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15th June 2012
European Drift Championship Round 2 Knockhill Gallery now live!
The weather may have started a little damp but what a fantastic day Round 2 @ Knockhill proved to be! As always, resident EDC snapper Rich Sams was on hand to capture all the thrills and spills - you can see the full gallery by clicking the picture below or visiting HERE
11th August 2011
Another glorious summer day for the EDC Round 5 @ Cadwell Park. With temperatures reaching over 25 degrees the track was going to be super grippy, perfect for smoking up the Pirellis. Unfortunately Round 5 was missing a car from the line up - Tim Marshall in the SVA Imports Nissan 350Z. After losing out at Brands Hatch with engine problems Tim and the team were hoping to get back on top, but after parts didn’t arrive on time once again had to sit out. On a more positive note, Paul Conlan’s BC Racing S15 had sorted its wastegate problems out and was once again running on top form.
Karl Farrar’s drift taxi Cresta was now sporting a big single turbo conversion – Karl’s clearly been a very busy man over the past 4 weeks. With one of the heaviest cars on the field Karl’s Cresta previously ran around 300bhp from the 2.5-litre straight six, enough for a fast road car but a huge disadvantage with the likes of Brett Castle’s S15 running 500bhp and weighing 1100kg. We know these big Toyotas love to smoke up the Pirelli’s so it’ll be interesting to see how Karl gets on with the extra power.
The EDC circuit is taking part over the Hall Bends section, a super-technical s-bend section with a very sharp change of direction after the initiation. Seat time is essential for mastering this course, go too shallow and you’ll straighten up. Go too wide and there’s not much distance between you and the barrier. ‘You’ve just got to give it a go’ laughs Round 4 winner Brett Castle. ‘You change direction so quickly you have to stay totally committed’.
With first practice underway current championship leader Brett Castle showed everyone how it was done, taking a wide entry flowing through the Hall Bends drama free with plenty of angle and smoke. Vince is next in the Kleers PS13 – Vince a driver who just keeps improving round after round, taking it right to the final at Brands Hatch. Steve Will was the only driver not to practice on the Saturday, but after a couple of practice runs he’s got it nailed. Unfortunately for Karl Farrar the super-technical course is a tricky one for the big Cresta to manage, with the width of the track barely being that of a dual carriageway and definitely not much wider than the Cresta. To make things even harder, the entry speed is a fair bit slower – around 80mph, so nailing each run requires a perfect entry and line to flow through the rest of the course.
Qualifying followed next, and all drivers were keen to put in a few safe laps… all bar mad man Steve Will in the turbo M3 who, run after run, was dirt-dropping on full lock using 4th gear to completely smoke out the crowds. On commitment alone, Steve was miles ahead. Karl Farrar was taking it steady after a shakey practice, while Andy Cooper put in a string of consistent qualifiers in the RMS S14a. Top qualifier overall had to be Steve Will – by the end of qualifying, usual suspects Paul Conlan, Declan Hicks and Brett Castle had all scored well with safe runs it was Steve’s ‘balls out’ approach which gave him the edge.
With the qualifying sorted it was time for the final eight playoff. With no SVA 350Z top qualifier Steve Will got through with a by… not that you’d guessed from his fully mental approach to taking BOTH by runs. Entertaining isn’t the word. Second pairing put Brett Castle against Declan Hicks, and rather weirdly during the first judged runs both drivers merely drove round. It turns out to be turbo issues for Brett who, during the lunch-break replaced a broken turbo. However, because Declan didn’t attack it can only be scored as a 0-0 each. In the second and final judged run both drivers are very smooth taking identical lines. They’re evenly matched but with Declan putting in slightly more angle it’s enough for a 6-4 advantage and a place to the semi-finals.
Third pairing saw Vince Noot face Andy Cooper. Vince is continually impressing in the Kleers PS13, and a big entry, loads of angle and huge amounts of smoke gives him the initial 6-4 advantage. Andy’s leading run and Vince has left a lot of distance between them – the distance doesn’t increase or decrease, but Vince should’ve been closer. Either way, another strong run from Vince gives him another advantage and the next semi-final place.
Final pairing pitted Paul Conlan against Karl Farrar. Struggling through practice it looked like Paul would make short work of Karl, but truth be told the big Cresta taxi really held it’s own against the lighter, faster S15. Paul’s first run is super clean giving him a 7-3 advantage, and despite Karl really flying second time round to get a 6-4 back over Paul he misses out by the smallest of margins. More good progress from Karl.
Semi Finals
Declan faced Steve in the first pairing – a really interesting one at that. Dec is Mr Consistent while Steve is an absolute lunatic. These two faced each other at Brands Hatch and it was Declan’s consistency which saw him through, so could he manage it again at Cadwell? First run and Steve leads – huge angle, smoke bellowing from the rear Pirelli’s of the M3. Declan’s put in a clean run, but he struggles to close up giving Steve the 6-4 advantage. Second run and Dec’s slower, but Steve’s gone far too shallow to compensate and straightens slightly. 6-4 advantage to Declan, and one more time for them both.
First one more time and with Steve leading again he’s gone for big angle, huge entry and serious speed. Declan’s gone super shallow, and Steve’s taken a fairly big advantage going in with a 7-3. In the second run, much like the first run Declan’s put in a solid run and Steve’s gone shallow – it’s advantage to Dec but only just with a 6-4, and after Steve’s initial lead he’s through to the finals.
