The 2009 season was when the UDC (Ulster Drift Championship) first began to become known outside of the immediate circle of hardened followers as the series’ Div 1 drivers started to make their mark on the tarmac at the UK’s premiere racing circuits, with considerable success in the EDC (European Drift Championship).
Ahead of the season opener at Bishops Court, Co Down, much had already been heard on the rumour mill about the supposed V8 powered S15 Silvia super car of Alan McCord, so that the drivers at Round 1 had a bumper crowd of supporters in attendance to cheer them on. Many awaited in anticipation to hear the first roar of the Power Max monster which lined up amongst the newly kitted, painted and decaled contenders’ cars. As soon as the first solid wall of tyre smoke was generated from the substantial rear of McCord’s new creation, it was clear to all that the bar had been forever raised, pushing the required elements at the top of the UDC to a minimum of excellent. Speeds must be higher, angles greater, b*lls bigger! McCord had staked his claim and his intentions were clear right out of the gate; this year he intended to be Champion.
As neat a short story as this could have been, with McCord appearing as if he were about to sweep all aside on a romp to championship glory, there were an abundance of others with their very own tales of success that they also wanted to play out; some even coming from within the same camp. Top contender right from the off looked like being the 2008 ‘King of the Court’ Paul Conlan, in a similar wide bodied S15 although with a very different bark from its Toyota Supra sourced 2JZ engine. Indeed all this played out as expected in Rounds 1 & 2 with the two team mates claiming the top spots, closely harassed by newly emerging contender Robert Barnett and the always solid Ryan Tierney.
It was the return to form of 3 time champion Richard Bradley on Round 3 at Nutts Corner that seemed to start a tidal shift, with more and more new contenders emerging as a serious threat. Bradley took the win on that occasion but from there strange things began to occur. Not least of those being the emergence of this 13 yr old as some kind of wonder kid, absent of fear and immune to the symptoms of pressure in competition, effortlessly skidding his 180sx around the track as though… well, as though that’s how everyone should be able to do it. Q: Shouldn’t they? A: No. This kid is something special and would go on to take 3 outright wins, including the 2009 ‘King of the Court’ title ahead of a field of hard charging seasoned veterans.
Mid season saw McCord forced to fall back on a spare car as the pink torpedo suffered costly and time consuming engine troubles whilst contesting the EDC. The spare was a Toyota Chaser and a power figure of 800 Bhp was bandied about. The beast had in fact to be detuned in order so that it could be tamed around a drift course that combined flat out with technical sections. Tamed it was though and the ‘Hi Octane Imports’ ace was back at the top, this time besting 3 times championship runner-up Damien McBride in another Chaser in the semi-final and then young Duane in the Final.
The ‘King of the Court’ has been for the past 3 years the biggest event on the UDC calendar. Indeed it is the one event out of them all that drivers want to win. As a one-off single day championship event the appeal seems to be the feeling that on the day, anyone can walk away with the title. Nowadays with the Bishops Court track honed to near perfection, to carry this title means that you have mastered a mammoth task ahead of all-comers. Making his return to competitive drifting for this very reason was Chris Brady, who has been absent from the scene shortly after being promoted to Div 1 back in 2008. A lot has changed under the skin of the green S14 drift machine since last we saw it, with the familiar sound of the RB25 Skyline plant exiting from the rear. Chris over came initial bugs in the system (not least the fact that the steering wheel kept coming loose!) to squeeze in a clean run in qualifying to give himself a fighting chance.
Progressing well through the first round of battles, the changeable weather conditions changed again, for the worse, just as the top 4 battles got under way. This favoured the more tried and tested machines and a lack of rear end grip saw Brady’s progress halted when McKeever pulled off a pass on the exit to the hairpin. The tremendous rear grip on McKeever’s car meant that fellow finalist Rob Barnett also fell foul to Duan’es now signature manoeuvre and he too had to give best to the teenage terror. We had a new boy King (of the Court).
