The 2010 season of the Ulster Drift Championship started back at the Bishops Court track last week and I brought the Nissan along for a quick shake down after winter.  The new track layout meant full throttle 4th gear drifts, and I qualified 3rd place with fastest entry speed of the day at 80mph.

The top 16 saw me against Clive Heatherington and after a ‘one more time’ battle re-run I was out by one point.  They don’t come much closer than that!

Next up, with the 2010 EDC looming the S14a is going for a new look.  All will be revealed at an upcoming press day….

The European Drift Championship 2009 final at Snetterton circuit  in Norwich was a fitting climax to an awesome year’s events. I was named EDC New Driver of the Year and managed a respectable 10th place in the championship.  I’d like to thank the team and sponsors and this brilliant achievement makes it all worthwhile.

So back to round 6 and if you’ve seen my previous posts we were coming to terms with a dying engine.  All back together but barely run in, we loaded up and headed to East Anglia, the home of Snetterton Circuit.  Luckily we got some practice on the Saturday, and like all EDC events, this one seemed faster than the last. 

The Coram and Russell corners were used – Coram was so long that I had to take the racing line without drifting on the previous corners of the track in order to get the 200sx sideways  – with enough momentum to get round the corner.  I ran the engine on a low boost - probably 25% down on power - so it would survive the day!  To put things into context, 115mph was cited for drift entry, with in-corner drift speeds in the mid 90s! 

On the Sunday, I got through to the top 8 and was up against Paul Conlan in his 550hp Nissan S15.  Running more boost helped but on my first competitive run a hose blew and was badly damaged.  Using the EDC  ’5 minute rule’ we were able to get a quick fix for the second run but the failing pipe broke again mid-corner sending me off the track!  Paul went through to challenge Mark Luney in the final, with Luney winning the round and also the championship.

This marks the end of the 2009 EDC season - both myself and the car have come a long way over the year.  I am hoping to make some improvements on the car over the next few months and aim to compete in the SWD events at Bishopscourt.   I’ll keep you posted through the blog – thanks again for the support throughout the year.

Andy.

It’s been a while since my last blog, unfortunately due to engine issues.  Once home from Brands Hatch we lifted out and stripped the engine to find some piston ring damage which would seem to be the cause of loss of power. 

The engine made the short trip to WK developments where it was rebuilt with new gaskets, bearings and piston rings.  My run of bad luck was to continue with a faulty head gasket.  Meanwhile we had missed round 5 of the European Championships at Santa Pod but with only a few weeks to the final at Snetterton all the stops were pulled out to get the car going again.

Thanks to AI Autosport I was able to run the car in on their rolling road and everything is looking good for another trip across England and another epic drift championship round.

Even more exciting than driving Silverstone our trip to GP circuit Brands Hatch was special not just as it would be my first ever visit, but that it was the first time that a drift competition had ever been held there.

This highlights how well respected the European Drift Championship series is and why I want to be part of it!

The weather was overcast but even warmer than Silverstone at around 28′C and this made it particularly unpleasant in the car!  However the track was as dry as a bone so it would be a hard event on the car.

This was round 4 of the EDC and the fastest track in the championship.   I was flat out from the start line and up onto the limiter in 4th gear along Cooper Straight (aptly named) for the large horseshoe corners of McClaren and Clark Curve.  

 
Unfortunately we were having engine trouble with the car at Brands, with noticable loss in power.  The next two weeks include Nutts Corner and Santa Pod but I am going to run the car and see what happens.

High speed entry at Surtees

New bumper, still intact!

It’s not even a week since I’ve been back from Silverstone and the Nissan was going well, qualifying a very respectable 5th at Bishopscourt for the UDC.   The good weather followed me to the Downpatrick track from England, although this meant I had a pair of new rear tyres used by the time qualifying was over.  

Changes had been made to the track format with the inclusion of new clipping points on all the corners- some drivers struggled with the changed first corner layout, ending up in the field!  Thankfully I managed to save my new front bumper from destruction. 

