Round 4 of the Maxxis British Drift Championship saw the series head to Lydden Hill circuit for the second time this year. The organisers made the decision to run the track in reverse (a first for Lydden Hill) meaning that all drivers were drifting on a level playing field; this was going to sort the men from the boys!
With torrential rain forecast to hit the circuit at some point during the weekend the drivers headed out for practice on Saturday morning, aiming to get to grips with the reverse track layout as quickly as possible. Some excelled while others struggled, with a handful of drivers falling foul to the wall that was waiting to punish those that made mistakes. Qualifying followed in the afternoon under glorious sunshine, with each driver trying to crack the Top 16 in their respective classes and with it, a passage through to the following day’s battles.
Come Sunday morning and the brilliant weather was still being kind to us, but for how long was the question. Top qualifiers Tony Walker (Semi Pro), Gary Dunne (Pro) and Lluis Lopez (Super Pro) were ready to lead the charge in the Top 16 battles in the hope of taking home the victory in their respective classes.
The Semi Pro class final pitted Ben Rowland and Mark Glegg against each other in a battle of the BMWs amidst torrential rain; Ben emerged the eventual winner ahead of Mark while Mike Jankowiak took third.
The Pro final saw Adam Weeden in his Nissan S14 and Richard Grindrod in his E36 BMW go head to head in a battle that saw Richard secure the win, with Adam in second and Gary Dunne rounding out the podium in third.
The Super Pro final pitted Round 3 winner Shane O’Sullivan and David Waterworth against each other in a battle of the Nissan S15s. Both drivers were pushing hard but it was Shane that emerged the eventual victor, with David claiming second and Phil Morrison rounding out the podium in third.
Despite the challenging weather conditions during the battles we saw some incredible driving throughout the event, with the reversal of the circuit adding a unique element that will see Round 4 of the 2014 Maxxis BDC being remembered for quite some time.
