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Time Attack and Drift Pro - season finale at Snetterton
As the dust settles on the 2022 Time Attack season, and the assorted Team BC Racing drivers set about rinsing the Champagne out of their fireproofs and planning out their cars’ improvements for the ’23 season, there’s a lot of achievement and excitement to reflect upon. Not least the frankly stunning final round that took place at Snetterton on October 23rd.
The eighth round of a hectic and thrilling season saw the competitors champing at the bit to return to the hallowed Norfolk tarmac, the fast and demanding circuit well-known to the competitors. The inherent rapidity of the track ensures that all competitors are operating at full-tilt, even in wet and challenging conditions, and the guys really did put on a show for this final outing. And with all to play for in the points, the tension was palpable as the competitors readied themselves for a positively gladiatorial battle.
The Clubman class served up the first major cause for celebration, with Bren Simpson bringing his MK7 Fiesta ST home to 1st place. Bren who is usually found driving his Nissan Skyline R33 performance here certainly didn’t disappoint.
In amongst the Pocket Rockets was Michael Blenkinsop, rounding off his first full season in Time Attack in fine style, the Team BC Honda Integra making all the right noises and tearing around Snetterton like a Teflon bullet. A 2nd-place result was a fitting finish for this well-respected character.
Sam Pickering has been scoring steadily all year, and his performance here in the Club 4WD class was no exception. The incumbent 2021 UK Time Attack Club 4WD Champion manhandled his brutal Impreza with flair and panache, particularly given how he’d dislocated his shoulder in an impact at Brands Hatch last month, and bullishly crossed the line in a solid 2nd place.
Pro Extreme has been an entertaining playground for Tim Bedford’s almighty WRC Impreza this year, and a 3rd-place result cemented a year of steady scoring for this solid and dependable competitor.
Over in the Drift Pro championship, the biblical levels of rain certainly made for an entertaining spectacle; sure, a lubricated surface helps to break traction, but doing so in a controlled and precise manner is something altogether different. Nevertheless, this field of seasoned battlers soldiered on through the conditions to set some clean runs through qualifying, with Ollie Evans heading the leader board at the end of the quali session. Closely behind in second place was the R32 Skyline of Martin Richards, followed by Dave Bastin in the BC Equipped AE86 Corolla, Martyn Cowley’s BC Equipped S14, and Steve Lynch’s E46 M3.
Whittling down to the top-8, Ollie knocked out Nathan Chivers to go up against Axel Hildebrand, with the other six in the line-up being Martyn Cowley, Lwi Edwards, Martin Richards, Josh King, Dave Bastin and Ian Phillips. The tricky weather conditions continued to play havoc with both strategy and precision, and Ollie was bested by Hildebrand who went down to the top 4 along with Cowley, Richards and Phillips. The final standings, after a remarkable day of epic and rain-sodden battling, saw Ian Phillips taking the top step on the podium, his Nissan 350Z slithering its way to victory. 2nd place went to Axel Hildebrand in the JZX100 Chaser, while the 3rd place finisher was Martin Richards in the R32 Skyline. However, after a dramatic year, it was Team BC’s Ollie who was crowned Drift Pro Champion 2022.
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