Team Japspeed’s report from Round 1 of the Maxxis British Drift Championship
What a start to the season! After a hectic few weeks rebuilding the cars, getting them mapped and then putting in some last minute testing we found ourselves hitting the road and heading to Lydden Hill circuit for Round 1 of the 2014 Maxxis British Drift Championship.
Japspeed drivers Shane Lynch, Paul Smith, Shane O’Sullivan and Danny Eyles were all eager to get back on track and compete in the first round of the season in their freshly rebuilt cars. Practice began on Saturday morning in tricky conditions but the team quickly got the cars dialled in to suit the track.
Come qualifying and the track had fully dried up, allowing the pace to be upped further. With some of Europe’s finest drifters competing the Top 16 was always going to be close; Shane Lynch and Shane O’Sullivan secured their spots in the battles with 5th and 7th place positions (respectively) and Danny Eyles also made the cut in 16th thanks to another competitor retiring.
The battles began on Sunday afternoon with the track having dried up after the morning’s rain. First up was Shane Lynch in his Top 16 battle against Dan Chapman; unfortunately an uncharacteristic spin from Shane in his lead saw him exit the competition early despite charging hard during his chase run.
Danny’s first battle saw him drawn against former team mate Stephen Biagioni. Due to the battle being too close to call the judges sent it to One More Time with Danny eventually securing the win due to terminal engine failure with Stephen’s car. Danny’s Top 8 battle was another thriller but, after two incredibly close runs, Danny found himself being eliminated at this point.
Shane O’Sullivan made short work of his opponents during his battles and swiftly progressed through the ranks to the final against fellow Irishman Jack Shanahan. What the crowd witnessed was one of the closest battles in recent BDC memory as both drivers fought tooth and nail for the victory. The battle went to One More Time and, after an extremely difficult decision from the judges, Shane was awarded 2nd place.
We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season when taking into account the issues we encountered in the run up to the event. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support as without them none of this would be possible. The next round of the Maxxis British Drift Championship sees us head to Knockhill circuit in Scotland on June 7th-8th – we’ll see you there!
A big thanks to Jordan Butters Photography for the pictures!
More:
- Check out our gallery from Lydden Hill
- Find out when the next Maxxis British Drift Championship round takes place
- Browse our car tyres
