The first round of the 2016 Irish Drift Championship was held at Mondello Park, Ireland’s only permanent circuit. In the off season there had been some huge changes that were unveiled in the run up to the event with new tarmac being laid specifically for drift events.
This extended the traditional layout giving the fans more action, this was in addition to the installation of a couple of walls featuring two clipping points.
The hype surrounding the IDC this season is incredible and it’s these changes that push the sport forward.
The Semi-Pro drivers took to the track on Saturday morning for their practice session followed by qualifying.
This class is always surprising with such a variety of cars and power to shake it up a bit.
At the end of qualifying it would be Chris Burnett at the top of the scoreboard with a best run of 93.00.
In the battles TJ Berney was proving to be a difficult competitor to beat after making his way into the top 4, defeating Derek Newsome, teammate Nigel Moody and Charlie Geary along the way.
Kieran Casey also made it into the Top 4 after knocking out Niall Whelan, Nathan Chivers and Gary Dunne.
Dan Moorhead returned to competition in style, knocking out Alan Farrell, James Spillane and Declan Byrne on his way to the top 4.
The final spot in the top 4 was taken by Joe Doyle, he had beaten Darryl McFarlane, Lukasz Macek and David Garvey to get there.
TJ Berney and Kieran Casey would battle first, Kieran led first with TJ staying on his door throughout the run, as they swapped over it was looking like neither driver had the advantage. TJ threw it into the first corner with Kieran diving onto his door, it wasn’t going to be as he then spun out after clip 4, putting TJ Berney through into his first ever final.
Joe Doyle and Dan Moorhead would battle next to decide who would join TJ in the final. Dan led first and pulled a gap even though his car is running a lot less power. Joe then pulled it out of the bag with a huge run, lots of angle, speed and smoke. It would be enough to overcome the disadvantage from the first run, the battle would go one more time.
Dan made a couple of big mistakes handing a 10-0 advantage to Joe Doyle, they swapped over and Joe didn’t take it easy, putting in another great run, earning his place in the final.
Dan Moorhead and Kieran Casey battled for the third place spot on the podium, Kieran pulled a huge gap over Dan on his lead run giving him a big advantage as they swapped over. Dan couldn’t do enough to overturn it on his lead run, Kieran Casey would get to stand on the third step of the podium.
The final was tense with both drivers wanting to take their first win, TJ Berney led first pulling a gap on the run to the first clip, Joe Doyle went off track behind him giving TJ a 10-0 advantage. They swapped over with Joe leading now. He wouldn’t be able to overturn the big disadvantage despite a great run.
TJ Berney took the win with Joe Doyle in second and Kieran Casey in third. They took their places on the podium to celebrate in front of the crowds.
The next day the Pro drivers would get their chance to compete on this new layout, everyone got to grips with the track early in the practice session with many of the drivers looking strong here.
In qualifying there were 15 drivers all scoring over 80 points but it would be Tomas Kiely at the top with a run of 99.5.
James Deane was a notable qualifier in seventh in a borrowed car after his own car has mechanical issues during practice.
The fastest entry was the other young gun in the championship, Jack Shanahan, with a speed of 104 KPH.
In the battles Tomas Kiely would be knocked out in the top 8 by Shane O’Sullivan.
James Deane also exited the competition in the top 8 after an amazing battle against Nigel Colfer.
Forrest Wang and Shane O’Sullivan battled in the top 4, Forrest led first, carrying huge speed into the first clip. A great run followed with big angle and close to the walls through the end of the course. Shane led next with another big entry, as they slowed for the hairpin there was contact. It was enough to put Shane through to the final.
On the other side of the tree Nigel Colfer and Duane Mckeever battled for the other place in the final. Duane led first, a huge entry with massive speed and angle would mean Nigel had to try to catch up, he would spin off the track at the hairpin giving away the battle.
Nigel would then battle Forrest Wang for the final place on the podium, Forrest led Nigel with a good run, although a mistake at the hairpin resulting in him dropping a wheel. Nigel couldn’t go any further after the car gave up, Forrest Wang took the lap as a victory lap going crazy around the track with one of the best wall runs of the weekend.
The final battle between Shane O’Sullivan and Duane Mckeever was just as exciting, Duane led Shane on the first run, another great run from Duane and it was looking like he had the advantage as they swapped over. Shane wouldn’t couldn’t do enough to take the win on his lead run.
The final results were Duane Mckeever in first, Shane O’Sulivan in second and Forrest Wang in third.
The speed mentioned was not the entry speed, but the drift speed through Clip 2 (half way through corner one) The entry speed was not taken, but would have been 140 – 150kph.