Baggsy and the supercharged LSX-R V8-powered PS13 were both back in action at Teesside Arena for Round 4 of the UK Drift Championship! The weather was much cooler than the previous visit several weeks earlier, but the action was way hotter!

As usual, Saturday at UKDC was reserved for the Pro 2 class, and Baggsy and his team arrived during the day and started setting up to prepare for a full-throttle Sunday!

Once the drivers were allowed on the track Sunday morning, Pro practice was underway, and then it was on to the smoke-filled qualifying runs! Baggsy’s first run earned him a quite respectable 89.3 from the judges, giving him a spot deep into the Top 16.

The challenging course forced a small error in Baggy’s second qualifier, but his strong opening run meant a spot in the Top 8 for the PRO BATTLES!

Before the Pro Battles could start, UKDC organisers set up a fantastic driver meet and greet for the gathered fans, allowing them to actually walk along the track, check out the cars up close and – very importantly – meet all the drivers!

Baggsy met many dedicated fans, signed autographs and of course took photos with anyone who asked. This was a great way for fans gathered on the banking at Teesside to meet drivers and get awesome gear signed in person!

The fan session complete, the drivers headed back to the pits to prep for their Battles. With Luke Barker looking strong, Baggsy was determined to stop Luke’s run of success and force a season-ending showdown in Silverstone!

The first battle for Baggsy was against Danny Whyman in his blue and purple S13. Leading for the first run, Baggsy ran a flawless line, creating a gap to Danny that he kept all the way to the finishing line. In the chase position for the second run, Baggsy kept it super tight, running right on Danny’s door all the way! The judges gave Baggsy the clear-cut win, advancing him to the Great 8!

For his next run, Baggsy faced Top Qualifier Jamie Stanton driving his BMW E36. Chasing for the first run, Baggsy drove super-agressive, matching Jamie’s angle through the banked turn and even tapping the BMW with his front tyre coming into the last clipping point! Leading for the second run, Baggsy played a blinder, running super wide with a high angle, getting Jamie to put his wheels into the dirt at the first clipping point! With a big lead, Baggsy finished the run well ahead of Jamie, earning another unanimous win from the judges to get into the Final Four!

To get into the Final, Baggsy would have to charge past Matt Denham and his white S13! Denham had been driving flawlessly all day long, so would a tough battle! Chasing in the first run, Baggsy experienced understeer going into the second clipping point, but closed the gap down to get on Matt’s door as they crossed the finish line. In the lead position for the second run, Baggsy rocketed off the start line and got a massive angle going into the banked first turn, then understeered again, bumping into Denham’s car and ending this run in the gravel. Although it looked spectacular, there was no damage to the car apart from one wheel coming off its rim and Baggsy was able to move on to his next battle.

For Baggsy’s final battle of the day, he faced a formidable opponent in the 3rd/4th place playoff: Stefan Stefanov and his yellow and blue S13! With Stefan having nearly as much power as Baggsy’s LSX-R V8-powered Monster Energy PS13 machine, it would be a battle royale! These final 2 runs would decide if Baggsy would get to spray the champagne on the podium! Once again chasing for the first run, Stefanov ran a great line throughout the clipping points and Baggsy had a hint of of understeer into the South Bank turn – but closed down the gap, getting right on Stefan’s door for the last pair of turns! After Stefan called a 5-minute rule to deal with overheating, Baggsy led away, absolutely nailing the first turn to control the run in the lead position. Not even aggressive tyre taps from Stefan could put Baggsy off and they crossed the line with barely any space between them!

It was a tight call from the judges, but Baggsy took another third place to once again stand on the podium! The fight is still on to claim the first-ever UKDC Championship!

The podium run keeps going for Baggsy and his PS13!

UK Drift Championship Round 4 Pro Battles Livestream

Watch all the Pro Battles right here!

Baggsy – “This round at Teesside was so intense! The crew has been fabulous all summer long, and I was really aiming to get in the Final! To pull off third place and get on the podium again was really special. We’ve all been extremely busy with so many events coming back, but it’s been absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to come back to Teesside. We’ve had some good results here and I know I’ll be on a different step of the podium next time! “The UKDC championship is still open going into the final round and it’ll mean so much to win at Silverstone! It should be really good for high-powered cars like the PS13 and just awesome for the fans to watch the action. I know it’ll be so much fun to hit that first corner at super-high speed. Hopefully everyone else will be eating our dust!” www.baggsyboy.com www.sbmotorsport.co.uk