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In April 2006 our drift team driver Tim Marshall passed his Drift driving test, gaining a full D1GB Licence which entitled him to compete over the 5 rounds of competition this year and what a year it has been!
2006 DRIFTING NEWS
Under the watchful and rather strict eye of Yasuyuki Kazama, (The worlds number 1 ranked drift driver) The chosen driver for the Sumo Power drift machine Tim Marshall battled it out with over 75 other hopefuls for a chance to hold one of the 35 available licences up for grabs.
Considering it was his first time in the car, Tim was flying and passed the test with flying colours.
With a smile as wide as his face, Tim's 2006 D1 year had begun!
Pictures courtesy of Carlin Gerbich & Victoria
Russell
The gods were smiling on the team as the conditions at Rockingham were perfect for the 350Z and Tim's first outing in competition.
The solo qualifying run went well for Tim and team Sumo Power with a fourth Place gained with an amazing 90 points, not bad for the rookie, After qualifying the drivers were paired up for the Top 16 spots and the show-down began for the twin drift battles. Each pairing were allowed one warm-up run of the course prior to setting off on their allocated 2 runs in a knockout formation. For these two runs each driver is allowed to take the lead whilst the other follows where they then switch positions on their second run, The competition unfolded to see some very high speed entries into the course from Tim with entry speeds of around the 100mph mark.
His first run was against the mighty BMW driving Dutchman Paul Vlasblom, In a close battle Tim managed to knock Paul out and in doing so progressed to the top 8, this time pitched against the highly respected and talented Damien Mulvey in his Nissan S13, this was nail biting stuff as the pair seemed inseparable until Damien eventually came in slightly off course leaving the door wide open for Tim and the Pink Peril, Top 4 here we come!
We were not going to be so lucky in the next round as Tim was drawn against seasoned veteran Brett Castle in his S14a, Tim's best efforts were no match for Brett's experience on the day and the twin drift battle save Tim and the 350Z knocked out just moments from the final.
The day could not have gone so well if it wasn't for the Sumo Power pit crew, well done gang!
Pictures Courtesy of Victoria Russell
The super fast course at Silverstone was next on the agenda for the Sumo Power D1 machine, From a standing start under bridge 2 down to Brooklands tight left hander, switching back right, through the complex and round Luffield, the D1GB drivers needed to up their game.
Tim did well in the qualifying round again scoring 90 points landing him 8th in qualifying, his match for the top 16 was Irishman Glen Maher. Glen had achieved his licence shortly before round 2 and had everything to prove.
The 350Z was running well and Tim seemed to be on form but sadly for team Sumo and Tim it wasn't meant to be!
A small mistake in the run and Tim had a brief encounter with the unforgiving gravel trap giving Maher a 10-0 victory, a victory which Tim was unable to claw his way back from meaning an early day for the Pink machine and Mr Marshall, Glen went on to suffer the same gravel trap defeat against his next opponent in the top 8.
With a round trip for team Sumo of over 1000 miles to and from Knockhill in Scotland for round 3, the pressure was on for Tim to make it all worth while. With a small practise session in torrential rain the night before the event Tim seemed confident that he could tame the beast and attack Knockhill's blind first right hander in fourth gear full throttle!
First up was a challenge from Declan Hicks in his Toyota Soarer GZ20, Declan's experience in twin drifting was not enough to make up for the sheer brute power of the 350Z and Tim took the points for go forward into the top 8.
Tim's next battle would be against the freshly licensed Kieran Cameron in his silver Nissan 180sx after the Scotsman knocked out the SVA imports 350Z driven by Ralph Crampton, For his first pro shootout Kieran put up a fantastic fight which made Tim really work for his position in the top 4, unfortunately for Kieran, Tim and the 350Z were on blazing form and managed to proceed to the next round.
This time Tim was faced with Stephen Evans from Team Autoglym in his Sumo Power prepared Nissan Skyline R32, Tim looked like he had pinched the advantage until a split second judgement call left him cutting the corner to avoid a collision with Evans giving the Nissan Skyline the points needed to go on to the final. A brave effort by both drivers, more points for Tim placing him in the top 5 overall of the championship.
Pictures Courtesy of Ross I'anson -
www.doristars.com
Back to Silverstone for round 4, now familiar with the high speed and driving style required to conquer this course spirits and expectations within the team were high.
This time Tim qualified third, again with 90 points now that's consistency for you!
His first twin drift experience of the day was drawn against another new recruit Mark Johnston, although Mark is an experienced driving instructor this was his first round of the championship, The pair lined up under the bridge..... pulses racing.... first, second, third, fourth gear triple figures on the speedo, all the team crossing every body part available........ The relationship between Silverstone's Brooklands gravel trap and the Sumo 350Z was about to get even closer as, as if my some super magnetic force, the 350Z slid rapidly towards the unforgiving stones!
It was too late for Tim, the car carried on sliding, hitting the gravel at speed, removing the sideskirts as it finally can to a halt.
Game over for today, back to the pits looking sorry for itself, rumour has it that Tim went into hiding!
The results of the day left Tim in joint fifth place overall, Tied with Maciej Polody from Poland, still in with a chance to keep in the top five after the final round and secure a place in the World Exhibition match in Irwindale California in December, it wasn't going to be easy and Tim knew full well that he would have his work cut out in round 5.
Pictures Courtesy of Ed Fahey
Crunch time for Mr Marshall and team Sumo, visit the gravel this round and all hopes of America would be dashed!
With qualifying taking place the day before the event in horrendous wet weather conditions, Top pilot Tim managed to secure a smooth second place with an amazing 96 points, surely the man was unstoppable??
Lining up for his first battle against Irish driver Niall Gunn, Tim looked quietly confident, he was on fire, what's the worst that could happen? The two drivers headed off down the straight into Brooklands, Niall had a visit to the gravel which left it wide open for Tim to proceed to victory, the second run and all Tim needed to do was stay on track and stay away from Niall, things were looking good until disaster stuck and Tim went wide in the complex and onto the grass spinning as he went, the judges and the huge crowds shouted...... 'ONE MORE TIME, ONE MORE TIME' This time Niall would not be so lucky as Tim dispensed with him in an amazing battle leaving Sumo to proceed to the top 8.
This saw Tim drawn against his old adversary whom he beat at round 1, Damien Mulvey, Back for Revenge!
In a battle which was the toughest fought so far this year the judging of points between these drivers must have been an extremely difficult call, an even scoring on the first two runs meant another 'one more time' for Tim and Damien.
From the stands and the pit wall it looked like Tim had done it, had he beaten this magnificent driver once again?? Everything went quiet as the crowd and the other drivers waited for the judges verdict..... And the winner is....... Damien Mulvey!
Tim's heart must have sunk into his race boots, today he had given 110%, everything in his armoury had been used only to be pipped at the post by Mulvey, was he still in the top 5? Was he and team Sumo going to the USA?
A picture is worth a thousand words.....
5th Place in the D1GB 2006 Championship for Tim Marshall & Sumo Power
Pictures Courtesy of Dan Freeman & Ross I'anson
Thank you:-
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