Donington Park may have missed out on the F1 this year, but for motorsport fans who want to see some decent action (and more overtaking…) the British Drift Championship was in full force putting some 60+ semi-pro and pro drifters through their paces on Saturday 10th July.
Round 4 took place on the Donington Launch Pad – a huge area of super smooth tarmac with few drops and dips making it a perfect place for a super-fast circuit. The BDC team decided to replicate a layout similar to that of the old Teeside track – a renowned driver favourite in the UK, albeit with a few twists. Drivers would initiate into a long right hand turn before tightening into a sharp hairpin, followed by a left transition and a 3rd gear S section to finish.
By 9am it was semi-pro practice time, and with the weather scorching and the venue finishing at 8pm it was going to be a very hot day for both driver and car. It didn’t take long for the familiar layout to produce some awesome practice runs, with semi-pro driver Martin Griffiths in his E30 BMW producing a seriously smokey run. The Team Scream S14s of Andy Redmond and John Glaister even decided to start the day with a bit of twinning!
Onto qualifying, and it was good to see Mike Cooper’s return after a huge crash during Round 3 which put his R32 Skyline out for good. Mike didn’t manage to re-shell his car in time (although he came damn near close thanks to the kind people on the Driftworks forum) so instead he borrowed Alan Green’s S14.5. It didn’t take long for Mike to get to grips with the S-body chassis, putting in a stonking run which qualified him first.
Another welcome return was the SR20-powered Mazda MX5 of Jamie Kenyon. Lightweight and turbo Nissan power makes the MX5 absolutely savage to watch, and Jamie’s definitely one of the upcoming drivers in the series.
After semi-pro qualifying, the results were:
1. Mike Cooper
2. Ian Phillips
3. Dannielle Murphy
4. Jordan Patton
5. John Glaister
6. Robert Finn
7. Andy Stroud
8. Jamie Kenyon
Onto the top 8, and first up was the R32 and PS13 of John Glaister and Jordan Patton. Both drivers took an advantage on each of their runs, but a slight advantage from John’s first run put him through to the semi finals sending Jordan out.
Next Andy Stroud placed against Neuton tyres driver Ian Phillips. A spin from Andy gave Ian a 10-0, and despite a strong run after Ian still pulled ahead with a 6-4 over Andy.
Irish girl Danielle Murphy was placed against fellow countryman Robert Finn in the third pairing, and despite pulling a 7-3 lead over Finn in the second run it wasn’t enough to recover from the spin she made in the first putting Robert through.
Final pairing before the semis was Mike Cooper and Jamie Kenyon, and what a fight it was! Both drivers scored 6-4 giving it ‘one more time’. In Jamies run, he managed to take a slight lead of 6-4 over Mike, but after pushing too hard to try and fight back Mike span the S14.5 putting Jamie through.
In the semis John Galister faced Ian Phillips. Despite putting a sterling performance in all day, John unfortunately span on the first run, finished by Ian pulling a 7-3 lead in the next run sealing his place in the final.
It was a much similar affair between Robert Finn and Jamie Kenyon, with Jamie pushing just too hard in the snappy Mazda spinning on both runs to put Finn into the final. For the battle for third place, Jamie span again on his run against John Glaister, and a faultless drive from John during his run gave him the third spot.
Into the final and the powerhouse Skyline R33 of Ian Phillips instantly pulled a 7-3 lead over Robert Finn. With Ian then following Robert in the second run, Ian continued to pressure Finn who unfortunately span out handing the 10-0 to Ian and the Round 4 semi-pro win. Congratulations to all the drivers for putting on one hell of a show on a very challenging course!
Over in the Pro class the hot weather combined with the vast amounts of sticky tarmac meant huge grip levels for some seriously fast runs. Instantly the freshly repaired Driftworks-sponsored R32 Skyline of Ben Broke-Smith pulled out a cracking qualifier churning clouds of smoke from the Skylines arches, qualifying second place above Japspeed’s Danny Eyles in the Japspeed S15 (also repaired after gearbox problems).
Further down in the field Team Green’s Matt Carter managed to qualify 7th using Danielle Murphy’s S14. Unfortunately for Matt’s own car, the SR20 decided to throw a piston out the side of the block retiring it from Round 4.
Qualifying first (and becoming a regular sight!) was the screaming Mk2 Escort of Declan Munnelly. Without doubt one of the most exciting cars to watch, what it lacks in power and smoke Decland makes up for with precision clipping, huge aggression and mega noise! What a car/driver combination.
