Round 4 brought the cream of Irish drifters to Tipperary International Raceway, Rosegreen for what was to be an exciting days action. With the qualifying being huge on the Saturday very few Northern lads got through leaving Mark Luney the only one with a chance of bringing a win over the border.
After getting into the top 4, car problems left him no option but to pull out after driving a good day in really tough weather conditions. another man who everyone was expecting to do well was championship leader Damian Mulvey but after working long and hard on his nissan 180sx he couldn’t get it running right and brought a Corolla Twin Cam which lets face it isn’t exactly the most powerful of motors but i was impressed with the way he drove it and the wet conditions certainly helped him to the last 16 and i think he got into the last 8 which shows his ability. So with rain all morning to a drying track in the afternoon the heat was on for the last 16 with a few beautiful motors and some very talented drivers making it.
Yes the oval is closed off and the twin drifting starts which really tests the drivers as they chase each other round the large high speed oval sideways and then onto the go kart track – this give the judges plenty of time to see who’s best! With this being great to watch it got even better this round with a huge accident as a skyline went crashing into the wall. Wrecking the front of the car in a big way after a passing move from a 200sx forced him into error, thankfully the driver got out fine as his opponent (Martin French) came running over to make sure he was OK. This truly shows the sportsmanship of the event. So down to the final few and amazment all round as Buff didn’t appear out to battle for the podium and as i looked round I noticed him with the race suit off!
So he finished off 4th with the top 3 giving a real amazing display of driving and at the end of it all Jonny Power won it in his Nissan 180sx while Eric O’Sullivan had to settle for 2nd with his Modified Motors sponsored Corolla GT Coupe which was driven beautifully on the limit all day. Finishing off the podium was Billy Nolan in his Nissan 200sx so well done to the lads and unlucky to those who didn’t finish but better luck next time.
Well done to the organisers on what i thought was a really good day despite the weather and roll on the next one.
Pictures of all drivers available by emailing myself – graham@rmsmotoring.com
