It’s time to bring you all an update on ExtremeBHP Motorsport’s season in Driftcup now that everything has settled after Round 4 at Teesside Autodrome in Middlesbrough.
Mike went out early in the Saturday morning practice sessions and managed to complete two runs in the wet conditions before heading to the pits with car issues. It was quickly diagnosed as a problem with the turbo with the help of fellow competitor Will Smith and teammate, Ian Lonsdale.
A quick change was made although it was a while before Mike would make it back onto the track, a missing gasket meant a dash around the local area was needed to find gasket paper. By late afternoon he would be back out there, managing another couple of laps before the end of the day.
Sunday morning and the final practice session before qualifying, Mike headed out to try to improve his line through the clipping points, he had previously been struggling to extend the car right out to the edge of the track due to his limited practice runs.
By the end of the session he was looking strong thanks to some words of advice from his spotter & friends spectating from the banking around the track.
The first qualifying run was scruffy at best, a bit too deep on initiation saw him lose the bumper before a slight straighten between clip 2 and 3. It was a scored run but not the ideal run.
His second run was better putting him in 29th place in the increasingly competitive field of drivers.
Mike lined up against Chris Rayner in the Top 32, Chris had been putting in consistent runs all weekend so it was no surprise when he qualified fourth. Mike chased first keeping it pinned to Chris’ door for the most of the run.
They swapped over and Chris returned the favor up until clip for where he made a small error, it was enough to separate the drivers and see Mike continue through into the Top 16.
Frazer Jamieson was up next, Mike had to chase first again so he went out there and gave everyone a great show with close proximity again throughout the run. They swapped over with Mike running the qualifying line on his lead run whilst maintaining a small gap back to Frazer, it would be another win for Mike and a place in the Top 8.
Adam Charville was the next competitor that Mike would line up against. Both drivers had impressive runs in both lead and chase positions but a small mistake from Mike would see his day end there. It was enough to earn him a shot at a BDC license at the next round though so he wasn’t disappointed with his performance throughout the event.
Mike was awarded the Aford Awards Hard Charger Trophy for his driving and persistence to keep on track despite the car issues early in the weekend. Mike would like to thanks all of his sponsors including Jackson Competition Engines, Hoskins Design & Fabrication, Auto Uniq, Thautomotive, also his girlfriend Kayleigh for her support.
Ian Lonsdale was back in his own car for this round of Driftcup, it was running better than ever although some improvements to the gearing are still needed to get the most out of his Volvo powered BMW E36.
The wet conditions on Saturday morning made it tricky for Ian to get a consistent set of runs on the track before he came off to help Mike fix his car.
Once he returned to the track it was dry so he began to push harder with each run, tidying up his line as he went. By the end of the day smooth consistent runs were giving Ian the confidence he needed ahead of the competition on the Sunday.
Sunday morning practice was spent trying to improve the entry to clip 1 and gaining proximity whilst chasing his fellow competitors.
Qualifying came around and a safe run on the first attempt banked Ian a score of 64. He pushed much harder on the second run but a mistake would see his first run qualifying him in 25th.
Ian lined up against William Hanna where he would gain an advantage on his chase run putting the pressure on William for the second run, Ian then led well giving him the advantage on both runs and a place in the Top 16.
Haydn Cruikshank was up next, a great battle followed with Ian getting another win thanks to his consistent driving whilst others made small mistakes.
His Top 8 battle against Ryan Harrison saw both drivers on an even score after their first run, Ian would then gain proximity throughout the run diving onto Ryan’s door at clip three, this handed him the advantage. A place in the Top 4 awaited.
Adam Charville was up next but due to some car issues he was unable to battle, it’s not the way anyone wants to win a battle but it gave Ian a place on the podium!
If having Ian in third and Mike earning the hard charger award wasn’t enough, the team also came away with the team trophy for the event! Both drivers now have their chance to go to the next round of the British Drift Championship where they will be aiming to qualify to earn their BDC licence.
We wish them the best of luck and you can be sure we will be bringing you another update soon from that event.