The Maxxis British Drift Championship took on Lydden Hill last weekend in round four of the championship.

With potential championship contenders starting to shine it was crucial for the drivers to rack up more valuable points to add to their tallies.

Practice kicked off on Saturday morning for the Semi-Pro, Pro and Super-Pro drivers under clear skies interrupted only by clouds of tyre smoke. For many drivers, their performance at this round was crucial due to the limited number of points that were separating the drivers at the sharp end of their respective championships.

We have been graced with the presence of a number of international drifters throughout the season, with American drifter Ryan Tuerck being the latest to do so. Ryan is an internationally known Formula D driver and was over from the States to compete in Team Japspeed’s Lexus IS200.

After two practice sessions for all three classes it was time for qualifying to begin. Each driver had just three chances to nail a perfect run in which they had to match the judging criteria as closely as possible. Once the dust had settled, Luke Woodham, Marcin Mucha and Chris Hawker found themselves at the sharp end of the Semi-Pro class, Dan Firmager, Matt Tilyard and Nathan Chivers took the lead in Pro and Simon Perry, Walton Smith and Phil Morrison took the top three places in Super-Pro.

Sunday would see the running of the Top 16 battles for each class and if the drivers wanted to take home as many points as possible they had no option but to push themselves to the limit.

In the Semi-Pro class there were many stand out battles (including those between Joseph Ankers & Adam Simmons and Jake Spickett & Richard McCourt) but it was Matt Samuel and Marcin Mucha that found themselves battling for victory in the final, with Marcin emerging the victor.

In the Pro class the competition was turned up another notch, with notable battles between Jay Greene & Jay White and Dan Firmager’s battles against Gert Hoekman and Paul Cheshire wowing the crowds. Jay Greene and Paul Cheshire eventually found themselves in the final, with Paul taking the overall win.

The Super-Pro class was undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend for the spectators, with the standard of driving truly at a world class level. Many were disappointed to see international visitor Ryan Tuerck knocked out in the first stage of the battles by a delighted Wesley Keating, but incredible battles between James Fuller & Walton Smith and Paul Cheshire & Simon Perry made for thrilling spectating. The final saw BDC veterans Phil Morrison and Mark Luney go head to head in a thrilling finale that eventually saw Phil emerge victorious.

The 5th and final round of the series takes place at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland on the 21st & 22nd of September – we can’t wait to see which drivers are crowned champions!

Picture supplied by Joe Wright.