British Drift Championship

The British Drift Championship was[1] a drifting series held in the UK.

British Drift Championship
CategoryDrifting
CountryUnited Kingdom
Inaugural season2008
Folded2022
Official websitethebritishdriftchampionship.co.uk

The series began in 2008[2] as a feeder series to the European Drift Championship. However, the partnership between the BDC and EDC organisers ended at the end of the season and the BDC became a professional series in its own right.

The series originally had two classes, Semi-Pro and Pro. However, due to the vast growth of the championship a third class was added for the 2011 season, called 'Super Pro' which became the highest class. The top drivers in the Pro class were merged into this new class.

For the 2015 season the championship reverted to two classes; the three classes from 2014 were merged to create the Pro-Am and Pro class. A feeder series called Drift Cup was created to allow those wishing to take part in the series the chance to prove they have what it takes to drive in the main championship.

In 2016, the series was taken over by the owner of the Irish Drift Championship, David Egan.[3] Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, it was announced that Egan would be stepping down from his position, to be replaced by Matt Stevenson, a BDC Pro driver and 2014 Semi-Pro champion.[4]

Stevenson sold the championship to his understudy Frost at the end of 2020 after failing to make it a success. Following his decision not to cancel during the Covid 19 pandemic, he then forced the feeder series DriftCup to fold.

At the end of the 2022 season, the championship folded due to the a series of bad financial decisions, bad management. Plus staff were not being page their correct wages over the final season. The progressional system that was in place for over a decade in the UK was destroyed due to their negligence. Mac Frost folded the company with dept of over £185,000.

Champions

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Pro-Am Class (previously Semi-Pro)

Year Driver Team Car
2008 Steve Moore Nissan 200SX S14a
2009 Martin Richards Nissan Skyline R33
2010 Ian Phillips Skyline Owners Nissan Skyline R33
2011 Matt Campling Dorihero Nissan 200SX S13
2012 Owen Taylor Rampstyle Nissan Silvia S13
2013 Matt Samuel Car Loan 4 U Nissan 300ZX
2014 Matt Stevenson Slide Motorsport Nissan 350Z
2015 Fraser Stark Garage F***House BMW E30 Touring
2016 Danny Grundy Essex Drifters Nissan 200SX S14
2017 Scott Cartledge Nissan Skyline R33
2018 Lee Scott Finvoy Tyre Services BMW E46
2019 Lwi Edwards Allitalia BMW E36
2022 Craig Macleod Craig Does Drift Nissan 200SX S14

Pro Class

Year Driver Team Car
2008 Dave Walbrin Nissan Skyline R32
2009 Steve 'Baggsy' Biagioni Japspeed Nissan 200SX S13
2010 Phil Morrison Driftworks Nissan Silvia S15
2011 Michael Marshall MnM Engineering Nissan Silvia S15
2012 Christian Lewis Dorihero Nissan Skyline R33
2013 Jay Greene JapsTheOnlyWay.co.uk Nissan 200SX S13
2014 Richard Grindrod Driftworks BMW E36 V8
2015 Jack Shanahan Driftworks/Shanahan Car Sales Nissan 200SX S14
2016 Jack Shanahan Shanahan Car Sales Nissan 180SX
2017 Matt Carter Japspeed Nissan Skyline R32
2018 Duane McKeever Tri-Ace Tyres Nissan 180SX
2019 Oliver Evans VP Racing Fuels Nissan 200SX
2020 Duane McKeever Tri-Ace Tyres Nissan 180SX
2021 Duane McKeever[5] Tri-Ace Tyres Nissan 180SX
2022 Dylan Garvey 59 North Wheels Nissan 180SX

Super Pro Class (merged into Pro from 2015)

Year Driver Team Car
2011 Matt Carter Falken Tires Nissan 200SX S14a
2012 Paul Smith[6] Japspeed Nissan Silvia S15
2013 Michael Marshall Team MnM BMW E36 Touring
2014 Shane O'Sullivan Japspeed Nissan Silvia S15

References

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  1. ^ "Like many other businesses,... - British Drift Championship Facebook". 2023-02-18. Archived from the original on 2023-02-18.
  2. ^ "British Drift Championship Night Fight". 2023-02-18. Archived from the original on 2023-02-18.
  3. ^ "David Egan Takes Control of the BDC". Archived from the original on 18 April 2019.
  4. ^ Leonard, Cian. "THE NEW OWNER OF THE BDC ANNOUNCED". British Drift Championship. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018.
  5. ^ "McKeever clinches BDC 2021 Title". Link Engine Management. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Paul Smith secures the 2012 BDC Championship at Knockhill". knockhill.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017.