5.30pm, last Friday. A quick escape from Japspeed HQ, straight into the S13 loaded with crisps, camping gear and (most importantly) beer. A quick stop off in Gatley to pick up Harley and then there we were, heading onto the M56 and cringing at the journey time remaining on my little TomTom sat nav. As you can probably guess by this point, the journey from Manchester to Pembrey (just outside of Swansea) isn’t a short one, nor is it easy. The drone of a straight-through shotgun exhaust at motorway speeds is hardly a soothing one, and you can never let your eyes wander off the road when it’s hanging precariously under your car just an inch off the floor (along with the chassis rails, fuel lines, fuel tank, etc.). Exhausted, deaf and weary eyed we arrived at Pembrey shortly after 11pm, cracked open a few beers with the Car Loan 4U guys and then realised we probably should have pitched the tent before cracking on with the beverages. Nevermind…
Having enjoyed an action packed weekend at Lydden Hill for round 1 of this year’s BDC I was eager to see what Pembrey would have in store. Would we see familiar faces on the podium or would we see a new guard of amateur drivers rise through the ranks to unsettle the old guard? Well, if you wanted upsets, controversy and big surprises, it turned out Pembrey was the place to be! First off though, practice for the Semi-Pro and Pro drivers on Saturday morning.
The track layout was quite unique in that, after a high speed run up, the first corner was a tight and slow hairpin that was followed a clipping point on the inside of the track and then a pair of high speed sweepers.
The first corner in particular was catching many of the Semi-Pro drivers out – the drivers briefing request for minimal handbrake usage was clearly being ignored as massive wand grabs were all too commonplace at this stage, with drivers either losing all momentum miles before the corner or going flying off the end of the track.
Some drivers had it nailed from an early stage though, such as Matt Stevenson who seemed to be enjoying throwing his BMW powered 350Z around.
One thing that did become quickly apparent was how reliant some drivers were on their steering setups with ridiculous amounts of steering lock. While massive steering angle would have helped drivers pull off a high speed backwards entry (see Mike Gaynor later in this post) many drivers were finding that it was just causing them massive understeer issues, and the driver of this cool looking S13 found himself understeering towards the barrier while on full lock on a couple of occasions.
Nick Statham was looking settled in his R33 fresh from his rise to fame due to staring in the latest Katy B music video.
Shaan Shareef’s S15 was looking pretty cool – with a wilder paint job and lairy sponsor graphics this car’s styling definitely wouldn’t look out of place at a D1SL round. In other words, I love the styling.
Monster Energy supported Luke Woodham was going big from the off in his S14a and, while plenty of his entries didn’t hit home, his determination to push himself definitely paid off when it came to knowing his limits later on in the event.
I’ve seen plenty of weird and wonderful things happen on track over the years, but never have I seen a car gun it down the straight and then initiate, only to spit a trolley jack out from under the diff. Amazing.
Matt Samuel was really using the weight of his Z32 to throw the car into the hairpin with minimal handbrake use.
Unfortunately, things weren’t going quite so well for his Car Loan 4U team mate Alex Law, who found himself ploughing off track and tapping the wall with the front left corner of his S14a. This resulted in some damage to the steering rack and the end of this practice session for Alex.
Some drivers were trying much harder than others to push themselves and nail their entries – the dude in this S14a spent ages trying to nail his clutch kick and flick entries. Sometimes they didn’t go to plan…
…but sometimes they did!
I always have time for this S14.
Dale did well to get his 1JZ powered IS200 ready in time for the event – it wasn’t perfect but he did remarkably well considering it was the car’s first outing. A few tweaks here and there and this car will be up there.
Mike Gaynor’s intentions were clear from the off: he was going to do backwards entries, and he was going to do them over and over again.
Portugese visitor Hugo Fernandes was looking good in his very bright and very powerful Soarer.
Paul Cheshire was on much better form than he was at the last round and looked very settled in his G35.
There’s no other way of putting it – Chris Hawkins was absolutely on it all weekend. Due to his podium finish at the last round he was also eligible to run with the Super-Pro guys and, other than the relative lack of sponsor vinyl on his car, you’d never have known the difference between him or them.
One of two Bee*R R324s competing over the weekend.
