On Saturday 18th June i attended the BDC (British Drift Championship) practice and licensing day at Donington, i originally wanted to just do the practice day as they were using the well known Donington Launch Pad also used for Round 1 of the BDC this year but after some deliberation i thought... licensing??? Why not try again?!
I originally started drifting in 2007 buying my first drift car, a Volvo 340 and lovingly naming it Boris! 4 years down the line and 4 drift cars later, i finally feel ready to step it up and join the competition side of drifting!
My first drift day in 'Boris' back in 2007.
The Donington licensing day was actually my second attempt at gaining my license, unfortunately my first attempt at Norfolk Arena was a complete disaster and although it knocked my confidence i did learn an important lesson in staying cool when being judged!!
My first attempt at gaining a BDC license at Norfolk Arena in November 2010.
So, onto my second attempt!
The licensing track consisted of a 2nd gear kidney shaped track with the first initiation actually going down hill and often taking people a little further down the hill than anticipated!
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I don't have a locking handbrake in my s14 and so i was entering with a flick, clutchkick and some footbrake, after some initial feedback from the judge Rich 'Chunk' Newton it seemed i was going too slow into the first corner but after some practice (and a lot of times flying down the hill backwards) i managed to get my speed up and get more consistent.
After a lunch break everyone wishing to be judged for a license queued up ready for their runs and unfortunately the heavens opened just before which meant an extremely slippery track! I remembered the advice the wise one, Malx 'Fozzy' Foskett gave me at Norfolk about staying calm and just did what i could do and it worked!!! Later that day at the de-brief i was awarded my Semi-Pro license!
This made Loz happy!!
Now i could relax and go and have fun on the large BDC track! This consisted of a fast 3rd gear entry into a sweeping right followed by a few more transitions, this was the reason i signed up for the day and it was completely worthwhile!!! I had tonnes of fun trying different entry techniques and learnt quite a bit, although if it wasn't for my recent practice at Mallory Park i think i would have been in over my head!
In short... BDC practice/license days.... very relaxed and fun! I would definitely recommend it.
Images courtesy of Ben Arris at Dodgem Squad, Ammo Photography and Lee Broadley.
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