Stiff competition and gloomy forecasts greeted the Falken UK drift team as they arrived at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife, Scotland for round two of the 2014 Maxxis Tyres British Drift Championship. Wit
h a huge storm forecast to hit during Semi Pro qualifying on the Saturday, Kirsty Widdrington was against the elements to put on a strong showing. Despite the qualifying track resembling a lake come Kirsty’s runs, she held her own and qualified in 15th position. Come the Sunday morning it was Alan Green’s turn to qualify in the Pro class on the main circuit – despite his best efforts, Alan was unable to keep his 180sx on the track and failed to make the grade. In the Super Pro class both Paul and Matt drove incredibly well on a temporarily dry track, qualifying in 16th and third positions, respectively.

Kirsty would face Knockhill’s main circuit and the formidable Duffus Dip corner in the dry for the first time come the Top 16 on Sunday morning. Kirsty quickly adjusted to the extra grip and battled on, earning a One More Time run against Ryan Pothecary in her first battles, which she went on to win, taking her to the Top 8. There she would face Jack Symes and, despite Kirsty leading well, the judges deemed that Jack lead better, ending Kirsty’s day by the narrowest of margins.

In the Super Pro competition, Paul Cheshire would face a tough battle against top qualifier Wesley Keating. Paul and Wesley matched each other blow-for-blow and this battle would also go to a One More Time. In an attempt to put pressure on Wesley, Paul went in too hot on the final bend and spins, handing the win to Wesley. Matt Carter would pair up against Lassa Tyres’ Jody Fletcher in his first battle just as spots of rain start to hit the track. Matt stayed composed and made swift work of Jody, before going up against Matt Tilyard in the Top 8. Right on cue the heavens opened, forcing Matt to quickly adjust his tyre pressures to suit the lower grip levels. Matt dealt with the change of conditions well, and forced a spin from Tilyard, landing him in the Semi Finals against Monster Energy’s Stephen Biagioni. Under torrential conditions Matt and Stephen go all out, almost touching bumpers at times and forcing yet another One More Time. This time Stephen manages to pull a gap on Matt and, by the finest of margins, Matt is knocked out but takes fourth place overall and putting him second in the 2014 championship standings.

“Knockhill and the infamous Scottish weather certainly threw some surprises at us!” commented team spokesperson Jordan Butters. “It was very hard to predict what conditions we would be driving in for each set of battles, but the team did an incredible job of adjusting to the track under some of the hardest rain we’ve ever seen in competitive drifting. Despite this, we had three good qualifications and the team are in good standings across all three classes – fingers crossed for some sun at round three!”