An Angus driver has made a blistering start to the high octane world of the 2013 Maxxis British Drift Championship.
David Waterworth’s daytime role in the family Arbroath Tarmacadam business puts him in close contact with the asphalt but at nothing like the speeds he burns rubber on tracks across the UK as part of the exciting sport which is booming in popularity among thrill seeking motorsport fans.
Pioneered in Japan, the sport tests the skill of drivers in oversteering their vehicles into a high-speed rear-wheel ‘drift’, and through big-screen movies such as the Fast and the Furious franchise the all-action, tyre-smoking spectacle has generated a massive global following.
The rise in popularity is no more evident than in the British Drift Championship, where David, 31, competes in the Super Pro category and is standing proud in third place in the title race after the first round at Kent’s Lydden Hill circuit.
David has been hooked by the sport since he secured a race licence at Silverstone in 2004 and forked out £500 for his first Nissan 200SX drift a far cry from the self-built Nissan S15 beast he now drives powered by a Dodge Viper engine and blasting out several hundred horsepower.
But his championship achievements to date and the amazing start to the 2013 campaign are all the more remarkable given the scale of investment among some of David’s fiercest rivals.
“In 2012 we got a special recognition trophy for what we had done, but we didn’t know how things would go for the first round since we were only able to get out to Crail airfield for about 10 minutes of practice before going to Lydden Hill,” said David.
“The championship this year has just over 100 cars and although it doesn’t have the same sponsorship as Japan or the United States, it is getting much bigger,” he said.
Vital sponsorship from backers such as Red Line synthetic oils is a major help to David’s sporting ambitions, but he said his pursuit of drift glory would not have been possible without the unstinting support of
family and friends.
The heat of battle sees drift drivers fight it out in pairs, as both lead car and then following over a sweeping course.
For spectators, the attraction is watching drivers at high speed trying to master their machines through the bends, changing direction on a wave of accelerator pedal and tyre smoke.
“There are three judges looking at key things like speed, line and smoke,” said David.
Runs are marked out of 100, with 33 points available for each of the key areas and then a single magic point for the style factor which sets the top performers apart.
Next up on the 2013 calendar for the Angus racer is a trip to Pembrey, South Wales in early June, with David aiming to keep his form going all the way to what could be the title decider at Fife’s Knockhill circuit in late September.
“It’s been a crazy few weeks but to get third place in the first round was absolutely fantastic,” he said.