Team FALKEN score another podium to lead British Drift Championship
There were mixed fortunes at the third round as Team FALKEN experienced a mix of triumph and mechanical hardship at the Teeside Autodrome. Fresh back from a demo in front of thousands of die hard race fans at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Team FALKEN UK was in high spirits and ready for the third round of the 2011 British Drift Championship.
A challenging event led to both Paul Cheshire’s Nissan Skyline G35 and Alan Green’s Nissan Skyline G35 retiring from competition due to mechanical issues. This left Matt Carter to claim his third consecutive second place podium position.
After installing a new differential, Matt was attacking the course hard in practice and was feeling highly positive about a win in Teeside. Two strong qualifying runs saw Matt qualify in fifth position in the top flight Super Pro Class. This put him up against recently promoted-Pro-driver Grant Laker in the first of the Top 16 battles. The Team Falken fans were elated as Matt progressed to the Top 8 and Mark Luney was eliminated in his Top 16 battle to almost guarantee a stronger championship position.
A tough second draw for Matt saw him against Team Japspeed's Shane O'Sullivan who usually competes in Ireland's Prodrift Series. On the second run as Matt was beckoning Shane to get closer, contact was made between the two. Matt was ultimately awarded the win and progressed into the Final 4! Matt was next drawn against Scottish driver David Waterworth and, after two close runs he grabbed his place in the final, continuing his 100 percent achievement of this feat.
Pitched against talented young driver Steve Moore the pair went head to head and both displayed two outstanding runs when leading and chasing respectively. So close was the final that the judges could not separate the two and so they were instructed to run one more time, much to the crowd's delight! Matt held the advantage going into the make or break final run. However as he crossed the line, the judges ruled that two of his wheels left the track and as such, the run was scored a zero. Steve Moore therefore took the win leaving Matt with his third second place podium of the season.
"It was great to be back at Teesside,” says Matt Carter. “The last time I was here I was on the #1 spot, this time second due to a silly mistake. However I am very happy to be leading the championship at the half-way point of the season!"
Going into Round 4 Matt Carter leads the Super Pro class by 11 points, Alan Green sits in 14th place in Super Pro and Paul Cheshire shares 17th position in Pro class with seven other competitors. In the team/constructors standings, Team FALKEN UK leads by 32 points.
You can next catch the team in action at Knockhill Circuit, Scotland where Round 4 of the 2011 British Drift Championship takes place on August 20th & 21st.
For further championship information visit: thebritishdriftchampionship.com.
