What another manic weekend! Sunday was not only the annual Trax Show but also the Maxxis British Drift Championship Round 5 (Super Pro only). With all of Team Japspeed’s drivers being in the Super Pro class, it’d be another manic dash to get all three cars ready including Shane O’Sullivan coming over from Ireland. What’s more, our all-new S14a drift car we built in less than two days was also competing this weekend over at Essex Arena for ‘King Of The Ring’… nothing like keeping yourself plenty busy when you’re Team Japspeed.
Before we could get to Trax, there was just enough time to have the RB25-powered S15 of Shane O’Sullivan mapped on race fuel after problems earlier in the season saw him pull out of Prodrift early. With Greg @ Protuner working his magic until the early hours of the morning (as usual) the S15 was running sweet and ready for Silverstone along with the other Japspeed cars. By Saturday afternoon all the cars had arrived along with the Japspeed stand and we were ready to setup for Trax…
As always there was plenty going on over by the stand. Along with driver signings for all our drivers – Steve Biagioni, Shane Lynch, Paul Smith and Shane O’Sullivan – Japspeed also displayed an array of products as well as providing M25 Ring stickers for anyone who came up and asked. Can you believe it’s been over four months since that crazy weekend already?! After the driver signing it was time for the first outing, albeit on a slightly slippy track which didn’t allow the Maxxis MA-Z1s to produce the smoke you usually see.
After a super-strong qualifying session all four Japspeed drivers made it through to the top 16 – an extra big achievement in itself considering two of the world’s best drivers from Team Need For Speed (Frederic Aasbo and Darren McNamara) were also competing on the day. At 4pm it was time for the exciting Super Pro Final Battles, and with the weather drying we could finally smoke out the Maxxis MA-Z1s.
First to face the final eight was Baggsy in the 1JZ Subaru. Faced against Simon Perry, Baggsy unfortunately reported problems with the Subaru’s gearbox. Once back into the pits, it was apparent third gear had failed – a massive shame as third gear was essential for this course – GUTTING for the team after a really strong Round 4. Paul Smith started strong but a straighten put him out against Wayne Keeber alongside Shane Lynch who faced champion Phil Morrison. Shane O’Sullivan in the final Japspeed car gave it his all, but a wide line put him out in this super-close round of the Maxxis British Drift Championship, eventually won by Need For Speed’s Frederic Aasbo.
Either way, we had a complete blast at Trax and the Maxxis British Drift Championship put on a FULLY amazing show for the big crowds! We can’t wait to take the momentum to Round 6 – who’s coming with us?
