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Marshall back on form Round 5 of the 2008 Japaneseusedcars.com European drift championship returned to Silverstone. The same layout was used as per round 3, from the national straight approaching Brooklands corner into Luffield. |
The biggest factor to affect the drivers this round was the weather. Huge downpours across the weekend left a lot of standing water on the track and made visibility very poor for the drivers. Chief Judge Hiroki “Sleepy” Furuse suggested that in this very wet weather, the racing line should be adjusted to best suit the conditions. The British touring cars had raced no the circuit the week before and naturally laid down a lot of rubber on the racing line. When combined with the water there is no grip to be found on the racing line and so an alternative line which traced the outside edge of each corner was suggested to maximise vehicle speed through the judged section.
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Practice began with rain continuing to fall. All drivers were going somewhat cautiously to find out whether there actually was more grip on the outside. Whilst a few were slowly finding their feet in the aquatic conditions, one person had no such problems. Remmo Niezen from Holland knew where his car was going from the first run and it was clear that he was very comfortable even in these wet conditions. Niezen was using the extra grip on the outside of the track to achieve very high speeds and it became clear that this was indeed the correct line to take for qualifying.
Into qualifying and Remmo Niezen was still the man to beat with Phil Morrison also finding form and starting to dial in his new S15 nicely found 2nd place. Other noticeable performances were from James Russell and Kieran Cameron who both achieved higher positions than normal. Adam Richards from New Zealand was back once again but was unable to find his feet in the wet conditions and struggled to get on the right line with speed. Richards joined championship regulars, Chris Parry and James Grimsey amongst those who failed to qualify for the finals.
The finals would take place the following day along side TRAX 2008, with the weather report promising better weather (albeit still wet) most drivers prayed for dry conditions overnight.
The finals day started with a short warm up session and it was clear that all drivers had got much more used to the conditions as there was remarkable improvement in all drivers in this session. Mark Luney in the SVA Imports 350Z was another of the drivers showing good improvement with his new Maxxis tyres working well for him but terminal engine failure would mean his retirement and serious damage not only to the engine but also to his championship challenge.
The top 16 finals began with current championship leader Ben Broke Smith in the Driftworks JZX81 Toyota Chaser taking on Paul Conlan in the Predator Motorsport S15 Silvia. Paul Conlan put up a strong fight but was unable to match Broke Smith.
James Russell and Declan Hicks were next to face each other. Russell was driving well under the conditions as was Hicks meaning that this one would be a close battle. Predictions were correct with Russell driving with speed but Hicks showing more angle. Sudden death was called and Hicks was to follow in the 3rd run. Hicks made a mistake and straightened the car just after the transition to Luffield. Trying to make u for his mistake Hicks made a bold overtaking manoeuvre around the outside and passed but had very little drift angle. The advantage in this run was given to Russell who didn’t make any mistakes. Hicks was unable to turn around the advantage in the 4th run allowing the D-C-Y/Pro tyre Skyline of James Russell into the top 8.
Tim Marshall comfortably overcame the challenge from Steve Evans as Evans struggled to find form in the difficult conditions. Evans has a new car build taking place and is expected to achieve much higher results next year. Much attention will be on what Evans rolls out as the new Autoglym machine in 2009.
Maciej Polody was disqualified after overtaking Paul Smith on the first corner. Due to the weather, it was agreed for safety that overtaking would only be allowed after the transition point between the two corners.
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2007 EDC champion Brett Castle would face Dave Walbrin, who was recently crowned 2008 champion of the EDC feeder series, the British Drift Championship. Dave Walbrin showed fantastic skill and consistency to force the champion into sudden death. Castle suddenly lost form in the following two runs handing the victory to Walbrin. It was later discovered that Castle suffered an issue with one of his tyres giving inconsistent grip levels causing the mistakes.
The next battle was between two S15 Nissan Silvias but neither powered by the original 2l engine. Phil Morrison powered by a Toyota 2JZ 3l engine found in a Toyota Supra and Alan McCord who has a Corvette LS2 V8 motor onboard. Neither driver gave away a big advantage leading to a tie after two runs. Into Sudden death and it was Morrison who was able to take his Driftworks Silvia to the Top8 with a narrow victory over McCord.
