Round 6 of
the Ulster Drift Championship got underway at Bishopscourt Airfield Circuit on
Sunday 31st August. With the recent weather being rain it was no
surprise that the Downpatrick based event got a touch of the elements too.
After a
very slippy track for the qualifying session the top 16 drivers really did
deserve their place and a few new comers’ to this season more than impressed.
Dave McNeill put in a great run with his Sierra RS after a third gear “off” at
high speed in practice. Ian Robinson finally got over teething problems with
his 650bhp Manta and Andy Cooper who is using 2008 as a shakedown for his new
car, also qualified. Alongside these lads the regular championship contenders
also got through as expected with no major drama apart from Chubby “stacking”
his Toyota Chaser into the tyre wall which bent some panels as well as steering
components and exhaust; however he was out soon after to do battle.
Due to the
very tough track conditions it was anyone’s game for the Semi Final; Conlan was
on form all day and with huge speed on the transition it looked likely he would
progress, though he spun on one of his runs to allow a hard chasing McBride
through to do battle against Bradley. Bradley and McBride have been drifting
together from the start of drifting, and this showed as it was the closest
battle all season with door handles rubbing for the full circuit but Bradley
had more speed and took the first spot in the Final Battle.
Round 5
runner up Barnett was drawn against McGovern’s Manta which was suited perfectly
with its normally aspirated BMW M3 engine, though yet again there was a
surprise and Barnett put in the drive of his season to progress into the semi
against Cooper. Cooper having not competed much this season had his work cut
out when drawn against Chubby in the top eight, though with more lock and
keeping with the chasers pace he forced chubby to spin and got into the semi.
It was
then Barnett and Cooper battling to meet Bradley in the final and with the two
drivers eager to progress it was Barnett who had the advantage after the first
run and Cooper needed a heroic drive or a mishap to get through, Barnett came
far too hard into turn one to try and match the speed of Cooper and went off
giving a Cooper | Bradley final.
It was
Bradley’s day for sure with perfect runs all day and huge speed to boot and no
matter how hard cooper tried, and he certainly gave it his all, Bradley came
out the victor whilst Cooper was more than happy with his podium finish. Damian
McBride took third place which keeps him at the top of the championship table.
At the end
Richard commented “The standard of cars was the best yet and the driving standard
has gone up a notch since my last round” (round 4). The Dungannon man continued
“The difficult track conditions seemed to suit my s14 and driving style nicely”
then an outburst of “WOO HOO”! As Richard ran to the car for a victory lap.
RMS > 
Graham Curry 
