With having very little seat time over the winter months to test the new tyres and suspension set-up, there was very little time to dial the car in. I was a little cautious to how the car was going to handle in the wet conditions on its first outing. I was right to be apprehensive as there was no rear grip what so ever on entry into the first corner, which shot me into the gravel trap. Luckily there was no damaged sustained and I drove it straight out and lined it up on the back of the queue for another run. Whilst waiting for the next run down the hill I made a few adjustments to the car to move the grip balance more to the rear. The car now seemed a lot more settled and I completed the first session feeling confident.
Between sessions the team had made some more adjustments to suit the conditions, by the end of the final practice session the car was handling perfectly and I was happy with the qualifying line the judges were looking for.
Qualifying began with the track drying quickly and I quickly grew confident in the car and the performance of the SR20 engine, all three runs went well and I qualified 10th with only minor adjustments required for the twinning battles. This result meant I was paired up against Lassa drift teams Simon Perry for the Top 16 battles on Sunday.
The weather again was an issue on Sunday; one minute wet one minute dry so trying to second guess the set-up for the battles was quite difficult. I decided to leave the suspension set-up for a dry track and opted to run a slightly lower rear tyre pressure as the track was still damp in places when we left the paddock.
After a 30min wait, Simon and I was called to the start line ready to run down the hill. Simon was the lead car and I chased hard into the initiation point and pushed up onto Simon’s door.
The grip level was high as the track had dried and so it was around the horse shoe keeping proximity as we descended once more downhill into the pan, flicking right to enter into the final right hander and then BANG, the left hand rear tyre de-beaded, sending me into a half spin just before the finish line, scoring a zero for my chase run.
I limped back to the holding area and called the 5 minute rule giving the team enough time to change the wheel. Then it was once more down the hill, with Simon chasing hard.
Initiating into the first corner keeping the qualifying line, Simon was now on my door around the horse shoe and hard on the throttle I pulled a slight advantage but it wasn’t enough to overcome the spin and Simon took the win.
Overall I was happy with my performance and with the result for the team overall, Boss Motorsport came away from Lydden Hill a strong force in the 2014 British Drift Championship.
Next up one of my favourite circuits Knockhill in Scotland, so the countdown begins with work starting at Boss HQ straight after we get back home. Thank you to all the sponsors for supporting the team and all staff involved in the hard work that goes into running the BDC events.
Great site! I come here every time! Keep in the great work!