When the opportunity for the chance to have a go at obtaining an EDC licence came up I thought should I? I thought sod it lets have a go! So I booked the day off work ready for the day.
I booked it with the thought of not getting a licence but trying to find out how far I am from being at a standard able to compete with Europe's top drifters.
Well in preparation for this we discovered a few issues with the car, a smoking turbo and a clutch that was more liable to slip more than the rear tyres (ideal when trying to prove yourself at this high level of drifting!). Anyway no time or money to fix so this is what have to go with.
So then it came down to the day of judgement, was almost a little nervy! Anyway a nice relaxed morning as licencing wasn't until 4pm so about lunchtime I headed to my tyre man to get fresh rubber (Cheers James @ A&K tyres, Legend) . Spent a little too long chatting and suddenly it was 2pm so thought it was best to leave, damn I wish I had sooner the traffic on the M25 was crazy.
Arriving at Santa Pod just after 5pm wasn't the best thing to do in preparation for the following events. I missed the 1st practice and the track walk and was fairly flustered from my mad rush to get there, not good. I decided that rather than wasting time changing tyres I would use the ones I arrived on so to the queue I go.
My first lap, I decided to just drive the first lap to get a feel for it being as I had 't seen it or knew anything about it. Going into the first corner I noticed a massive bump in the track, after the bump there is a long sweeping right hand bend slowing down into a real tight hairpin. Coming out into a left hand bend in front of the stands into an "s" bend to finish apart from the bumpy surface a nice track.
The start of the next run I tried to add some speed and a little commitment, not enough mind you as I straightened after initiating. Quickly realising a half hearted approach to this track will involve either achieving nothing or an unexpected visit to one of the many concrete barriers strewn around the track i thought i had better buck my ideas up!
I had my next run which I entered the first bend at the top of 3rd hit the bump on the first corner real hard, felt like the car was going over. Quickly back on the power to continue the drift it became apparent that the car was down on power as it really was bogging down in 3rd. Trying to kick the clutch it just slipped as I was losing momentum I grabbed 2nd which got the rear end back out going into the hairpin, at least salvaging something. I completed the rest of the course without drama feeling a little more confident in knowing the track after that run.
On return to the pits I thought I should check my tyres, looked and saw they were on their last legs after 3 runs! Jeeez that's serious tyre wear, the next prob I had was the tyres I had got used to were the 225/45/17's I had on but only had some 205/50/16's to replace them ready on wheels.
To top it off I was told it's time for licencing, after 3 runs? Hardly likely to get one! Licencing is judged over 5 laps. Speed, lines and consistency are all focused on with Maz judging the complete package it's not going to be easy........
So the 1st judged run, with the new tyres I was getting barely any traction so initiating into the first bend I carried to much speed and span. No score!
On to the second judged run , initiating into the first bend the handbrake didn't lock properly and ended up throwing me the wrong way towards he concrete barrier at near 75 - 80 mph. I was a lucky boy stopping inches from redesigning the front of my car.
My next 3 runs ranged from ok to inconsistent, but none making the grade.
It turns out nobody had enough on the day as no licences were given out, although I think all feedback from Maz was constructive and will be taken on board.
I look forward to my next opportunity, hopefully with a bit more luck and better preparation!
