For this season we decided to try to follow 5 drivers as they compete within DriftCup and try to earn their way into the British Drift Championship. For our first article we have some information on each driver and a short review of how they got on at Round 1 of the championship.
Name: Arron Stevens
Age: 25
Hometown: Aylesbury
Car: Nissan 180SX running 404BHP through a RB25 gearbox
How long have you been drifting? I have been drifting for about 8 years but only at drift events for the last 2 years.
Best drifting experience? My best drift experience was at Drift Matsuri at the Anglesey Circuit in Wales.
The run upto round 1 was a mad rush, working on the car in my evenings and weekends to try to get it finished in time. During the last week I worked until midnight every night to get it finished, then off to the dyno with Walton Smith at around 5pm the Friday, straight from the mapping session to Norfolk and the Adrian Flux Arena.
I hadn’t even had time to test the car and I’d not driven it since October, now it what is essentially a completely new setup struggled to get to grips with the car though practice.
I managed to qualify 22nd which would mean I would battle Richard Dalby-Smith, it was a really close battle going one more time. Unfortunatly I straightened on my chase run which cost me the battle. Im looking forward to getting some more seat time and the next round of DriftCup.
Name: Dean Newport-hall
Age: 28
Hometown: Aylesbury
Car: Nissan R33 Skyline with a 2.5l 6 cylinder turbo running upgraded injectors, Hybrid CR Turbo & Link ECU. Other modifications include Nispro modified hubs, lower arms and steering, BC Coilovers & overfenders from Attitude Autos.
How long have you been drifting? I have been drifting for about 3 years and started competative drifting last year.
Best drifting experience? I have fun at every event but two stand out, Japfest at Zandvoort in Holland as its an amazing mixture of fast and slow corners with a blind crest. Gatebil at Rudkogen is the other, its such an iconic drift track and so surreal to be able to take part in an event like Gatebil, I cant wait to return this year.
I was still busy getting the car finished the day before Round 1 so I was late leaving, it was worth all the work and with the help of Attitude Autos I would get to head to the track with new overfenders and a fresh paintjob on the skyline. It was such a good feeling being back at the track with the friends I made in the championship last year and plenty of new faces too, I want out for my practice session until later so I took the opportunity to head up to the judges tower and get a look at the track layout. During my practice session I noticed how slippy the track was, as the sessions went on and more rubber was laid on the concrete the grip improved.
During my qualifying session I did my usual and forgot how to drive, my first run was terrible so I put in a safe run on my second attempt and qualified in 26th, good enough to get through to the battles. My first battle was against Scott White, I chased first and after tucking in behind Scott at the first corner he span. I would go into my chase run with a huge advantage, I tried to forget that he would be chasing and focus on the judged line.
A clean lap put me through to the Top 16, I would be up against Sultan Al-Qassimi in the DMAC240. Again I chased first keeping good proximity, running slightly wide on the last corner but nothing major. On my lead run I came out of the first corner on the wrong line setting myself up for a bad run, running wide at clip three. I decided to try to pull a gap through the last part of the track to make up for it but it wasnt enough.
I would like to thank everyone involved with organising and running the event, all of my competitors that make each event a fun and friendly atmosphere, to Attitude Autos and my team for transforming my car and getting it ready in time.
Name: Scott Sargent
Age: 26
Hometown: Middlesbrough
Car: BMW E30 4 Door V8 built with Team Sunset
How long have you been drifting? I have been drifting for around a year.
Best drifting experience? My best experience was being the starter marshall at the Northern Drifting Championship.
I had a great time at the Adrian Flux Arena for Round 1 of the 2015 DriftCup championship even though I had a few issues with the car. During my practice runs that car was going well and I was getting used to the track layout.
Unfortunatly my day would end early with fuel pump and rear suspension issues meaning I didnt qualify, Ill be back for Round 2 and pushing hard to get a good result.
Name: Andrzej Mania
Age: 38
Hometown: Dundee
Car: Nissan S13, my second one after the first one was crashed at Driftland.
How long have you been drifting? I have been drifting for 3 years after starting my garage, Pol-Position in 2009
Best drifting experience? My best experience was finishing 2nd overall in DriftCup last year.
Round 1 of the 2015 DriftCup championship didnt go as well as I had hoped. During my practice runs the car was having some issues with fuel starvation, there was only so much I could do to fix this at the track.
I enjoyed getting out onto the track and getting some good lead and chase runs against some familiar drivers and some new.
During qualifing I made mistakes on both runs, I narrowly missed out on the Top 32, qualifying in 35th position.
Ill be back at Round 2, pushing hard for a better result and hopefully no issues with the car.
Name: Shay Kavanagh
Age: 21
Hometown: Swadlincote
Car: Rocket Bunny Nissan 200SX, SR20DET Stage 2A engine, BC Coilovers, Geomaster2 hubs, Driftworks adjustable arms, Skyline diff and shafts & ROTA RKR wheels.
How long have you been drifting? I have been drifting for 2 years.
Best drifting experience? My best drifting experience was the battles at DriftCup Round 1.
During my practice runs I had a mixture of good runs with a few bad ones so it was going to be tough in qualifying. On my first run I dropped a wheel lowering my score, on the second I managed a solid run whilst keeping calm to secure 20th.
In the Top32 I would go up against Danny Bryant, it was my first close battle of the day with me making a few mistakes on my chase run whilst trying to keep up. My lead run was good enough to see me through to the Top16.
The Top16 battles would be even closer as I went up against Joe Nall. I struggled again on my chase run to keep a good line and stick with the lead car, whilst leading I made sure to pull a gap and it was good enough to win the battle.
My Top8 battle with David Cooper was unbelievable, I enjoyed our close runs but with David sitting just off my door whilst chasing it would put him through. I was more than happy to get 7th place and the Hard Charger award at my first competition. Thanks to all of my sponsors and everyone that has helped me, well done to Jamie Owen on his win.
We hope you have enjoyed our coverage from Round 1 of the 2015 DriftCup Championship, we hope to see you all at Round 2 ( http://www.driftcup.co.uk/ ), until then enjoy some more photos.