BBC Alba was filming at Round 2 of the EDC this year at Knockhill and it’s been shown on Thursday 8th December at 22.00, on BBC Alba.  It will also be available on iPlayer.

From the BBC Website:

The smell of burning rubber is in the air – Calum Iain is at Knockhill for Modified Live’s Time Attack Trials and the European Drift Championships. There’s plenty of speed and action as the Drifters make full use of the Knockhill circuit, plus every kind of modification on view.

For more info see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017xhn8

Much effort had went on before the season began, with the car taking on its all new black, green and blue look thanks to Blackwater Graphics.  We also had fantastic support in terms of logistics and ferries from motorsport travel experts Nutt Travel taking the stress out of our travel arrangements.  I’m very pleased to say Nutt Travel are returning to support the team in 2012.

Northern Ireland’s largest car advertising website, Used Cars NI.com, also provided great support throughout the year including featuring the car in their weekly magazine.  Thanks to Conor and the team at Motoglass for providing lubricants and consumable parts, and to Norman, Jeff and the team at Kerrs Tyres for fitting the fantastic Pirelli PZero Corsa tyres that Pirelli supplied to the championship this year.

Despite the fantastic support, I was still competing in my ‘home built’ 420bhp Nissan S14a, the average horsepower of the championship cars was well over 500bhp, so with no performance budget we focussed on improving the suspension and handling setup and really push my driving abilities.

And so we hit round 1, and with my new damper and antiroll bar settings I was struggling to get to grips with the car.  With a few more tweaks the car had never felt better and by the time round 2 at Knockhill was over we had a fantastic 3^rd place in the bag.

Back home in June and I was again invited as the only drift car to do a demo run at the historic Cultra Hill Climb.  Only a week after the our result at Knockhill it was great to engage with our local audience, and I can only apologise for the black lines I left running the whole length of the Cultra Estate!

The middle of the season back at the European Championship met with mediocre results.  Our car setup for Knockhill just didn’t translate to Brands Hatch and I then narrowly missed the podium at Cadwell Park.  We did do some filming at Cadwell so keep an eye on the blog over Christmas!

Anglesey we had our first major performance issue in the ignition system, forcing me to nearly retire and running my final laps significantly down on power.  We knew Snetterton was coming, and the revised circuit meant true 110mph+ drifting so the pressure was on.

And it was the Snetterton final where it all came together.  Spark issues resolved, more aggressive suspension settings dialled in and ultimately a make or break attitude to my runs meant I qualified second place.   One more time in both semi-finals and the finals meant for a nerve wracking finish, but perseverance and determination held true, and that’s when I won the final round of the Pirelli European Drift Championship, 2011.

Big thanks to the team, sponsors and event organisers for making it all possible.

Stay tuned, 2012 looks to be awfully exciting.  Join my blog at blog.reallymeansounds.com and ‘like’ me on my facebook page for the latest information.

With all our problems including broken exhaust and bumper from Anglesey behind us, there was a determination to leave our mark on the final round of the championship at Snetterton Circuit.  Entry speeds here were 100mph+, and by the time practice had finished I wasn’t lifting the throttle from the start line to the first corner!

I had a great result in qualifying, scoring a 94% on one of my runs securing me 2nd position, and with there being a few cars not running I was straight into the top 4 against Karl Farrar in the green Toyota drift taxi.  We went to “one more time” after our first runs scored evenly, however a tight chasing run from team RMS ensured a victory at the last.  Onto the final!

I was out against Vince Noot and his 1JZ Toyota powered Nissan PS13 (above).  Both Vince and I straightened slightly on our first run, with the advantage going to Vince.  I needed to pull out all the stops to beat his score, and on my leading run I tried to put some distance between us after entring the first corner.  Vince started to catch up entering the final corner but overcooked it and spun out.  Win for team RMS!

And so we ended the final of the 2011 season on a high note, with a fantastic 1st place result.  Many thanks to all the team, sponsors, Pirelli and the championship for the support throughout the year – this really makes it all worthwhile.

Onwards and upwards for 2012!

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We arrived for practice on the Saturday to wind and rain, which is unfortunate after a run of hot dry events so far this year.  We were drifting downhill through the ‘corkscrew’ which was an awesome three corner part of the circuit past the paddock with a tricky bump between the second and final corners.  All went well in practice despite the weather and we were looking forward to the competition on Sunday.

Thankfully a dry day on Sunday, we tried an altered track layout and all was going well, until I caught the bumper on the clipping point (stack of tyres) on the first corner.  I didn’t notice at the time that the bumper had come off, and Karl Farrar was behind me so was pressing on hard.  Once I hit the bump in the track after the second corner, the bumper went straight under the car mid drift, exploding in a cloud of fibreglass over Karl following behind!

Unfortunately that was the start of our problems.  A misfire developed, the exhaust had broken near the turbo and the car didn’t run properly for the rest of the event.  I went out on my competitive runs but we had to settle for a disappointing 6th place.  Keep an eye out though, we have it all on video which will be up soon!

Needless to say the spanners are out in preparation for the finals at Snetterton on the 25th September.  Wish us luck!

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Sunday 21st August at 1.30pm, Junction 1, Antrim. – See You There!

We arrived to an overcast and relatively cool track on the Saturday, with the occasional shower of rain.  A stark contrast from last year’s roasting temperatures.  After qualifying I was drawn against Steve Will in his 700 bhp M3, which meant maximum commitment by me to make an impression.  Steve took the lead on the first run using the power to leave me through the huge clearways corner. 

I fought back hard in our second run coming in flat out and starting the drift quite early.  Unfortunately despite my strong second run I hadn’t done enough to get through to the semi final.  There was always Sunday!

Sunday turned out to be the typical summer scorcher at Brands with temperatures around 30°C making it a challenge for drivers and hard on the cars with all eyes on the temperature gauges!  I was up against Tim Marshall in the SVA 350z first, and after a strong first run from both of us, Tim had to retire due to engine issues.  Great for team RMS and we were through to the top 4 against Vince Noot in his red toyota powered Nissan PS13.

Vince and I both got off to a poor start, both spinning on our practice run.  Track temperatures and tyre pressures were definitely catching us out.  After two very fast runs, I lost some ground chasing Vince leaving team RMS in 4th place.

Only a few weeks until Cadwell Park for Round 5, on Sunday 31st July.

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Unfortunately due to the timed part of the event running way behind schedule, I only got three runs up the hill (managing to avoid the new grass-saving bollards!) Here’s some footage near the finish line.

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Less than three weeks to go until Brands Hatch and looking forward to it!

From the TSCC Website (www.tsccni.co.uk)

Highlights include a bike demo run by former MotoGP bike racer Jeremy McWilliams who is promoting the SPARKS Charity organisation that supports research into children’s illness.
Drift Car competitor Andy Cooper returns and will be mainly travelling sideways up the hill and rallying will be represented by 2 iconic rallycars from the Ford stable Frank McPolin’s 1986 Ford RS200GpB rally car. This car is in full works rally spec capable of delivering a staggering (450 bhp). The second representative is Davy Wilson’s 1981 GP4 1800 Escort replica, sporting what has now become the iconic Rothmans livery. It is also apt, that it is 30 years since David Richards and Ari Vatanen won the world championship and the last private team to do so.
Other highlights include a 2010 Ferrari 995 monza and static GP2 cars from the Philip Sheilds motorsport stable.
Visitors can view all the participating cars and bikes and meet the drivers and riders in the Paddocks.

Tearing it up at last years climb.  Give way.  (And sidelight fixed for the 2011 season!)