So it came down to the final round, with 160 possible points up for grabs and only 1 point separating the 2 wide bodied S15’s. Well that was how the script read until an accident during testing at Mondello the previous day meant that once again McCord was without a car. To his rescue came UDC judge Michael Robinson with his 1JZ powered R32 Skyline. A capable car indeed but not the best time to be thrown into competition with another unfamiliar ride. The revised format of the day perhaps reduced this handicap as it enabled drivers so much track time with which to familiarise themselves of the new and improved track layout. Another EDC contender Steve Will, present with his formidable M3 Turbo also found that the track matched the demands of any on the EDC calendar and exceeded many. The top Div 2 driver Seamus McCooey reinacted his first round King of the Court battles with Rob Barnett. This time it was as close as the first but despite his efforts and with errors from both, it was Barnett who again progressed. Those faults would need to be eliminated however as at the sharp end of the field the drivers tend not to put a foot out of place. It was Barnett that was to be eliminated, him still not fully adjusted to the now different nature of his RB powered 180sx. The King of the Court final was replayed in the Top 8, with the boy King again victorious.
Both title contenders fell in their bids to reach the final and this allowed Chris Brady the chance at revenge against young Duane. In a level of aggressive drifting seen only in glimpses before on these shores, Brady out muscled and even out-McKeevered McKeever to take his first win of 2009 at the UDC Finale. The grand finale of the season was then a shoot-out for the last podium position and the whole championship rested upon the outcome. With failing light, rain and greasy track conditions the duel for the title looked like exactly that, with flames from screamer pipes flashing as if from the muzzle of a gun. The one who stood tall at the end of the encounter, as 2009 Ulster Drift Champion, was Alan McCord. All hail!
AMA Drift
The emergence of so many new up and coming drivers has been largely attributed to the new structure of how the guys and girls of Sideways Racing (organisers of the UDC and Irish Drag Racing Championship) have arranged the different tiers within their ranks. With the introduction of the ‘DRIFT SKILLZ‘ drift school there appeared an opportunity for complete novices to try their hand with expert 1-on-1 tuition. With introductory courses being held using the iconic Skyline as the staple, newbies were afforded an opportunity to try before you buy, so to speak.
Many indeed did go on to buy their own drift machine and began practising in the AMA Drift series of events. These events are where you will find the biggest source of future talent (Duane McKeever being the most notable example). Originally held at the compact but challenging and yet very rewarding Nutts Corner track, the focus was always on maximum track time for each driver. At this level that is the single most valuable commodity, as any top driver will attest to. From August all AMA events would be held at Bishops Court, largely due to the entry list regularly achieving the maximum numbers and the Nutts Corner site being unable to facilitate the ever growing crowds. The vast acreage of tarmac at Bishops Court will easily accommodate this ever growing scene for quite some time to come. Not resting on their laurels however, the Sideways Racing crew are actively scouring the whole of Ireland in search of suitable venues so that they may bring the AMA Drift series closer to the fans.
Meanwhile the AMA Drift level of competition gained its first share of the lime light as part of the main program in the UDC Finale event. Previously only having been stuck in the early morning or evening slot, the AMA guys can now enjoy the main stage in front of the UDC fans. The schedule was constantly tweaked before this could become a possibility and now it seems the guys have cracked it, with non-stop track action being provided by both the UDC & AMA competitors.
The UDC Finale on 22nd Nov not only featured the titanic tussle for the UDC title, but also formed the first round of a Winter Drift Series to be contested over the coming months. This will be open to only Novice / AMA & Div 2 Drifters. I.e., whilst Div 1 drivers are welcome to attend for the craic, the competitive element excludes all Pro level drifters. These events will still provide Pro level drivers with ample opportunity to sharpen their tools over the winter. The idea of this Winter Series is to help bring forth the next generation of budding drifters out there and those who may have been intimidated at the idea of entering a competition with Div 1 drivers. Well, now it’s all to play for as even those new to the sport stand an even chance of holding their own in this competition. 2010 looks like it will be a great one for Irish Drifting. Wherever you fall into the grand scheme, AMA, UDC or DRIFT ELITE (more on that another time) know that there is somewhere for you. For now the place is Bishops Court, for now!
