Night Fight - Stephen Errity

NIGHT FIGHT: UK VS. IRELAND DRIFT BATTLE

As domestic drift scenes take hold and prosper around the world, it’s inevitable that the top drivers from each territory will want to take each other on to find out who is truly the best. This was the aim of the recent ‘Night Fight’ end-of-season drift battle, which pitted the top runners from the Irish and UK championships against each other in a spectacular evening-into-night sideways extravaganza at Teeside Autodrome, just outside Middlesbrough in England. With national pride at stake, it’s not surprising there was a competitive atmosphere at the track, but things remained friendly throughout and there was a strong sense of the respect that drivers from each country feel for the other.

The crowds were due to start arriving at 6pm, but drift cars of every description had been filing in to the compact Teeside paddock since dawn. A late entry to the event, and gatecrashing the UK/Ireland party, were the Dutch duo of Olaf Commijs and Lenard Wanders, packing a pair of jawdropping Falken-sponsored machines (a 350Z and R34 Skyline respectively). The Irish contingent comprised Christy Carpenter’s mental horsepower S13 Silvia, veteran Mike Deane in his S13, Dennis Healy in his ex-D1 AE86, Glen Maher in his red AE86 hatch, Team Hankook’s Alan Lenihan in another S13 as well as Irish championship runner-up Johnny Power, who had borrowed event organiser Niall Gunn’s S15-fronted 180SX.

With the morning dew still coating their windscreens, the drivers headed out on to the Teeside West circuit to begin practice shortly after 10am. This track comprises a very fast straight approaching a 180 degree bend, which leads into twisty up and down hill sections that carve their way through high grassy banks, reminding some spectators of the classic Japanese togue runs and mountain circuits. As the sun rose and the temperature heightened, you could see the driver’s confidence increasing and with it their speed, angle and tyre smoke. Drawing particular attention was Northern Irish driver Alan McCord in his immaculate Hippo Sleek JZX100 Chaser, looking spectacular in a deep shade of blue. Dennis Healy was raising a few eyebrows in his green Corolla coupe too, pulling huge angles out of the final corner on to the straight. Making by far the most smoke however was Ben ‘Bon Bon’ Broke-Smith in his old school JZX81 chaser in bright orange Driftworks livery. As the afternoon wore on, it became clear that this was going to be an epic battle.

The more open layout of the Teeside East circuit was used for qualifying and the final Top 16 battles as the dips and hills of the West layout would have made judging impossible. Although nominally a karting track, the wide and fast nature of the circuit allowed the drivers of the higher-powered cars to really stretch their legs, particularly on the spectacular banked first corner. There was an electric atmosphere in the air as the cars raced around the circuit for the first time to warm-up for qualifying. Huge plumes of smoke hung over the venue, with bright headlights and LEDs cutting through the gloom. The final top 16 lineup comprised five of the six Irish drivers who had made the trip over, nine UK championship competitors and the two Dutch interlopers.

The first series of twin battles saw relatively straightforward victories for Bon Bon over Anthony Scott, James Hudson over Chris ‘Paz’ Perry and UK champion Brett Castle over Paul Howard. Olaf Commijs also went through after Steve Usher had a scary head-on meeting with the crash barriers. The driver was sore but not seriously injured, though his white S14A Silvia may have drifted its last. Alan Lenihan had a tight match-up with Glenn Maher in the first all-Irish encounter, proceeding to the top eight by virtue of a slight straightening error from Maher in their first run. Denis Healy lost out to Lenard Wanders after making contact with the Dutchman, while a spin from Mark ‘Buff’ Luney in the Skylinepart.com R34 secured Johnny Power a place in the top eight. The final top 16 encounter was an epic showdown between Pete Barber and Mike Deane. With quite evenly matched cars and two very evenly matched drivers, it took three sets of runs to separate them, Ireland’s Deane being declared the eventual winner.

Deane was in action once again in the top eight, facing off against crowd favourite Bon Bon in his Chaser. Mistakes were made by both drivers over the course of three pairs of runs, but in the end the judges gave it to Bon Bon, whose car was now so overworked it was beginning to spout flames! Re-runs were becoming the rule, not the exception at this stage and the match-up between Johnny Power and Brett Castle was another impossibly close affair, with a hair’s breadth separating the two Nissans as they snaked their way around the long track. Castle was struggling with overheating problems, but it was Power who cracked first, spinning out as he went through the last turn on their third run.

James Hudson took on Olaf Commijs’ mighty 350Z in his R32 Skyline next. Yet again, it took three runs before a winner was declared – such was the standard of driving, competitors simply weren’t making mistakes anymore. After a series of runs separated by just one point in either direction, some bad straightening through the first two turns saw Hudson bow out of the competition. Next to take on the might of the Dutch was Ireland’s Alan Lenihan in his Hankook-sponsored S13 Silvia. In a relatively low-powered car, Lenihan put up a brave fight against the monstrous be-winged R34 Skyline, but missed out on the semi finals by just a single point.

The Irish challenge was now over, and the semi-finals came down to two Netherlands vs. UK encounters. Lenard Wanders and Bon Bon were first up, with the British driver’s bodykit working loose halfway around their first run and scraping dramatically off the ground. Unfortunately, the venerable Toyota had had enough at this stage, with the flames of earlier on returning in the engine bay. It was game over for the Driftworks car and a place in the final for Wanders. It thus fell to Brett Castle to ensure that that final would not be an all-Dutch affair and he did just enough in their ultra-close first battle to go through by a single point.

In the final, Castle pulled slightly better angle than Wanders in their first run and was rewarded with a 6-4 score in his favour. The tables were turned next time around, despite Castle pushing his opponent extremely closely. And so, the final re-run of the night began, but it was over almost as quick, as Wanders spun out in a huge cloud of smoke at the first corner. Sportingly, the young Dutchman conceded defeat without a fourth and final run. Brett Castle, the 2007 UK champion, would now be crowned Night Fight champion as well. As the drivers clambered from their cars and took in the applause of the huge crowd, a quick inspection revealed big black scuff marks on the bumpers of each car – testament to the closeness and precision of the battles that had preceded. Every driver that competed at Teeside, as well as all the organisers can be proud at having truly heated up what was a freezing Northern night – roll on the 2008 event!