EDC welcomes more new drivers for 2009 championship

Steve Will: The first thing that impressed me with Steve was his speed. It took a few attempts before he got the hang of the track but the speed he was carrying was immense. Steve’s a little rough around the edges but with more experience and being immersed amongst some of the best competition available in Europe, I’m sure he will become a true asset to the championship. Not many BMW drivers in the EDC at the moment so hopefully Steve’s Turbocharged E36 will be noticed in the line up.

Paul Cheshire:  I’ve known of Pauls performances as he entered the team drift competition at Santa Pod in 2008. He showed great talent then and now he comes to EDC as a full driver. Paul doesn’t excel in any one discipline but he makes up for this by being consistent in all of his runs. Paul’s development over the next few rounds is something I’ll be looking out for. His car was still in build at the time of the drivers search and was there in a borrowed car. He learned the characteristic of this very quickly and by the end of the day, he was driving like it was his own. This showed me that Paul has adaptability which is much needed as he will be challenging many fast tracks that he would not have driven before. I guess the real question is “can Paul’s adaptability get him through the 100MPH corner of Silverstone?” My gut instinct is “Yes! He can!”

Alexis Drew: Lex is one of those guys who has been around on the scene for many years but never made a big impact as a driver until last year when he performed outstandingly in the BDC. Lex is the man behind the Drift What Ya Brung at Santa Pod and so you may think that the venue gave him an advantage but the EDC Santa Pod layout is different from what they normally run at DWYB so that’s certainly not the case. Lex is however, proof that the more you drive, the better you get. All this seat time that he’s been getting at DWYB has certainly turned Lex into a top drifter. I can’t stress this point enough! Lex made sure he came to see me for detailed feedback and put the car exactly where I asked and did it with confidence. If he keeps this up, he will be mixing with the top boys before long.

Steve Whitbread: Steve's was name that I didn’t know of until this day and by the end of the day I realised I was missing out on something until now. Steve is another DWYB regular and the amount driving he has done clearly showed. The thing that impressed me about Steve was his accuracy. He saw the line which I asked him to take and he was on it on pretty much every lap. Steve’s next step is to increase “Impact” Steve can get round the track with competence but to develop further, he will need to find either exceptional angle or overwhelming speed. In top level drifting, you get two types of drivers who specialise in one of these disciplines. Steve is at a junction and could go either way. I guess we’ll have to watch him in EDC 2009 to see what happens.

Andrew Cooper: Andy has been drifting out of Northern Ireland for quite a few years. He came over to try and become the 4^th Northern Irish Driver in the EDC behind Luney, McCord and Conlan. Andy took a while to get used to the track and conditions. Once he got the hang of it, he showed great potential. With a season of EDC under his belt, I’m sure he he will be able to mix it up with the rest of the field without problem. I guess the thing that he should work on is the consistency of his runs as he can get it right, but needs to get it right sooner so that he can be more confident in his drifting.

Gary Hughes: Gary is another who came out of nowhere but had that impact which I may have said that some were lacking. Big angle seemed to be his thing and with a gearbox which doesn’t lose its gears half way through the day, he should have some more speed too. If he can work on getting his lines more precise, Gary will fit in with the EDC drivers and be a true top level driver.

Gavin Cummings: Gavin only managed to have limited practice time due to some issues delaying his arrival. However it was clear that that Gavin wouldn’t be needing a lot of practice. Gavin took to the track with relative competence and after some feedback, Gavin responded immediately and made all the adjustments that I made of him which was a promising start. Furthermore, when he made a slight mistake, he made all the right corrections which is an often overlooked talent. If Gavin tidies up his car to make it more marketable and works further on how to present himself, it won’t be long before he gets some strong sponsor backing and becomes a future superstar of drift.

Cassian Watkins: Cas could arguably be once of the UKs first drifters. He’s been around to be a part of the drift scene since the very first events and his experience showed at Santa Pod. Cas showed that he was a competent driver as he managed to make it around the track consistently. Run by run, he would then get closer to the desired line and thus increasing in speed and angle. I feel that Cas can really put some polish on his drifting by being amongst the EDC drivers and I hope that he can up his game further.

Julian Smith: Julian technically had his license already due to being a D1GB driver in 2006. Somehow, everyone managed to not notice this when he came to get his license. His performance wasn’t up to his usual standards but everyone is keen to see the return of the drift legend.