After feeling a little disappointed after Semi-Pro and Pro practice (mainly due to lots of wand abuse) I was looking forward to seeing the Super-Pros having a go at the tricky circuit. The session started in style with Jamie Kenyon’s bonnet flying up and hitting his windscreen. Moving swiftly on…
Mike Marshall looked very much on point in his 2JZ powered E36 – at this stage he definitely looked like he could cause some upsets during qualifying and the battles.
Wayne Keeber looked settled in the Car Media Racing Soarer.
Star of Formula D Darren “D-Mac” Macnamara was competing in this borrowed S13 – understandably he looked fairly comfortable with the track right from the off.
Phil Morrison was going for big entries right from the off in the Driftworks R32 – the majority of which paid off in a big way.
The team had a bit of trouble though after Phil clipped what was to become a notorious pot hole on the edge of the circuit. I’m not sure what the issue was but what I do know is that sounded metallic and I got covered in dirt as a result.
Mark Luney’s Supra looked a little out of place on the tight hairpin, but maybe that’s because it’s a car we’re all used to seeing producing a lot of smoke at very high speeds as opposed to negotiating tight, low speed corners.
As always, Steve Moore went quietly about his business putting in clean and consistent runs with minimal fuss. I have a lot of respect for this guy; no fancy pits or gazebos, no Facebook fan page, just a good driver doing a good job of driving.
Huxley’s Volvo didn’t seem as planted as last time, the barge-like Volvo seemingly struggling with the tricky hairpin. He quickly managed to adapt to it though.
Baggsy was looking much more confident than he was at round 1, although this time he was driving Liam Doran’s 1JZ powered PS13 (that Liam use to secure the top qualifying spot in Pro back at round 1).
James Fuller was absent from round 1 but carried on from where he left off at last year’s final round by being balls out right from the start, hurling his freshly built S13 around like he just didn’t care.
UAE drift champion Abdulhadi Al-Qahtani was this round’s most international visitor, having made the trip from the Gulf with his Vaughn Gittin built Mustang. Surprisingly, he actually managed to master the track in just a handful of runs and was looking very promising for qualifying.
EDC champion Paul Conlan was another driver who had put his round 1 woes behind him and was focused on the job at hand.
“One of the most eagerly awaited returns in BDC history” is how many people would describe Bon Bon’s return to competitive UK drifting. It was quite a funny sight to see him rolling in through the gates in his road legal JZX81 having had to queue at the ticket office with a bunch of spectators, but once on track he wasted no time in getting down to business.
Brendan Stone was looking cool and collective in his borrowed IS200 – he eventually went on to take the top qualifying spot.
Team Japspeed’s Shane Lynch spent practice adjusting to his new KW coilovers, his VH45 powered S15 looking well-suited to the track layout (especially the exit to the hairpin where the waves of torque from the V8 really paid off).
Also in the Japspeed camp, Brett Castle seemed to be enjoying his third outing in the 1JZ Impreza, looking to be one of the more comfortable of the entire Super-Pro field in the early stages.
It’s times like these when experience really starts to show through.
They say that, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Last season’s champion and this year’s round 1 winner Paul Smith obviously ignored that particular saying while prepping his car for Pembrey, deciding in the weeks leading up to the round that he was going to replace the more-than-capable 1JZ setup with a 1.5JZ creation, along with a brand new set of KW coilovers.
It’s a testament to Paul’s raw driving talent that, to the unassuming, it looked like nothing had been changed on the car between now and a few weeks prior.
Wes Keating looked like a force to be reckoned with in his formidable 180SX, the combination of great lock, decent traction and crazy power helping him to negotiate the track layout with ease.
Team Falken driver Matt Carter was looking much more settled in his monstrous R32 than he was at Lydden Hill – a lot of seat time in the period between round 1 and 2 was obviously very beneficial.
By this point Alex had had his steering rack fixed by Simon Perry (pictured above) in just a handful of minutes – easy when you know how!
The car was still suffering from steering issues though, and he looked far from comfortable as a result.
With practice and qualifying finished I had a wander around the pits while our BBQ cooked to check out some of the cars in more detail. Ariel’s S15 is always an eye-catcher and I love the styling (especially the front splitter and cannards).
Joe Balls’ S13: CA18 powered, OEM aero, 16″ wheels, basic lock mods. In other words, one of my favourite BDC cars. Stay tuned for more pics of this (both static and in action).
Baggsy’s/Liam Doran’s PS13 looking good in the pits. The car suffered from an oil pump failure while competing in the Monster King of Europe event in Spain a few weeks ago but, thankfully, some quick work from the always dependable Julian Smith of Garage-D ensured the car made it to Pembrey in time.
