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Maxxis-sponsored Driver Wins British Drift Championship

Friday, October 09, 2009

Professional drift driver Steve Biagioni of Maxxis-sponsored Team Japspeed has been crowned British Drift Champion for 2009.

Twenty-two-year old Steve began his campaign in the Nissan Silvia S13 by finishing second in the opening round at Donington and then posted consistently good results throughout the year to clinch the championship title at the season finale at the Llandow Circuit, 20 miles west of Cardiff, on September 19.

Steve’s win was not the only British Drift Championship (BDC) achievement Team Japspeed were to celebrate. Steve had travelled to the Llandow Circuit as championship leader and having progressed comfortably through the Top 16 and Top 8, found himself in the final with Team Japspeed team mate Danny Eyles. On the last run Steve had a spin, and while this handed Danny the victory for the fifth and final round, it meant that 24-year old Danny finished the season as championship runner up.

There was further good news for Team Japspeed, which has been using the Maxxis MA-Z1 Drift tyre to superb effect all season, when driver Shane Lynch made it clean sweep of the podium at Llandow and finished overall fifth in the driver’s championship. Paul Smith and Anthony Cahill also put in some good performances to give Team Japspeed five of the top six positions at the season closer.

Meanwhile, Nathan Chivers was flying the flag for Team Japspeed and Maxxis in the Semi-Pro Class of the British Drift Championship. Nathan put in some solid performances in the Nissan Skyline GTS-T, including a third place at round three at Lydden Hill, Kent, and by clinching victory in south Wales he brought his season to a fitting conclusion by becoming championship runner up.

Not content to battle for honours in the individual title race, Team Japspeed drivers also acquitted themselves extremely well in the new team event, which British Drift Championship organisers introduced to add an extra dimension to the competition for 2009. Teams were comprised of three drivers with each member of the trio’s results counting towards the team’s final points tally and overall constructors’ standings.

Competing as Team Japspeed 1, Shane Lynch, Paul Smith and Danny Eyles took victory at Llandow to finish in overall third in the British Drift Team Championship, just eight points adrift of… Team Japspeed 2! Steve Biagioni, Nathan Chivers and Anthony Cahill came home in second on the day, but again, solid finishes throughout the five-round series saw them finish as overall runners up, just 10 points behind championship winners Team Teyaki Unit.

On Sunday, September 20 the Llandow Circuit played host to this year’s British Open – a competition open to drivers from any drift championship – which made for an exciting weekend double header. The competition attracted some 59 entrants, including formidable opposition in the shape of Mark Luney from Maxxis-sponsored SVA Imports and Driftworks driver Phil Morrison. In the end, it was a Team Japspeed shoot out, with Danny Eyles taking a narrow victory and the £1,000 first prize over runner up Shane Lynch, who received a cheque for £500.

“This year’s British Drift Championship has seen some really exciting demonstrations of what drifting is all about by some of Europe’s leading professionals and we are delighted that Team Japspeed and the MA-Z1 Drift tyre have proved they are the ones to beat”, says Derek McMartin, managing director of Maxxis International UK.

“Congratulations to Steve Biagioni and Danny Eyles on their 1-2 finish and to Nathan Chivers on coming second in the Semi-Pro Class – results which not only highlighted their own skills, but also underlined what a superb job Paul McCallum and the Japspeed crew did in preparing the new cars – and well done to all six Team Japspeed drivers for proving such a force to be reckoned with in the team event”.

Team Japspeed owner Paul McCallum was proud of his drivers and support team, who pulled out all the stops to make 2009 a year to remember. He said: “The final round of the British Drift Championship was a massive occasion for Team Japspeed, which is now the biggest drift team in Europe. Maxxis sponsorship has made an incredible difference to us, not just in terms of the supply of tyres, but also the overall support we have received from Maxxis throughout the season.

“We are thrilled with these results and delighted that Maxxis has offered the team the same deal for 2010. It’s a privilege to have such a big company supporting us and we will back, aiming to win different championships next year”.

Further information on Maxxis high performance tyres, including the BDC-winning MA-Z1 Drift tyre, is available at www.maxxis.co.uk or from exclusive UK distributor Grouptyre on 01928 706166 or www.grouptyre.co.uk