Round 3 of the K&N Supported Maxxis British Drift Championship Returns to the Thunderdome

10.08.2012

Fickle weather that continued to turn on a dime became one of the overriding challenges for everyone.

Fan reaction to Round 2 of the British Drift Championship at Norfolk Arena pegged the excitement meter at near maximum limits. After Round 3 returned to the Teesside, Autodrome in Redcar, England, where it all got started, it became apparent the BDC would need a new meter, one capable of absorbing a much larger induction of sheer exhilaration.

Billed as "Return to the Thunderdome" this was the second visit to the Autodrome for BDC. Drivers where challenged and kept on their A-game by a completely new track layout, yet the overriding challenge for all the teams was the multi-personality weather that changed from rainy to windy and sunny by the hour.

The Team Triple Drift event during Round 3 at the Teesside,Autodrome surpassed all excitement expectations.

Drivers struggled at first getting a handle on the tricky conditions, which only contributed to upping the ante for the fans already fully invested the action.

Round 3 marks the halfway point for the championship and drivers and teams are fully aware that this is the time to turn up the heat and readjust game plans. Track conditions during Friday's qualification session were slippery at best, and they changed once again for Saturday's action, pitting drivers to draw on all their skills, while fighting the greasy track surface. Drivers artfully slithered around the course bumpers-to-doors, teetering on the edge of bedlam, much to the delight of everyone in attendance or watching on TV.

Racing on the edge brings with it the prospect of occasionally crossing over its limits.

Before the final 16 drivers in each class waged their high-speed duals, fans were yet again given the opportunity to get thoroughly engaged in the Meet-and-Greet out on the Teesside tarmac. This highly popular feature allows spectators to mingle with the drivers and teams, making it one of the more unique characteristics of this motorsports.

Spectators were treated to another special and highly anticipated feature as well during the Round 3 festivities called the annual Team Triple Drift event. This yearly assault sees teams engage in full-on show-time mode as they line up door-to-door with their team mates to hit the highest score possible in knockout battles with other teams. The event follows the same format as the normal rounds; in the sense that there is qualifying sessions and then it get's skimmed down to 16 teams for the knockout stage. The main morning buzz in the pits and on everyone's lips in the stands was - Triple Drifting.

The podium was once again filled with the customary champagne bath and frivolity.

Once the smoke and dust lifted on the weekend, the biggest overall winner of the Round 3 contest proved to be Maxxis tires, as all three tiers of the podium enlisted the advantage of the company's exceedingly consistent MA-Z1 rubber. Team Japspeed driver Shane O'Sullivan clinched his second victory in three appearances, while teammate Steve 'Baggsy' Biagioni took the third spot, picking up some valuable championship points. SATS Motorsport's Mark Luney completed the podium for Maxxis by claiming second place.

The Return to the Thunderdome will go down in the books as one of the most eventful and thrilling events of the BDC to date, for both spectators and participants alike. So far each round has surpassed the expectations set by the previous, and as zealous fans continue to spread the word about this thoroughly entertaining motorsport, we can only hold on to see where Round 4 at Lydden Hill on August 11th and 12th will take us.

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