2009 Season


During the 2009 season I competed in two championships at a Professional level:

JDM ALLSTARS TRIPLE CROWN SERIES

JDM All Stars Triple Crown Series: An exclusive series for exclusive drivers.
Drivers are handpicked from the European Drift Championship, Pro drift and numerous international drift leagues based on their performance and flair. Only the best get the chance to compete for the Triple Series Crown.

THE BRITISH DRIFT CHAMPIONSHIP (BDC)

The British Drift Championship aims to promote the sport of drifting and its drivers to an ever-wider audience. Venues for this championship are specifically selected to help generate the excitement and experience of the thrill of drifting, without compromising spectator’s visibility. This allows them to get close to the action, with pit walk-throughs and the ability to meet the drivers.

Round 1 BDC Donnington Park – Saturday 11th April 2009

o This was my first round of the year at the historic racetrack Donnington Park. It was also the first time the car had been driven since finishing the rebuild over the winter.
o I qualified 15th out of the attending 40 drivers.
o My over all place was 10th.

Link to BDC Driftcast: http://www.vimeo.com/4289925


Pro Drift Round 2 Donnington Park Sunday 12th April 2009


o After a successful day at BDC on Saturday, I was asked to compete in Round 2 of Pro Drift, the Irish Drift Championship.
o The level of driving was very high and, by a slim margin, I was denied competing in the Top 16, qualifying 17th.
o Pro Drift is a prestigious championship and to finish 17th on my first competitive weekend was an achievement for me.


Round 2 JDM Allstars – Lydden Hill– Monday 4th May 2009


o This was my first time competing in the invitation only Triple Crown Series. I qualified 8th in front of some of the best drivers in world. I scored 88 points.
o I battled a driver from Norway, Paul Vlasblom, also known as DRIFTKING.NL. He qualified in 9th place, just behind me on points.
o Scoring followed 6/4-6/4. Overall I came 12th place in this event, putting me in 17th place in the championship.


Round 2 BDC- Llandow, South Wales – Saturday 23rd May 2009


o ‘Angle’ was the word of the day at Round 2. The large crowds saw me qualify in 12th place.
o After a really tight first run with Team Japspeeds Danny Eyles and a 6 -4 score in my favour, the second battle was even closer.
o Due to Eyles’ speed advantage he was able to overtake on my inside, gaining immediate qualification to the top 8.

Link to BDC Driftcast: http://www.vimeo.com/5069559


Round 3 BDC- Lydden Hill – Saturday 13th June 2009

o After a morning of little practice time at Lydden Hill and every individual drivers judged runs, I qualified in 14th place.
o I battled another Team Japspeed driver, Steve “Baggsy” Biagioni.
o His 200SX had mechanical issues, so he pulled up alongside me on the start line in the borrowed R33 Skyline of Nathan Chivers.
o Baggsy scored a pair of 6/4 wins after unfairly relieving me of my bumper at the end of the second run!

Link to BDC Driftcast: http://www.vimeo.com/5475874

Round 3 - JDM Allstars – Wembley 25th and 26th July 2009

o Saturday at Wembley consisted of a half-day practice with qualifying in the afternoon. I qualified in fourth place. Due to my great success, I was able to return on Sunday to play amongst the big boys!
o 32 drivers qualified and all were required to participate in one super lap. My super lap saw me take 12th place and therefore paired with Mark Luney in the 600 BHP Nissan 350Z. After 2 close runs, we were beckoned to run one more time. Unfortunately Luney had a slight speed advantage and he progressed to the top 8.

Link to JDM Allstars – Wembley: http://www.vimeo.com/5880949

Link to JDM Allstars Wembley 2009 – The Drift Festival: http://vimeo.com/5937483

BDC Round 4 – Norfolk Arena – 29th, 30th and 31st August 2009

o After 2 days of practice, I qualified 2nd on Saturday afternoon. This left me on the same points as first place qualifier and good friend of mine Shane Lynch of Boyzone.
o The top 16 commenced around 8pm, the first evening competition for The British Drift Championship.
o I was paired up to drive against my Team Green teammate, Alan Green. Once again, these 2 runs were, literally, too close for the judges to call and we ran one more time. Regrettably I had a slight mishap and my car straightened due to inconsistent tyres. I forfeited my place in the top 8.
o The following day consisted of a team event. We were required to drive as close as possible, whilst mimicking our team mates lines in order to score points for the team championship standings. Overall my team, finished in 3rd place, my first podium finish of the year.

Link to BDC Driftcast: http://www.vimeo.com/7047747

Link to Team Green Team Talk: http://www.vimeo.com/7092033

Link to BDC Team Event: http://vimeo.com/6621666

JDM ALLSTARS – Silverstone – 5th and 6th September 2009

o I attended this event with the excitement of getting my chance to drive a Formula One track in front of thousands of spectators at the 2009 Trax Show. Sadly my first full season of Professional competitive driving was cut short. After 3 practice runs, the strain my car had been put under for the whole year really showed when it suffered turbo failure. Regrettably, I could not compete in the final round of the JDM Allstars Triple Crown Series.

BDC Round 5 – Llandow, South Wales - 20th September 2009


o This was the final round of the British Drift Championship, “the decider”, as put by many. After car problems at Silverstone and a lack of funding to get the car repaired and to Llandow, I was sadly forced to withdraw.






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