Modified Live also saw the first round of the 2009 Need for Speed European Drift Championship at Oulton Park, alongside its sister series Time Attack UK. Even though morning practice was hampered by rain causing a few mishaps to happen amongst the drivers, the sun did return to dry up the track enough for some uninterrupted drifting action... [read more]
With 2008 EDC Champion Ben Broke-Smith nowhere in sight meant Round 1 was anyone’s game. Steve Evans in his Toyota Starlet was off the pace and saw his little hatchback run off track in both stages. Newcomer Steve Will and his BMW M3 Turbo shared the same fate when up against Pete Barber in his Mazda RX7 FD. Paul Chesire in his Nissan Silvia S14A also had a spot of trouble when leading against Mark Luney in his Nissan 350Z and almost caused a high speed crash after making a mistake on his entry. Fortunately Luney managed to sidestep the helpless Silvia and took the win.
In a first round upset, 2007 EDC Champion Brett Castle was knocked out by 13 year old newcomer Dwain McKeever from Northern Ireland. The young drifter took the advantage in both stages, all with an ARDS instructor in the passenger seat in compliance with regulations because of his age!
However McKeever’s good pace came to an abrupt end when paired with drift veteran Phil Morrison in his Nissan S15 2JZ wearing a black livery for the 2009 season. Morrison’s sheer presence sent the young newcomer off in the first stage, with another mistake in the second allowing Morrison to advance to the next tier. Alan McCord and Paul Conlan got their fair share of Silvia action, with the V8 engine of McCord against the SR20 engine of Conlan. Their first duel were equally matched, leaving the judges to award equal points. Going into the second stage on even grounds, McCord bested Conlan with a superior drift angle overall.
The final saw Morrison and McCord up against each other. With Morrison leading, McCord held his ground and stayed glued to Morrison’s rear bumper. Both drivers were faultless, and earned equal points from the judges. However, Morrison proved to be the better drifter in the final stage, and just takes the win by a point on a 6:5 advantage to Morrison.
With Phil Morrison and his Silvia smoke machine taking the first win at Oulton Park, the Need for Speed European Drift Championship now moves to Knockhill in Scotland on May 17th. Be sure to check back for full coverage of Round 2 of the European Drift Championship at ColdTrackDays.
2009 European Drift Championship Standings:
1) Phil Morrison (Nissan S15 2JZ) – 100
2) Alan McCord (Nissan S15 V8) – 75
3) Mark Luney (Nissan 350Z) – 60
4) Paul Conlan (Nisan S15 2JZ) – 50
5) Declan Hicks (Toyota Soarer GZ) – 40
6) James Russell (Nissan Skyline R32) – 35
7) Pete Barber (Mazda RX7 FD) – 30
8) Dwain McKeever (Nissan 180SX) – 25
9) Brett Castle (Nissan S14A) – 15
10) Steve Evans (Toyota Starlet) – 15
11) Kieron Cameron (Nissan S13) – 15
12) Steve Will (BMW M3 Turbo) – 15
13) Paul Chesire (Nissan S14A) – 15
14) Lex Drew (Nissan Skyline R32) – 15
15) Andrew Cooper (Nissan S14A) – 15
16) Ian Harrison (Nissan Skyline) – 15
17) Gary Hughes (Nissan Skyline R32) – 10
Photo/Editorial: Calvin Chu
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