The second round of the 2013 Irish Drift Championship was held at the infamous Punchestown circuit, a venue that has been a staple of the Irish drifting calendar for many years. Having taken third place at round one, Team Japspeed driver Shane O’Sullivan was looking to continue his success with another podium finish.

With over 60 entries in the Semi Pro class and over 30 drivers taking part in the highly competitive Pro class the competition was fierce and the crowd were in for a fantastic weekend of drifting action.

With only two qualifying runs available to get it right the Pro drivers had their work cut out to make it through to the top 16. Shane wasn’t feeling too comfortable with his RB25 powered S15 but managed to pull it together when it counted and ended up qualifying in 10th place.

Next up was the Super Lap competition whereby the top 16 drivers had one run to score points that would decide who they would face upon the start of the battles. Shane stepped things up another notch and managed to score enough points for 5th place.

Sully’s first battle in the Top 16 was against Mike Deane in his S14a fronted PS13 – a victory here saw Shane progress to the Top 8.

The next battle saw Shane up against Adrian Walsh in his distinctive AE86 which was no match for the RB25 power that Sully had at his disposal – this meant he went through to the Top 4!

Shane’s Top 4 battle saw him pitted against Alan Sinnott – unfortunately this battle would see Sully being knocked out and left to fight for third place.

The battle for third saw Shane up against one of Ireland’s fastest rising stars, thirteen year old Jack Shanahan in his S13 who had defied all the odds and wowed the crowd with his performances throughout the weekend.  However, experience prevailed by the slimmest of margins in Shane’s favour and saw him claiming third place on the podium for the second time this season, with Alan Sinnott and James Deane claiming first and second respectively.

All in all, another fantastic result for Shane and one that moves him up to second place in the IDC championship standings!

Round 3 is at Ennis Marts on the 29th and 30th June – let’s hope Shane can keep up his podium streak as his consistency will certainly pay off come the end of the season.