Relatively new to the BDC calendar it is fair to say Shane Lynch, Shane O’Sullivan and Paul Smith were looking forward to a trip to Anglesey Circuit in North Wales. What better way to round off the season with the venue playing host to the 2015 finale!
Following the same format as per previous rounds the pro practice and pro-am battles would take place on the Saturday. With the weather on our side and fresh Maxxis MA-Z1 tyres on all the cars, Shane, Paul and Shane were soon smoking out the Welsh circuit. Everything was looking good ahead of the main event the following day.
Heading into qualifying on the Sunday morning all three drivers continued on form putting in a series of fantastic runs qualifying 4th, 10th and 13th. Things were looking good going into the top 32.
Piloting the Japspeed Lexus IS200 Shane Lynch was drawn up against fellow Irishman TJ Berney in his top 32 battle. With the 370z undergoing extensive testing Shane has become quite familiar with our Lexus throughout the course of 2015 however after an amazing battle hard fought from both drivers it would turn out things were not quite on our side and TJ advanced on the top 16 battles.
Meanwhile Paul ‘Smokey’ Smith faced off against pro-am class winner Fraser Stark who had risen through the ranks to compete in the pro class from the previous day. With both drivers pushing hard, Smokey’s ever reliable 1.5JZ powered S15 cried enough and a broken driveshaft meant a 5 minute rule had to be called from the Japspeed camp. Unfortunately the damage was more than could be rectified in the given time and would ultimately bring an end to Paul’s charge for the podium.
Finally in the top 32 Shane ‘Sully’ O’Sullivan was drawn against Ian Philips in the Tarmac Sports 350z. Having made the journey over from the Emerald Isle, Shane wasn’t going down without a fight. As the smoke cleared from an exhilarating battle Sully emerged the victor and advanced to the top 16.
In an unlikely turn of events Sully would come up against Fraser Stark who had risen from the pro-am class and defeated Japspeed teammate Smokey earlier in the day. Both drivers had been on form throughout the weekend which made for a tough call from the BDC judges. Unfortunately this tough call would be decided in Fraser’s favour; ending Sully’s bid for the podium.
The BDC may be over for another year but we now look ahead to the season finale of the Irish Drift Championship taking place this weekend at Mondello Park as part of the Japfest show.
