LATEST DRIFT GOSSIP

A minute with Mark Luney

They call him Buff as he’s allegedly always polishing cars, although he obviously gives that a break in order to drift them every now and then. In fact, he claims he must be due a weekend off from drifting soon as if he’s not competing he can often be found travelling all over in order to teach others the fine art. And what better man to learn from than the talented Northern Irishman....

How’s things going so far this season?

We broke the rear suspension at Oulton Park but didn’t even realise. With the cars new suspension it’s even better now.

What are 350Zs like to drift - as you’re the only one who’s gone for one?

The 350Z is very hard to drift because it’s short. If you’re in an S14 or Silvia their length makes them much more responsive. But it’s getting better all the time. Only in the last two events, after three years of driving the car, is it performing how I want it to though. The attraction of being different is good, I think that’s why people like it. If you just wanted to win you’d go out and build an S15.

Have you had any reliability issues ?

No. Not one since the turbo conversion aside from the usual wear and tear. The original engine only had problems after about 50 events of hard, hard driving. We run it at low boost now which is about 400bhp.

Do you have your sights on the Championship title this year?

Phil and his car are tough to beat. As long as we’re in the top two or three, that’s what we always aim for – consistency. It’s about enjoyment too… if I ever stop enjoying it I’ll stop doing it.

Rumours have it SVA Imports may be building something else a little different?

Ah yes. A widarch Supra with carbon panels, painted in MG Trophy Blue with yellow interior and a huge turbo. That’ll drift well!

A newcomers view... Lex Drew

Lex Drew, the driver who piloted the Santa Pod ‘Drift Wot You Brung’ R32 Skyline had a few things to say about his first experience in the European Drift Championship. “The driving was really good, and some of the cars are amazing,” claimed Lex, “but the craziest thing was driving Oulton Park the wrong way. That was bizarre”. Despite the unusual experience, Lex only just lost out to eventual 2^nd place driver Alan McCord in their head-to-head, and impressively gave the R32 back to Santa Pod with minimal damage.