The new season of Time Attack and Drift Pro finally got underway last weekend as we headed back to the Lincolnshire countryside at Cadwell Park. This was our first outing for the Tegiwa Racing outfit, with 7 members of the team in action over the course of the weekend. We’ll go through each member of the team individually and take a closer look at how they got on.
Luke Sedzikowski – Tsuki Honda NSX
It’s been a roller coaster of a ride for the head honcho of Tegiwa Racing with our Honda NSX proving to be very temperamental during the test session on the Saturday. However, with Bourne HPP working their magic on Tsuki, Luke managed to put in some flying laps for round 1 on Sunday. Despite battling some ongoing issues throughout the day, Luke set a time of 1:32.371 which was enough to secure a first place finish in the Pro class!
Looking to add to the first haul of silverware, Round 2 of Time Attack on Monday proved to be problematic for Luke and the NSX. The car only managed 4 laps in qualifying before the gearbox decided it didn’t want to play ball, therefore, we had to make the call to retire the car for the day. We’re now on the hunt for a new gearbox for Tsuki before Brands Hatch next month so we can come back bigger and stronger!
Mikey Birch – K-Swap Honda Civic EK
With Mike all set for his second season in Time Attack, he was fired up more than ever before to improve on his times at Cadwell Park from last year. Setting a 1:40.610 in the final of round 1 secured Mike a 3rd place finish in the Pocket Rocket class and another trophy to add to his collection.
Keen to go even quicker in round 2, Mike pushed harder and harder throughout the day to shave those last few tenths of his time. However, during qualifying, Mike’s aux belt bracket snapped, but thanks to the chaps at Area Motorsport, Mike was able to rectify the issue and get the car fixed for the final. Knocking over a second off the previous days personal best, Mike set a blistering time of 1:39.531 to take 2nd place as well as another decent haul of points.
David Lawrence – Leon Cupra
David has been developing and testing his Cupra at any given opportunity over the winter break with a view to be right up there in the Club 2WD class for the 2022 season. Smashing his personal best out of the park with a 1:36.879 in round 1, David clinched a 3rd place spot on the podium. An awesome reward for all of his hard work during the off-season.
With David’s time dropping and dropping throughout round 2, it just wasn’t meant to be for him as unfortunately his engine gave way on the last turn. Luckily, nobody was hurt and David was safe, but his mission now starts to replace the engine before we head to Brands Hatch in 6 weeks time.
Ilya Krylov – Turbo Renault Clio
A man that needs no introduction, Ilya’s Clio was running the weekends action with a £200 eBay gearbox with an open differential, not ideal, but sometimes needs must. With the boost turned down to avoid overwhelming the gearbox, Ilya put together a 1:42.850 to secure 3rd place in the Club Pro class in round 1.
After a session on the dyno over Sunday night, the mighty Clio was ready to rock in round 2. Performing better than the previous day, Ilya knocked 2 seconds off his personal best for the weekend with a 1:40.112 to take another 3rd place finish.
Aaron Adams – BMW M4
Dropping round 1 on the Sunday, we were delighted to welcome Aaron to the paddock on Monday morning ready for round 2. Still learning the characteristics of his M4 after the switch from his Evo, Aaron set a time of 1:35.983 in the final to earn himself a 3rd place finish and his first piece of silverware of the season. Going into the tracks that suit his M4 later in the year, Aaron will be one to watch out for so make sure you watch this space!
Michael Hume – K-Swap Renault Clio
After putting in the hours during the past 3/4 months, k-swapping his Clio 182, Michael was ready to let rip at Cadwell Park. Without having the chance to see what his newly developed machine was capable of yet, Michael was still getting to grips with Clio over the course of round 1. A time of 1:45.130 in the finals secured Michael a 7th place finish overall in Pocket Rocket.
Round 2 saw Michael knock even more time off his lap as his confidence grew in the car. However, a technical issue during qualifying meant that Michael had to retire the car for the day. We’re hoping that Michael can diagnose and rectify the issue before Brands Hatch as we’re keen to see him back in action as soon as possible!
