EUROPEAN DRIFT CHAMPIONSHIP // ROUND 5 - SANTA POD RACEWAY

Oh the joys of the British summer! It’s the middle of July and we are greeted with overcast skies, patchy rain and overall very miserable weather conditions. If you didn’t look at the calendar you’d think it’s any other time of the year. Come wind or rain however, it didn’t stop the drivers of the Need for Speed European Drift Championship from doing their thing as we move from Brands Hatch to Santa Pod Raceway... [read more]

Round Five at Santa Pod Raceway is the only round on the EDC calendar which takes place on a much smaller course. Instead of navigating a select number of turns on a racing circuit, the drivers compete on a cleverly constructed course in the tarmac area of one of the UK’s most renowned drag strips. Needless to say there aren’t many run-off areas for this round. If it’s not the cones, then it’s the plastic barriers the drivers would be ploughing into. Or even worse, the concrete ones. 

Fortunately, the rain only stayed for the morning practice session, and by the time of the Top 16 battles the course was dry albeit a few spots of standing water. Unfortunately for Stewart Hansford, he was the only driver of the day to plough into the plastic barriers during his battle with Martin French in the bright pink Mazda RX7. 

As the battle for the Top 8 continued there were more displays of excellent drifting from Round 2 winner Alan McCord. McCord, who suffered a blown engine during last round at Brands Hatch, used a borrowed white Nissan Silvia S13 to take Steve Will in his BMW M3. After two close runs it went to One More Time, with McCord taking the win due to Will spinning out. Mark Luney, Round 4 winner also showed his might in his Nissan 350Z as he won against Paul Cheshire, and 2007 EDC Champion Brett Castle and his SVS Nissan Silvia S14 also moved into the Top 8 after a close battle with Keith Hammond. 

A familiar sight from Round 4 from Brands Hatch was the Driftworks Nissan R32 Skyline. Back then it was Phil Morrison borrowing the car because his Nissan Silvia S15 still had engine problems. This time however, its real driver was here – 2008 EDC Champion Ben ‘BonBon’ Broke-Smith. BonBon isn’t participating in the full EDC this year, with his attention placed on the JDM Allstars drift series. But with the next round of that series a few weeks away, there’s no harm in BonBon getting a bit more practice in preparation for it! 

And the 2008 EDC Champion certainly showed his pedigree, moving into the Top 8 after a close run with Declan Hicks, winning because of a slight contact between the cars. Teammate Phil Morrison also had no problem moving forward, dispensing with Kieron Cameron after he’d gone wide in the first turn. The crowds at Santa Pod were also given a rare treat as Pete Barber went up against Martin French in an all Mazda RX7 battle. It was clear that both drivers were Rotary experts, but French took the win with a lead that Barber could not keep up with. 

As if an all Mazda RX7 battle wasn’t enough, James Russell and David Monaghan went up against each other in an all Nissan R32 Skyline battle! The DCY Skyline pilot took an easy win over the gold Skyline in the first run and winning the second run again after Monaghan span out. Rounding off the Top 8 was Paul Conlan who won against Alexis Drew with his green Santa Pod Skyline with a superior drift angle. 

The Top 8 battles were just as dramatic, with teammates Phil Morrison and Ben ‘BonBon’ Broke-Smith going head to head in an all Driftworks smoke off! Both cars are renowned for being absolute smoke monsters, so it was no surprise that the battles were very close with both drivers demonstrating excellent car control. However it was Morrison who took the win after BonBon’s mistake during One More Time. Alan McCord also took a win over James Russell’s mistake after he went in too deep in the second run, causing the DCY Skyline to kiss McCord’s S13 sideways netting zero points. 

2007 EDC Champion Brett Castle was pitted against newcomer Martin French. Castle certainly demonstrated his experience, but French held his ground and both runs came out even forcing a One More Time. However it was Castle who maintained his composure as French hit a barrier, handing Castle the win. Mark Luney was tasked with taking on fellow Irishman Paul Conlan. After a few close runs and another One More Time situation, Luney lost out to Conlan’s impressive angles, rounding off the Top 4. 

It was Paul Conlan against Phil Morrison in the first semi-final, with Conlan putting a fair fight in the first run resulting in even scores. But the Driftworks driver came out on top when leading in the second run, creating a sizable gap that Conlan couldn’t keep up with. Next it was Brett Castle against Alan McCord, with both drivers performing almost identically in the first two runs, forcing a One More Time. However, after a tyre change Castle thought they would be another practice run before the next battle and took it easy in the first run, not knowing it would be judged. But it was his mistake as it was a judged run, with McCord taking the win. Castle tried to make up for it in the second battle, but it was not enough, handing McCord entry into the finals. 

Castle’s efforts for recovery were not in vain though as he went on to face Conlan for the third spot. Castle was very quick in the first run, almost overtaking Conlan, and with Conlan having to slow down to avoid contact it compromised his run, handing Brett Castle third place. 
 
So for the final it was Phil Morrison versus Alan McCord. An all Nissan, S15 versus borrowed S13 battle. The first two runs showed that the finalists belonged where they were as their angle and speed netted even scores, meaning a One More Time. After another two close runs each driver had an advantage, resulting in even scores again with another One More Time needed. However at the end of the day there could be only one winner and it was Morrison who came up top as McCord straightened up at the first turn in the final run. 

With Phil Morrison winning Round Five it means he is back at the top of the standings, heading into the final round with a 40pt advantage over Mark Luney, with Alan McCord and Pete Barber following closely behind. The final round of the Need for Speed European Drift Championship now moves to Snetterton on October 11th. ColdTrackDays will be there, so be sure to check back then for our coverage! 

2009 European Drift Championship Standings: 
1. Phil Morrison (Nissan R32)…  335pts 
2. Mark Luney (Nissan 350Z)…  295pts 
3. Alan McCord (Nissan S15 V8)…  280pts 
4. Pete Barber (Mazda RX7)…  265pts 
5. Brett Castle (Nissan S15)…  220pts 
5. James Russell (Nissan R32)…  185pts 
7. Paul Conlan (Nissan S15 2JZ)…  175pts 
8. Declan Hicks (Toyota Soarer GZ20)… 150pts 
9. Kieron Cameron (Nissan S13)…  90pts 
10. Ian Harrisson (Nissan R32)…  80pts 
11. Stewart Hansford (Nissan S13)… 75pts 
11. Paul Cheshire (Nissan S14A)…  75pts 
13. Andrew Cooper (Nissan S14A)… 70pts 
14. David Monaghan (Nissan R32)… 65pts 
15. Gary Hughes (Nissan R32)…  60pts 
16. Keith Hammond (Nissan R32)… 55pts 
16. Steve Will (BMW M3)…   55pts 
18. Martin French (Mazda RX7)…  35pts 
19. Ben Broke Smith (Nissan R32)… 30pts 
19. Steve Evans (Lexus IS200)…  30pts 
19. Alexis Drew (Nissan R32)…   30pts 
23. Dwain McKeever (Nissan S13)… 25pts 
24. Richard Bradley (Nissan S14)…  15pts 
24. David Waterworth (Nissan S13)… 15pts 
24. Daniel Eyles (Nissan S13)…  15pts 
24. Kiyoshi Kawabata (Nissan PS13)… 15pts 
24. Anthony Scott (Nissan PS13)…  15pts 
29. Rennie Morrocco (BMW E36)…  10pts

Photo/Editorial: Calvin Chu