Danny Eyles and Shane Lynch were next to go. The two Japspeed cars looked closely matched in practice but it speed that Lynch had more speed through the corners. The battle began and in the first run, Lynch had more speed and a slight mistake by Eyles gave Lynch the advantage. The second run would see Lynch lead and Eyles follow. Lynch initiated into the first corner but his back wheels regained grip soon after and pushed his nose into the wall. Lynch proceeded to bounce off the wall and collected Eyles who was following close behind. The nose of Lynch’s car found the driver side door of Eyles in the worst crash in EDC history. Luckily both drivers were unharmed and proved that the tight safety regulations in the EDC worked well to save these two drivers.
Due to the crash, the battle between Kieran Cameron and Remmo Niezen was held later in the day. By this time the track had dried across most of the track but some wet patches remained to catch out the drivers. All eyes were on Niezen to see how he would cope in the dry conditions as this would be his first laps at a dry Silverstone. There was no reason to be worried as Niezen was right on the pace from the first run beating Kieran Cameron in the process.
Ben Broke Smith and James Russell were able to contest on a dry track. With the track drying up, Broke Smith was able to show his true abilities and outpaced the DCY skyline. Russell responded back on the second run but was unable to turn over the deficit from the first run.
Paul Smith faced Tim Marshall in the next top 8 battle and after a close battle, the Apex Performance Skyline of Marshall took a close win over the Japspeed Silvia with Smith making a small mistake.
Dave Walbrin, having beaten the 2007 champion in the previous round, would now have to face 2006 champion Phil Morrison. The Driftworks Silvia is known to work well in the dry and it has been approximately 3 years since Walbrin has driven at Silverstone in the dry. Walbrin struggled to adjust back to the dry conditions and Morrison took the win. A great performance from Walbrin and there is great anticipation about his future with EDC and also about the new talent which continues to emerge from the feeder series.
Remmo Niezen was given a bye through to the next round due to Daniel Eyles being unable to compete after the crash.
The first semi final was between Ben Broke smith and Tim Marshall. Marshall took the win after a big mistake by Broke Smith in the first run where he lost speed and corrected his drift on the 2nd corner. “Bon Bon” was able to take the second run but couldn’t turn around the big deficit form the earlier run.
The second semi final was so close it could have continued for the rest of the day in sudden deaths. Phil Morrison in the Driftworks Silvia and Remmo Niezen in his V8 powered E30 BMW were closing in on each other as if they had been drifting as a team for years. Each run saw the two cars so evenly matched that the battle needed two sudden deaths. Eventually on the 6th and final run, Morrison aborted his run half way through giving the victory to Niezen.
The battle for third place would be contested between the two Driftworks teammates, Ben Broke Smith and Phil Morrison. Morrison had to retire due to a failed handbrake on his S15 Silvia. This was also the reason for his aborted run against Niezen in the semi final. 3rd place was handed to Ben Broke Smith who managed to extend his lead in the championship over his nearest two rivals, Mark Luney and Brett Castle.
The final was between Tim marshal in the Apex Performance Skyline powered by a Chevy Small Block engine and Remmo Niezen in his E30 BMW powered by a 5l V8 motor as found in the M5. Marshall would lead the first run and Niezen would follow. Niezen made a bold move for the inside at Luffield but there was no space for him as Marshall had kept the door shut. Niezen was forced to straighten the car briefly and cut the corner onto the grass. This gave Marshall the advantage into the second run but Marshall stayed right on the tail of Niezen who was doing everything he could to try and pull away from the skyline but to no avail. The second run was declared even thus handing the victory to Marshall and the Apex Performance Skyline.
Once again, a very intense round at Silverstone with many of the regulars dropping out making some big changes in the championship. We all look forward to a climactic final to the 2008 Japaneseusedcars.com European Drift Championship at Poznan, Poland.
THE GALLERY FOR ROUND 5 IS NOW LIVE [HERE]
Championship standings after Round 5
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