“We were back up at Teesside for round three of the BDC. This time, the circuit ran in reverse (my favourite way) and, amazingly, it was another event with the weather gods on our sides!

“For Friday’s practice, I fine-tuned the track, pushing deeper into clips, and occasionally losing a panel or two! Working with my team, we made fine adjustments to the suspension and alignment, adding a bit more grip and a little more steering input into the front, pushing hard towards the end of the day going faster and faster. I eventually found the limit a little too fast and ended up mounting the tyre wall on clip 2.

“A hasty repair and a good once-over from the team led us into lunch. It turned out I wasn’t the only person that took a liking to the tyre wall; a fair few other driver had pushed hard finding the limits (and the grass bank, tyre wall, concrete etc), meaning the track management team and the judges decided to make some changes on the grounds of safety.

“The changes included a shorter run up, clip 2 being moved inside the track, and a wheel marker for the transition to clip 3. After a few laps in, I was fairly comfortable with the new layout. I spent the last part of the session doing some leads, some chases and a few panel loosening exercises to the point where I was happy, comfortable and confident, so it was time to pack up, get some food and a good rest for the main day!

“The fans arrived early on Saturday morning. Glancing over during the drivers’ briefing, I could see people getting their spots on the bank, setting up their deck chairs and picnic blankets.

“We started the practice session well – still fresh from the day before, we continued where we left off. I got some really good lead runs, some close chase practice and really close fun with good friends and solid drivers in my class. One good friend in particular who made his big return for this round – Mike Jackson (who was driving amazingly all weekend) – pushed hard and chased very close, and then we had a little contact that unfortunately for me bent a steering arm. This is all part of drifting and the sport; we don’t aim to crash into each other, but sometimes the contact happens!

“Back in the pits, the team had the steering off and I went on the hunt for a replacement, one of the biggest things I love in drifting is the people, the amount of people that had spares that were willing to lend me to get back out makes the sport what it is!

“After a bit of hammer action and some quality work from the team, the car was straight and ready for action again. With qualifying starting soon and limited time in practice left, I needed to get out and make sure the car was back on point and my driving was back where it should be. The first lap or two in, I had noticed some understeer issues and I wasn’t 100% with the steering alignment, however as I only had a few laps left I insisted on pushing on getting most out of practice.”

“The other weekend we had the long-haul trip up to Scotland to the UK’s only purpose-built drift circuit – Driftland.

“Yet again, the weather blessed us, with brilliant sunshine and three dry days of tyre-smoking action!

“We kicked off on Thursday evening with the media night, taking out the team in the passenger seat for some decent laughs and showing them the inside view of the circuit.

“Friday was open practice; we spent a good part of the day dialling in the line and practicing my chase line later on when I was comfortable and confident.

“The crowds started pilling in on Saturday morning. The Scots are amazing and bring a certain vibe to an event you don’t find elsewhere.

“We started the practice session where we left off – tweaking the line after the judges’ briefing, making sure I was in all the right zones, carrying the pace and fulfilling the judges’ criteria.

“After a small break, I was straight out for qualifying, doing what I practiced all day. I laid down my best attempt at a high-scoring run. I was slightly shallow on the wall and ran a C-line through clip 3. The judges’ scores came in in and I got a 73-point run. Not what I was expecting as I firmly believed I had delivered a better line than rewarded.

“For the second run, I pushed just a bit too hard, miss-shifted on the run-up to the entry, then struggled to drop deep enough into clip 2 and 3 as I wasn’t carrying the pace required to improve my first run. Even with the low score gained on my first run, I was in the show.”