Joe and Matt’s cars parked up while BBQing was occuring.
The Black Smoke Racing guys had brought their incredible diesel powered Mercedes from Finland in the back of their converted coach. They were a really cool bunch of guys and even ended up “borrowing” our drift trikes in a beer fuelled frenzy!
Bon Bon’s JZX81 looked stunning as the sun set over the Pembrey pits – the next day his Steel-Mate team mates applied a black rattle can paint job to the rear of the big Toyota to help it fit in with their team colours.
Pro driver Chris Hawkins spent Saturday night performing a gearbox swap on his 2JZ powered S13 – a job that took him well into the night. It was definitely worth it though as he ended up knocking out a series of Super-Pro drivers in the top 32 battles (including Formula D star Darren Macnamara!).
As the sun finally set and we started settling into the night with BBQ and beers I couldn’t help but take a quick snap of my S13 parked up.
As Sunday dawned I found myself choosing to sit in the spectator areas and watch the top 32 battles with the guys and girls and cheer our friends on as opposed to parking myself in the middle of the track to take pictures.
Aaron Simmon’s Sil80 looked as fantastic as always but unfortunately he was knocked out early on.
We spent a lot of time cheering on Joe but unfortunately his clutch started to let him down and he struggled as a result.
This FD3S also looked great.
Matt Samuel put up a valiant challenge in both Semi-Pro and Pro but unfortunately his lack of power steering really was a hindrance.
Lloyd Bagladi’s R32 on the start line. You’d never think this car ploughed through the Lydden Hill wall a few weeks ago.
Michael Trembath’s Onevia is such a cool looking car – lots of style and lots of awesome.
Alex Law was one of the big surprises of the day – having only made the Pro top 32 by the skin of his teeth (due to another competitor dropping out over night) and a car that was by no means working correctly, he slowly but surely worked his way through the battles due to fundamental errors from his opponents. After much cheering from myself and the rest of the Car Loan 4U guys, he found himself in the final and subsequently took the win after an illegal overtake by Antony Mortley.
After a fantastic weekend, it was the icing on the cake to see one of my best friends take the win in the Pro class and my mates taking the team trophy for the second time running.
However, as much as I would like to end this report here, I feel I must add something that has been plaguing my mind since the event.
There are some fantastic drivers in the BDC and some similarly fantastic cars sporting spec lists the length of your arm with some of the wildest engine conversions you could ever think of. However, while this may be necessary in the Super-Pro class where the drivers are dealing with every last milimetre they are away from the clipping points, it seems to me that it is somewhat of a hindrance to the drivers in the lower classes.
It appears to be the case that drivers in the Semi-Pro and Pro classes are being judged amongst each other based more upon the money they have thrown at their cars rather than their skills out on the track. Obviously this isn’t the view that the BDC judges take, but it was something that I witnessed all too often in the pits as drivers spoke to each other.
There are so many drivers throwing every last penny they have towards building the most outrageous drift car they can and, while it is great for the championship and the sport of drifting in the UK that drivers push the envelope with their cars, it seems that far too many competitors are pricing themselves and, to certain extents, each other out of the sport as they try to outdo each other.
Having spoken to numerous Semi-Pro and Pro drivers (some of whom I’ve known for a few years now and have watched their progression through the sport) there are far too many that, having spent all of their money on building a crazy car to compete and run at the highest level, they can no longer afford to hone their skills and, more importantly, enjoy the sport in a relaxed environment due to their championship commitments. I just don’t see the point in pitting yourself into a national championship but not have the means to practice for it – would an Olympic athlete enter the Olympics without practicing beforehand?
By no means is this a dig at the BDC and I don’t want anyone to take it that way – Sweeps and the team are a fantastic bunch of guys and girls who run the championship not for profit, but for the love of the sport that we all enjoy. The events are well run, well organised and, more importantly, good fun. I just wish some competitors would just take a step back for a few minutes, watch a few rounds of D1SL and think to themselves “is my hugely expensive to build/run/maintain turbocharged/supercharged V8 powered creation really necessary? Can I do what these guys can in simple Nissan S-bodies with SR20s that are both relatively cheap to run and maintain? Why are they having fun and why aren’t I?”.
Keep drifting fun is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot these days, but I wish people would actually pay attention to it when they say it. Remember why you got involved in this crazy sport in the first place and never forget it.