Stuart Egdell headed to Circuit de Croix-en-Ternois for a weekend of international drifting
Pro drifter, Stuart Egdell, is continuing his partnership with EBC Brakes as he once again carries out another season of the British Drift Championship [BDC] in the Pro 2 class.
Egdell’s formidable 2JZ-powered S14A Nissan Silvia features EBC Brakes Racing’s RP-X™ pads and GD discs – products which have helped him achieve impressive results in recent years.
Recently, Stuart took a break from UK-based BDC duties to make a guest appearance in the Circuit de Croix-en-Ternois round of Drift France.
You can read how this eventful weekend unfolded in his own words below.
“So, a week or so has gone (although my sunburn hasn’t!) after we attended Drift France for Rounds 3 and 4 of their amazing championship.
“On arrival, we were greeted with a warm welcome by the friendly staff and drivers at Croix-en-Ternois circuit – what an amazing but challenging circuit!
“We unloaded, set up and then walked the track to get feel of what I’d be driving the next day. The circuit has a blind entry under a bridge, sweeping right with an inside clip then an outside clip just on the edge of the gravel trap, it’s then a super-fast uphill run, reaching speeds in excess of 120km/h into a sharp hairpin over the finish line.
“What really surprised me was just how steep the uphill climb was from Clip 3 to the hairpin, then carrying huge speed and angle to an almost walking-pace, 90-degree hairpin.
“Friday morning kicked off early with some real solid practice. This was a track I’d never driven, and I followed a few locals first to find my speed and placement on the track. After a few comfortable runs chasing, I started to push on the lead. On the first lead run out, I just dipped the rear wheels over the gravel and lost the rear bumper – a good start…!
“We worked hard in dialling the line into what the judges required for qualifying. Towards the end of my second practice session, I put in a good chase with good friend (and the person that invited us over) Laurent Nikitin, pushing a little too hard to catch his 1000bhp monster, I ended up in the gravel trap on the last corner. This unfortunately punctured my oil cooler. Luckily, my team spotted this and set to work finding a replacement locally only just getting the car back together in time for final practice.”
“On Saturday morning, we were straight out for qualifying. After huge amounts of rubber were laid on the circuit the day before and then a little rain that morning, with temps approximately 20 degrees cooler than the day before, I was expecting the track conditions to be less grippy than the day before.
“Feilding Shredder – another wildcard entry – was out first, my team fed back to me the speed and conditions based on his first run. I lined up and sent it off the line! After entry and passing through Clip 2, the track’s grip level took me by surprise; I was expecting a little less grip and the car gripped up well through Clip 3 – a messy first 3 clips but a solid remainder of the run got me a good score on the board and put in the Top 32 battle grid!
“After lunch and watching all the amazing French drivers top off qualifying with Axel Francois taking the top spot, we got ready for a track parade then straight into Top 32 battles.
“I was up against young French man Will Delagrainge. Will put in a solid lead line and an aggressive chase. A few errors on my side saw Will take the win and move on to the Top 16, with us sadly bowing out in the Top 32, however it gave us a good amount of time to cool off and talk to some new fans!
“Day 2 saw a repeat of day 1; early out of the box for qualifying and with rain on the circuit. I put in a good solid first qualifying run gaining me good points, however I made a silly mistake at my end (the championship runs a telemetry system that must be returned immediately after your run or your score is void – I forgot to go straight back with the box, giving me a zero).
“For Run 2, I had it all to play for, by this run it was drizzling fairly heavily so the conditions were pretty slippery on track! Unfortunately, it just wasn’t my day, after pulling of the line for my second run, I blew a boost pipe giving me zero power for the full run, even managing to limp it around it still wasn’t enough to get a score to see us through to battles and our competition day was over.
“France was amazing: the people, drivers, and public were outstanding and was by far one of the busiest competition events I’ve attended, we honestly can’t wait to get back out there for another round hopefully later on in the year.”
RP-X™ Track/Race Pads
Following the hugely successful launch of RP-1™, EBC Brakes Racing increases its motorsport brake pad range with the introduction of our latest ultra-high-performance track & race material, RP-X™.
GD Discs
British-made discs that are precision machined in the UK. Rotors are made from high quality grey iron to exacting standards and undergo extensive testing and rigorous quality control.
