would be sending along 3 drivers from mainland europe to join up with its 3 UK drivers.

Formula Drift driver Darren ‘D-Mac’ McNamara would be present in the Need For Speed AE86,  Pro drivers from other UK and European championships were also in on the action.  It was going to be a truely global gathering.  It would also serve as a great opportunity to catch up with some of the other Drifted Crew with 3 UK contributors and Norway’s Daniel Hovdahl making the trip with a suitcase full of video equipment.

I rolled into the infield paddock a good few hours before the main venue opened for 3 days of awesome. The huge graffiti-walls were already being put to good use.

The custom built BMX and Skate park in the paddock was put to good use over the weekend.

On the outside of the Leicestershire circuit a campsite had started to spread out into the countryside and a MotoX and mini-moto track had been craved out of the hillside.

If you couldn’t get your adrenal kicks at Awesomefest, give up, go home, take up extreme chess or knitting or something.

Something for everyone was the order of the day. Like your beards? Awesomefest 2011 hosted the first annual ‘Beard-off’ event.

The Maxxis girls showing their expert judging skills when needed.

The weekend was a pretty chilled affair, the main track time was separated into several sessions throughout the day with the track being open to basically anything rear wheel drive. This saw a good mix of pro-am level drifting mixed in with some oh-dear-God-this-isn’t-ending-well beginner drifting. To add to the excitement the Pro drivers could join whichever sessions they fancied to mix it up with the amateur drivers.

Mallory Park isn’t a circuit for the faint hearted but everyone at all skill levels was giving it their all. The first corner after the long fast straight is called ‘Gerrards’ and is, when you get it right, and without exaggeration, a 100mph initiation.

Go too slow and you won’t make it round the long sweeper in one drift.

Go too fast and you’ll find yourself skimming across the gravel towards the tyre wall.

The track claimed a fair few fibreglass body parts over the weekend! All in the name of awesome of course!

In the evening a Pro demo was scheduled and Europe’s best attacked the circuit under the veil of darkness.

Many of the cars run without working headlamps so the venue provided floodlights at intervals to light the way.

You may be wondering why such the delay in getting our shots up as Awesomefest was WEEKS ago right? We’ll the reasoning is three-fold, hear me out….

Firstly we ended up with so many shots over the three days short of locking ourselves away from the world to crack on it takes time to get through them all.

Secondly we wanted to other reports and albums from the event to chill a little before we dropped ours, just to re-ignite everyone’s memory banks as to how awesome Awesomefest really was.

Thirdly, if we’re being honest, Awesomefest has us stumped. How do you start to put into words a hugely chilled weekend spent witnessing some of the best open pit lane drifting, night drifting, BMX, Moto X, Paintballing, Mini-Moto, Skateboarding, Live Music , Funfair, Huffy Slidering action you’ve ever seen over two and a bit days?

Answer – you don’t, you put all the pictures up in one big batch and let the light do the talking. Awesomefest 2011 was……well, awesome.

Make sure you pick up your tickets for Awesomefest 2012 NOW from Driftworks. They have a special limited time offer on!