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Marshall wins again! Round 6, the final round for the 2008 championship took place in Poznan, Poland this weekend. Drivers from the UK, Holland & Poland added a real Euro feel to this the final round. There could be only one 08 champion, everything was to play for as the mist cleared at the ultra winding track! The Gallery has been updated so check it out!
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The 6th and final round of the Japaneseusedcars.com European Drift Championship made its way to Poznan Circuit in Poland. This is the home track for championship regular, Maciej Polody and everyone would be expecting a good result from him this round.
The track at Poznan takes a fast left hand corner into a fast right. The track has a straight after the second corner into a tighter right but for this round, a chicane was set up on he straight to make the track more challenging. This chicane turned out to be quite the trap with the only way to negotiate it properly was to stay on the throttle and not get too much angle or the line and momentum into the final corner would be lost.
Practice began and Polody didn’t disappoint by putting in some spectacular runs from the very beginning. Tim Marshall and Mark Luney were showing good form as well as a great performance by Kieran Cameron.
Qualifying began and it was Adam Richards who put in the best run other than the seeded top drivers. Richards commented that the track at Poznan was similar in feeling to the tracks he was used to driving in New Zealand and this helped him get to grips with the track quickly. Dutchman Paul Vlasblom also found form with some good consistent qualifying runs. Kieran Cameron, who looked perfect in practice, seemed to crumble under pressure in the runs that counted.
The finals began with Ben Broke Smith defeating Declan Hicks. At this point “Bon Bon” had secured the championship but he was showing no sign of slowing in pace.
The next pairing was an all Dutch affair with both Paul Vlasblom and Berend Von Berkel both from the Netherlands fighting for a place in the top 8. After 2 runs, both drivers took the advantage when they were leading and so sudden death was called. Paul Vlasblom took a narrow victory over his fellow countryman.
Daniel Eyles returned with a new car after his accident at the previous round. The new driver car combination didn’t seem to work as well as his last car and this culminated in his spin in the Second run against Frank Van Heren.
Brett Castle and Steven Evans seem to often be drawn against each other and the two Autoglym backed drivers would once again do battle. Steve Evans ofund good pace around the track but was unable to match the angle of Castle. Evans eventually had to straighten the car into the final corner when he couldn’t adjust to the speed of Castle. This gave Castle a 7-3 advantage which Evans did his best to turn around in the second run but was only able to get 6-4 putting Castle into the top 8.
Tim Marshall struggled in the first run against James Russell but managed to turn around a 7-3 disadvantage in the second run to force a sudden death situation. The DCY skyline continued to struggle as Marshall returned to form allowing the Apex Performance Skyline to progress to the next round.
Kieran Cameron continued his unique form of being flawless in practice and warm up but pressuring himself into making mistakes when it counts in competition. A spin in the first run against Adam Richards meant that even a 7-3 run in the second was not enough to stop Richards claiming his spot in the top 8.
Mark Luney proved why he has consistently been in the top few places in the championship this season by seeing off Paul Smith. Smith has shown consistent improvement throughout the season but it was not quite enough to prevent the SVA Imports 350Z from taking the win.
Maciej Polody and Dave Walbrin locked horns in the next battle but Walbrin was forced into a mistake in the first run. The BDC champion tried his best to make back the deficit from the first run but ran wide into the first corner allowing Polody to close in giving the local hero the advantage and the win.
Into the top 8 and the first pair to do battle was Ben Broke Smith and Paul Vlasblom. Vlasblom would once again go into sudden death for the second time in a row with both drivers making mistakes whilst following. Vlasblom found himself making a very bad error on the chicane giving the win to Ben Broke Smith and the Driftworks Skyline.
Frank Van Heren was the final Dutchman remaining in competition but his next opponent was 2007 champion, Brett Castle. Castle stayed cool and took the advantage in both runs and claimed his spot in the semi finals.
Tim Marshall and Adam Richards put in 2 runs each with nothing to call between them. Sudden death was called and Richards made a critical mistake in the chicane on the third run giving Marshall the Win.
Mark Luney and Maciej Polody would fight for the final position in the top 4. Luney took the advantage in the first run 6-4 with better speed. Luney went for the kill in the second by sticking close to the rear bumper of Polody whilst chasing in the second run. This didn’t pay off however as Luney had to make a slight adjustment and found himself wide on the second corner and off the track. This gave Polody the win much to the joy of the local Polish crowd.
The first semi final would be between the 2007 champion Brett Castle and the man about to be crowed 2008 champion Ben Broke Smith. Brett Castle making mistakes in both runs gave the win to the new champ who guaranteed his 5th podium of the season.
Tim Marshall and Maciej Polody fought in the second semi final and the first run went 6-4 to Marshall due to Polody not being able to carry as much speed as his opponent. The second run was judged as even giving the win to Marshall.
Castle and Polody fought for 3rd position. The two drivers both took the advantage whilst leading meant that sudden death was called. Polody spun the 3rd run giving 10-0 to Castle. Castle held back in the final run giving a 7-3 advantage to Polody but the spin was too much of a deficit to turn around.
The Final between Ben Broke Smith and Tim Marshall started with Marshall following in the first run and applying pressure. “Bon Bon” made an uncharacteristic mistake and spun the first run giving a massive 10-0 advantage to Marshall. The second run saw Ben Broke Smith trying to turn the battle around but a little too much commitment into the chicane saw him make another mistake and give another advantage and the win to Marshall who found himself on the top step of the podium for the third time this season.
Ben Broke Smith from Team Driftworks took the championship win having never won a single round proving that consistent results is what is needed to succeed in the overall championship. Tim Marshall claimed 2nd position with 3 wins this season. Brett Castle made a late charge to stay on the podium and took 3rd place in the championship. Newcomer of the year was awarded to BDC champion Dave Walbrin who showed great potential at the end of the season and can be expected to mix it up with the championship regulars next season.
And so ends an intense season in the Japaneseusedcars.com European Drift Championship. We look forward to seeing you again in 2009.