We loaded Syril and all of the spares, tyres & our bed (in-fact everything except the kitchen sink!) ha-ha
Ali was available to tow Syril with his van to this event & so we followed up behind in the car. We took the short (215 mile) journey up to Teesside Autodrome in Middleborough, got set up and ready for the last weekend of BDC competition this year! After our recent eventful & adventurous trip to Germany and experiencing the fastest track I think I have ever drifted on to date I felt ready for this weekend and knew that Teesside would be more suited to Syril as it wasn’t a crazy horse power track. Saturday practice was spent dialling into my line that the judges had stipulated in the drivers briefing. The start of the session the track was slightly damp after a large downpour last night which was heard easily in our cold track accommodation ~ a’la trailer tent… And they say Motorsport is glamorous! We had some great runs both in the leading & chasing positions in practice to get us set for battles as I was confident we could achieve a high qualifying position at this track. I really enjoyed drifting this track and the practice session was soon fully dry with no sign of further rain to be seen in the sky (thank god as it’s slow in the rain with changeable grip levels on this track with various tarmac laid in different positions). Qualifying time, and the usual 747 jumbo jet was flying around in my stomach all the way up to the line as it usually does however as soon as we leave the line the nerves go and focussing on the run is all that matters at that exact point in time! My first qualifying run entry was good but I had a large straighten between clip 2-3 which I put down to lack of speed on entry, we managed to get back onto the qualifying line and finished the rest of the run which went well but sadly due to this error we were heavily marked down. Receiving my feedback from David over the radio I knew I had to go harder & faster as we could do this and have done in the past! On the line and off we go…. 4th gear entry slightly late entry but on the clips & no straighten this time – flying through the course it felt great from inside Syril, so much so that after the finish line I actually put my hand out of the window & tapped the roof as I was convinced that was a high qualifying run, over the moon I returned to the pits & parked Syril up proudly back on display. Whilst we were waiting for the remainder of the qualifying session to finish, I trundled off to watch some of the other competitors qualifying runs & then came back to Syril so that I could let whoever wanted to sit in Syril do so. I signed some Autograph cards & had photo’s taken with some fan’s of Syril & I which is always lovely to do as I love meeting & talking with people. Qualifying results came in & to be completely honest I was totally mortified & confused as to how my second run which was faster, on the clipping points & with no massive straighten compared to the first run (53 points) was only awarded with 54 points – so we were just in the competition battles being placed in 32nd position (60+ drivers were in our class at this event) Then I found out my battle in the Top 32 was going to be against number 1 qualifier running a turbocharged V8 RX8 with 700 hp! So this was always going to be a challenge but I like challenges and it is never over until it’s over! Literally just as we were about to leave the pit area it started raining & looked to not be leaving anytime soon so adjustments were made to Syril on the tyre pressures & softening of the rear damping on the shock absorbers. As we were being paired ready to “let battle commence” there was a delay which we were unsure as to why but it transpired this was to wait to see if the rain stopped which it did & then the sun came out (damn I thought as we had Syril set up for a wet run) Matthew being the higher qualifier was in the lead position with myself chasing on the first run… Good entry behind Matthew but sadly on the tarmac change Syril gripped up due to the wet set up and we had a straighten which I knew would heavily penalise me so the chase was on and over the next couple of corners of the track I did manage to close in & gain proximity onto Matthew’s rear quarter of his RX8 across the line – run one completed. I had to hope that Matthew made an error on his chase run – off the line we went myself leading & had a slightly late entry, around the first corner I managed to pull a slight gap away from Matthew with no straighten this time however as I did Matthew managed to close the gap through the following corners and so due to the slight error in Run 1 Matthew took the win. I of course congratulated Matthew as well as being a fantastic driver he is a good friend & he said it was a pleasure battling with me & he was shocked at the gap we managed to pull through the first corner & that it was a great lead run for him to follow easily. So unfortunately, that was us out of the competition – back to the pits with Syril for him to be proudly on display, we stood talking to some lovely fans & also new people that had never been to a drifting event before & all of the feedback was positive! A Heartfelt – Thank You to each & everyone one of you for your help & Support throughout the 2017 season. Kirsty Widdrington