After a three year absence from competitive drifting and getting back in the driving seat of his new rebuilt 1JZ Subaru at the Anglesey Circuit for Team Japspeed’s test day, Danny was clearly eager to get back on the track as he confirms: “When I got in the Subaru for the first time it completely blew my mind, the S15 that I drove three years ago is tame compared to this. With a completely different engine and power delivery it’s an animal waiting to be tamed. This year is definitely going to be bigger and better than ever for sure.”

After [XX] months of rebuilding and getting the vehicles remapped ready for the drift season, Team Japspeed were keen to get out on the track, but with reduced running time in the first round due to noise restrictions in place, only 16 drivers from each category were able to qualify through to the next stage. Unfortunately for Paul Smith he placed 20^th and didn’t qualify due to his S15 gaining a mysterious miss fire under full load in 4^th gear. This made the final corner of the circuit almost impossible to negotiate, with any speed, and ultimately led to Smith’s early exit.  Fellow Japspeed drivers Shane Lynch, Shane O’Sullivan and Danny Eyles, on the other hand, all qualified through to the top 16 battles.

First off the start line was Shane Lynch who took on Dan Chapman. Both drivers made errors during the run, but due to an unfortunate spin at the hairpin, Dan took the lead and Shane was left to chase hard for a top 8 qualifying position.

To add a bit of spice, Danny’s first battle back in the competition was against former team mate, Stephen ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni and this did not disappoint. Due to the battle being too close to call and a lot of deliberation, the judges sent it to ‘One more time’, giving the drivers the chance to fight it out for a second time. Due to engine failure on Baggsy’s car, Danny easily secured a place in the top 8 battles. After an incredibly close run against Simon Perry however, Danny ultimately missed out on a place in the top four.

Shane O’Sullivan moved swiftly through to the top four after two very good battles against Matt Carter and Simon Perry. The top four saw him battle it out for a final position against Simon Perry, and he was able to clinch that spot via executing a flawless overtake after Simon took the corner wide. This saw him safely in to the final, where he was up against fellow Irishman, Jack Shanahan, which proved to be one of the closest battles that the British Drift Championship has seen in recent history. Both drivers fought hard for victory, and after an extremely close battle, the judges called for ‘One more time’, which lead to Shane claiming 2^nd place.

Team Japspeed now head to the next round of the Maxxis British Drift Championship at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland on the 7^th-8^th June, eager to improve on their standings from Lydden Hill. To keep up to date with the latest news from the team visit, http://www.teamjapspeed.co.uk/