Second semi-final is Vince against Paul – two Toyota-powered Nissans head to head. First run is one of the closest we’ve seen all day, both drivers matching one another on angle and smoke with no distance lost or gained between them giving a 5-5 result. Second run and Vince is really struggling to stay with Paul within the third part of the course, losing ground to the S15. A 6-4 advantage to Paul sees him through to the final.
In the 5th and 6th playoff, Brett Castle faced Andy Cooper, and with his turbo issues finally sorted Brett came out and absolutely smashed both of his runs, really pulling out all the stops when following Andy not to go shallow from lack of speed unlike other drivers in their twin battles. Brett takes the overall advantage and takes 5th place overall.
Unfortunately due to time restraints the 3rd/4th playoff between Vince Noot and Declan Hicks was unable to take place. Based of qualifying and final eight/semi final points, Vince Noot was awarded with third place – his second podium in as many events, top work from the EDC newbie.
Final
This was going to be good. Paul’s S15 has been really aggressive all day, but Steve’s bonkers M3 is the undisputed angle and smoke king. Going into the first run and Steve’s literally gone insane – a monstrous entry seems him hit the clipping point perfectly, it looked at one point like the M3 was about to spin but he holds it much to the amazement of Paul who, clean run aside, just couldn’t match the bonkers M3 giving Steve a 6-4 advantage.
Unknown until after the event, but an earlier prang from Paul had punctured his S15s radiator, so every run Paul was having to visit the pits, top up with water and then go back out. Even still, Paul drove absolutely faultless on his leading run, but all Steve needed to do was follow cleanly (which he did) to take the win after his initial advantage.
A massive well done to all the drivers, and huge congratulations to Steve on his first win after starting the season plagued with engine problems. His balls-out driving style is definitely a crowd favourite, and with so many drivers capable of winning the EDC is hotting up to be the best season yet.
Final results were:
1st - Steve Will
2nd - Paul Conlan
3rd - Vince Noot
4th - Declan Hicks
5th - Brett Castle
6th - Andy Cooper
7th - Karl Farrar
9th May 2011
The 2011 European Drift Championship kicked off in spectacular fashion at Oulton Park last month, and this weekend heads north to the super-fast Knockhill circuit in Fife, Scotland. For those who’ve never been, the Knockhill circuit has a huge 200ft altitude difference making it perfect for spectators, and watching the EDC cars enter at nearly 100mph downhill it really is a proper treat to watch!
 At Oulton Park the 1JZ-powered S15 of Paul Conlan continued to dominate from 2010 taking the opening win against Brett Castle who put in a quality performance in an all-new Nismo-sponsored S15 which looked an animal to try and tame! Round 1 also welcomed a few new faces to the EDC; Steve Will in the E36 M3 turbo, Karl Farrar in the Toyota Cresta and Vince Noot in the 1JZ-powered PS13. Mechanical problems plagued Steve’s M3 while Karl’s Cresta had literally arrived off the boat from Japan just several days before with a distinct power/weight disadvantage, but for Kleers-sponsored Vince Oulton proved to be a fantastic outing taking 4th overall.
 ‘Round one was my very first EDC experiences and my first ever outing in a freshly-built car, no testing apart from having the car mapped on the dyno!’ explains Vince. ‘I had a few issues with the auxiliary belt popping off, but had a great few runs prior to the belt coming off which brought the day to a quick end. Awesome track, very fast and a very professional approach to drifting! Since then I’ve been fully setting up the car for Knockhill, and I can’t wait to get back out there with the niggles sorted!’
With a third place finish at Round 1 Veteran EDC driver Declan Hicks is looking to stay on the podium at Knockhill, being one of his favourite tracks having competed on the hill multiple times over the years. He’s also promised to bring some nice weather up from Dorset, too!
The 1JZ Cresta will be sporting some new Track Dynamics livery to promote my specialist driver training business Declan explains. Its aimed at track day and race drivers who want to really master their skills and car control what better advert than an EDC car. Declan is a seasoned race circuit instructor and is often regarded as one of best instructors for teaching car control & vehicle dynamics. Hes now putting his specialist skills into promoting the new name of Track Dynamics for his business. To find out more or book Declan for a track day go to www.trackdynamics.co.uk
Andy Cooper suffered in practice during Round 1 after a loose arm bolt put him into the gravel on the first run missing the session entirely. Andy still pulled it back to take 5th overall, but making the long trek from Ireland hes hoping to get up on the podium at Knockhill.
I was against Brett Castle in the Nismo S15 during the top 8 says Andy. After what I thought was a near certain win for team RMS we were ran one more time after making equal scoring on the first two runs. The second set of runs were tight with Brett making it through to the top 4. I was then out against Karl Farrar in his Toyota Cresta for the 5/6 position and I went through to claim 5th place. A great start to the season and after that close run there is determination to hit the podium at Knockhill (Round 2). Sunday 15th May isn’t far away and weve been working flat out to improve the car for the next round wish us luck
Round 2 of the European Drift Championship takes place at Knockhill Circuit on the 15th May. For more information teams/drivers and tickets please visit the EDC website below.
4th March 2011
After a very successful 2010 with Pirelli the European Drift Championship would like to welcome them back for a second succesive season. The EDC are very excited about bringing the Pirelli motorsport division with all there motorsport knowledge,success and pedigree with it, welcome to the wonderful world of Drifting.
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