August Bank Holiday saw the running of the Monster Mayhem show at Lydden Hill, an event that brought together the very best from rallycross, motorcross, BMXing and, of course, drifting.
Team Japspeed drivers Paul Smith and Shane Lynch made the trip to Kent to take part in the handful of demo runs and competition that were taking place over the two day event, making the most of the available track time and the opportunity to practice at a track that is commonly visited by the BDC and other drift events.
With the rain bucketing down on the Saturday night we were apprehensive as to how the weekend would pan out weather-wise, but come Sunday morning and the sun was out, the track was dry and grip levels were great.
Saturday’s demonstration runs consisted of one key ingredient: drift trains! With 20-odd cars from the BDC series getting involved the on-track action was high paced and truly thrilling for the spectators, with plenty of the drivers getting to practice with other drifters that they wouldn’t have previously had chance to drift with.
Monday would see the running of the competition, with each driver getting two qualifying runs prior to the battles. Shane and Paul both nailed their runs, with Shane qualifying 4th and Paul grabbing the fourth spot.
Shane’s first battle saw him pitched against Joe Ankers from Car Loan 4U Drift Team. In his lead run Shane pulled a considerable lead, and in his chase run was glued to the back of Joe’s car. Shane was through to the top 8.
Paul’s first battle saw him pitched against Nathan Chivers in his GDA Sports Cars Nissan Sileighty. Both drivers were very evenly matched in the first two runs, with the judges declaring a one more time. Paul however took the advantage in the subsequent runs, putting him through to the Top 8.
Shane’s next battle saw him up against Jo Fletcher from Team Lassa in his S15. Shane kept his car tucked right up behind Jo in his chase run and, on his lead run, pulled a large gap heading up the hill from the hairpin, giving him the victory as a result.
Paul’s Top 8 battle saw him pitched against Abdulhadi Al-Qahtani, the current UAE drift champion who has been a regular visitor to the UK this year in order to compete in the BDC. Abdulhadi’s Mustang is definitely a car not to be reckoned with but Paul more than held his own, taking the victory and putting him through to the next stage.
Unfortunately for the team both Paul and Shane found themselves drawn against each other in the Top 4. Both drivers pushed hard but it was Shane that emerged the victor as Paul had also begun to suffer from gearbox issues, with third gear in his R154 ‘box crying enough.
The battle for third and fourth saw Paul pitched against Darren “D-Mac” Macnamara, a battle D-Mac eventually won, giving Paul a 4th place finish.
The final saw Shane pitched against local driver Mike Marshall in his 2JZ powered BMW E36. The pair fought tooth and nail, with neither driver giving the other room for error. The battle was called to a one more time by the judges, with the result of this looking too close to call. However, the judges had reached a decision and Mike took the victory, giving Shane a second place finish.
Overall we had an absolutely fantastic weekend – it was great fun to go drifting with no pressure and with a huge crowd to entertain.
Our next outing is at Silverstone for Trax – you can find more information here.