Ian ‘Bizz’ Phillips – LS3 Nissan 350Z
Representing the Tegiwa Racing team in the Drift Pro Championship was Bizz in his supercharged 350Z, wearing a brand new Alloy Wheel Shop livery! We caught up with Bizz after his first outing of the season, here’s what he had to say:
Drift Pro Round 1
The inaugural round of the 2022 Drift Pro championship took place at Cadwell Park. This event carried a few firsts; first time in drift competition at Cadwell, first time competing in 2022 and the first time out in the Alloy Wheel Shop LSZ!
The track ran through the trees after the infamous mountain, which is a very twisty section with lots of undulations and changes in camber. A few of the drivers were concerned how well it would work as a circuit, but after a few laps of getting our heads around the technical aspects, it turned out to be one of the best places to drift. For the spectators it was more like a rally stage, with the cars screaming in the distance, then bursting into view on full lock with smoke bellowing from the rear wheels!
I have been wrestling with the car for some time but towards the end of 2021 I really started to feel at home behind the wheel again. I am happy to say this has continued into the beginning of 2022. The pressure of qualification is still something I need to work on, only managing to get 10th in qualification, however, it meant I would be in the twinning battles later in the day.
My first battle was against Dave Bastin, in his beautiful AE86 that Tegiwa have just designed too! As he qualified higher than myself, he led first with me hot on his heels. My chase was great, earning the most entertaining chase of the top 16 from the judges, ending with a gentle tap of his rear wheel with my door. I took the win and got through to the top 8.
This battle was against Ollie Evans, a great driver, that usually leaves me in his smoke. With some guidance from my team, I stuck with him off the line and chased as hard as I could, giving me the advantage as I went to lead. We both pushed hard, I put down a good lead line, but the red mist descended a bit too much on the final corner where I pushed a little too hard and caused the car to stall. Ollie went pass and took the win. It was still a great experience, and I learnt a lot about my own ability ready for round 2 on Monday.
Drift Pro Round 2
Day 2 at Cadwell Park started off well with great weather and plenty of twinning practice where I hoped to capitalise on the lessons learnt from the day before. Managing to get plenty of practice battles in with the other drivers which I always find helpful to get an understanding of the line, entry speeds, etc.
The bar was raised from the day before, with all drivers appearing to be more confident on the technical track. I qualified 11th this time putting me against Dave Bastin again. I won the day before so I knew he would be pushing hard.
When he led there was nothing between our driving so the judges deemed it a 5/5 score. It was then my turn to lead. We both initiated into the first corner well and on-line. Dave then pushed a little too hard, trying to get alongside me heading to zone 2 which caused him to spin, giving me the win and progressing to the next stage.
This time I was against fellow gent, Matt Denham. When he gets behind the wheel, he is one of the fastest drivers out there, so I knew I had to be with him and not give an inch. I had never competed against Matt before but had watched him many times taking down some of the greats in drifting.
We set off from the line together and I started to edge ahead as we went up the mountain knowing that when we got on the flat, he would accelerate hard. Having my big, Magnuson supercharged V8 helped a lot in this situation where I could shift into 3rd at the bottom of the mountain and use the torque to get me up the hill without needing any more gear changes. He was seriously fast, I kept up during zones 1 and 3, but he did manage to pull a bit of a gap in zone 2. I’m happy to say that was my best chase I had done in my drifting career!
It was then Matt’s turn to chase. His chase driving had been flawless all weekend and unfortunately for me that was the case in our battle, with him taking the win but by a narrow margin. I was buzzing! Even though I didn’t win, I was so happy to give Matt a real fight for the win and put on a great show for the crowds.
I now stand in 7th place in the championship, with Brands Hatch being our next stop. That is a super-fast circuit and one that the LSZ really suits so fingers crossed we get on to the podium there!
As always you can check out all the images that we captured over on our Flickr page and we’ll be bringing you a YouTube highlights video pretty soon, so make sure you stay tuned!