1. Declan Munnelly
2. Ben Broke Smith
3. Paul Smith
4. Danny Eyles
5. Martin Richards
6. Mark Luney
7. Matt Carter
8. Ashley Stevens
9. Phil Morrison
10. David Waterworth
11. Gavin Cummings
12. Simon Perry
13. Shane Lynch
14. Grant Laker
15. Vince Noott
16. Julie Robinson
In the Pro top 16 first up was Simon Perry vs Martin Richards. Despite only qualifying 12th, there’s a good reason Perry’s right at the top of the championship instantly taking a 6-4 lead over 5th qualifier Martin. Unfortunately Martin didn’t get the chance to run again after technical problems put him past the 5 minute rule.
An all-Japspeed pairing was next with team mates Danny Eyles and Shane Lynch going head to head. Danny’s recently been one of the most aggressive drivers on the field, but Shane was eager to prove otherwise taking a 6-4 lead followed by a 7-3.
In the third pairing Matt Carter continued his charge using Murphy’s borrowed S14, drawing a 6-4 advantage over David Waterworth before scoring a 10-0 after David span on his own run putting Matt through.
It was a 1JZ affair in the next round, with Bon Bon’s R32 against Vince Noot’s PS13. Bon’s extra experience took him through with a 6-4 and a 7-3 over Vince to the semi finals.
Mark Luney in the SATS Team Supra began his charge after Round 3’s disaster in the final, taking a 6-4 over Gav Cummings and following with a solid 5-5 after to put him through.
Japspeed’s Paul Smith and Grant Lacker were up next, and to say they were ‘fairly matched’ doesn’t even come close! After the first runs, it had to go one more time. After the second runs… one more time AGAIN! During the second OMT, Paul took a slight advantage of 6-4 over Grant, who still followed it up with a 5-5 run showing just how close these two were.
Ashley Stevens faced the monster S15 (and another recently repaired car!) of Phil Morrison next, with an uncharacteristic error from Phil meaning another pair would go OMT. Phil sealed the deal with a 7-3 first and Ashley spinned on the next run, seeing Phil through.
Top qualifier Declan Hicks faced the R32 of Julie Robinson. Declan instantly pulled out a 7-3 advantage, and but despite Julie’s best attempts she just couldn’t get away from the Escort going 5-5 and putting Declan through.
Into the Top 8 and Japspeed’s Shane Lynch faced Simon Perry. Simon took a 7-3 lead in the first run, and after Shane straightened during the second run the Skyline Owners Skyline went through to the semis. Shortly after, Bon Bon faced Matt Carter – despite taking a 7-3 advantage, Bon had to retire the R32 due to mechanical gremlins raising their ugly head.
Paul ‘One More Time’ Smith faced Mark Luney next, and unbelievably went OMT after a stunning pair of runs from both drivers! Unfortunately for Paul, the power and speed of Luney’s Supra took 6-4 in both runs. The final pairing was Phil Morrison vs Declan Munnelley, and a super-aggressive Morrison stuck right to the back of Declan the whole time taking a 7-3 advantage. Into the second run, Phil pulled a huge gap on Declan to go through with a 6-4 over the Irishman.
The Semi Finals placed Simon Perry and Matt Carter, who’d been driving his nuts off all day in a borrowed car. Unfortunately for Matt, a spin saw Perry through to the final who without doubt is one of the most consistent drivers in the BDC this year.
Mark Luney and Phil Morrison would fight for the final place, both very capable, experienced drivers in very capable, powerful cars! After the first runs it would go OMT, and after a slight mistake from Phil put a wheel off track Luney went through to face Perry. For third place, Morrison and Carter went hard with the first run scoring 5-5. In the second run, Phil went berserk looking to close in on Carter… going a bit too fast and having to lock up to avoid contact, giving Matt a well-deserved third place.
In the final, Luney and Perry were absolutely relentless! Again, the first runs were too close to call, with OMT needed to separate the pairing. During the second runs, Perry straightened just momentarily but with Luney’s Supra performing faultless all day Mark took the win.
Congratulations to Mark Luney for finally taking a win after the disaster in Round 3 – Donington saw some of the most epic battles ever witnessed in the BDC, and the final at Knockhill on the 25th-26th September is not to be missed!