Into the top 16 and after a good run I was straight into the top 8 against Silverstone EDC winner, Alan ‘Chubby’ McCord in his V8 S15.   I had to push as hard as I could but a fluffed gearchange put my chances at bay and Alan went through.

Pushing hard in the top 8 against Alan McCord

However one surprise of the day was that I was awarded ‘highest scoring division 2 driver’ and promoted to division 1.  A technicality of the newly implemented divisions system used by UDC but it meant I took home some silverware!

Thankfully there is a fortnight gap in events until Brands Hatch at the end of June, and Robert (team mechanic) and I will be making best use of this time to get the car back on to form.  The high speed tracks and sheer amount of events in such a small period of time is so hard on the car and it will be getting fully serviced and all round spanner check before we venture back across the water!

Pink wheels still smoked the same

Scorching sunny weather and almost 30′C meant things were fairly hot in the cabin of the Nissan.  Now sporting its repainted pink wheels (yes, you read correctly), it was a test of endurance for both me and the car in these hot conditions – there’s no blower in this car never mind air-con!

The section of Silverstone we used at Luffield and Brooklands consisted of two large corners and 90+mph entry speeds and the high track temperatures meant for a foray into the gravel for me on one of my practice runs.  I wasn’t the only one and thankfully I avoided it in the competition.

I made it into the top 16, and was out against winner of the last round, Pete Barber.  On our first run I was tight beside him through the first corner, 86mph on the speed gun sideways.  However I got almost too close and had to back off for the transition into the second corner.  Score was 5-5 for that run.  With Pete chasing things were still close but it was a 6-4 to Pete.

DriftKits are going to love me

All was not lost as fellow NI Driver, Alan “Chubby” McCord saw off Brett Castle in the final to a well deserved win in his V8 Nissan S15.

Final Results:

1st Alan McCord (S15)
2nd Brett Castle (S14)
3rd Pete Barber (RX7)

Andy takes on Paul Cheshire in top 16

Round 2 of the European Drift Championship saw Northern Irish competitor Andy Cooper take 8th place at Knockhill Race Circuit in Scotland. 

Despite being the first time on this part of the course, and turbo issues throughout the day he still managed to step up to the challenge of daunting 90+mph handbrake entries into the first corner.

“The track was wet during the practice on the Saturday so I was broken in gently with slightly slower entry speeds.  The sun came out on Sunday and totally changed the pace.  I found myself going flat out from the start line and not lifting at all for the first corner –  it was just awesome.  My top 8 run was definitely my hardest of the day with James Russell in his R32 Skyline.  I came into the final corner too hard, ended up in the gravel trap and it was all over for me then!” 

This was a great event for the rest of the local lads, with 6 NI competitors in the top 16 which shows the tremendous levels of talent in the province. 

For the full report on the event, see the EDC website here.

Round 2 of the EDC is this weekend and the pressure is on to ensure the Nissan is in top form for the competition. I’ve been to Knockhill in the past to do drift displays, but I haven’t drifted down the hill – the first corner that EDC use for the competition. Basically 90-100mph entry speed sideways into the Seat Curves (see photo), flicking the car away from the direction of the exit of the corner down a sharp hill. That means a pretty much blind entry flat out in 4th gear. That sounds daunting even to me.

Here’s a quick vid of Driftworks driver Bonbon to give you an idea of the speed involved.

In response to everyone who has been asking about how I’m getting on in the European Drift Championship, UDC and local shows I’ve put together a blog to keep you all updated.

2009 has been a totally mental year of events, all kick started by me getting a licence for the EDC at Santa Pod and its working me and the car pretty damn hard! Thanks to all for their support, especially the sponsors as without them I just wouldn’t be able to compete. Anyway stay tuned and if you want to be kept up to date, subscribe to the blog via email use the form on the right hand side.

Cheers
Andy