lwiedwards – Page 2 – Lwi Edwards

October 6, 2019October 6, 2019

Countdown to British Drift Championship Round 6, Buxton, The Final Round

Lwi Edwards : British Drift Championship 2019 : Round 6 Buxton Raceway : The Final

At the start of this season we couldn’t have predicted the position that Young Blood, Lwi Edwards has found himself in going into the last round of the British Drift Championship at Buxton Raceway. Currently sitting in 2nd Position of the ProAm championship after being knocked off the top step by Josh King but still only 5 points behind and he has extended his lead over Martin Cowley who is now in 3rd after knocking him out in a head to head battle at the last round at 3 Sisters.

Lwi Edwards : BDC2019 : Standings at Round 5

This goes to show what a young new driver can achieve with consistent results all season, only one podium finish, but always qualifying high and reaching the Great 8 in every round. Lwi has been in stealth mode gathering crucial points which have carried him to the top of the championship, and it hasnt been easy, Lwi has had to work hard with his relatively low powered M3 engined BMW against a field of higher powered cars. It was planned at the start of the year to keep the spec of the car realistic for his first ever season in the ProAm class so Lwi could prove his talent behind the wheel against the odds and he has exceeded all expectations. The Pro class is calling for 2020 and a completely new Pro Spec car build is on its way.

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval 2019
Vs Conor Shanahan

Round 6 will take place at Buxton Raceway, an oval circuit up in the hills, which Lwi has driven only once. However, fresh from his return from the epic Tullyroan Oval in Ireland, he has had some experience of battling in an oval with walls that can ‘bite’. Only 12 months ago when Lwi was still 16yrs old, he finished on the podium at the very last Iconic King of the Ring at Arena Essex, another tight oval circuit. This circuit layout looks challenging and technical and the BDC Team will be putting on a great show for the last event of the season. The weather at this time of year could be unpredictable and Lwi will be avoiding any hard impacts to the walls. It is a tall order for Lwi to win the championship, the top 5 are so close in the points table that it could go to any one of them, but he has now proved that he is a contender for the championship.

Friday 11th October is the main day for ProAm class running under floodlights and the winner will be decided at around 10pm. The event Continues on with Pro class on Saturday and a Battle Royal on Sunday for all comers.

Tickets can be bought on line at Buy BDC Rnd 6 tickets

October 2, 2019October 2, 2019

Tullyroan Oval Driftnights 2019 , N Ireland, A young drifters dream event, mixing with the best drivers

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval Driftnights 2019 : Organised by Kevin Quinn

Hidden away in Northern Ireland is the most immaculate Oval circuit named Tullyroan Oval and once in a while, Kevin Quinn organises the most amazing event called Tullyroan Oval Driftnights. Pulling together some of the best known names in the drift world from around Ireland, Europe and occasionally, the world. All under floodlights with Big prizes at stake

We had been given the heads up by a fellow drifter and, after speaking to the organisers, gained an entry for Lwi into this invitation only event, an amazing chance for him to pitch his driving ability against some top class drivers.

Tullyroan Oval Drift Nights 2019 : Lwi Edwards

The car was checked over again after last round of BDC in Allitalia workshop, some fresh fuel stocked up from new partner Sonoco UK and last minute ferry booking again with Irish Ferries and we, once again headed off to our happy place across the water for the hop from Wrexham to Northern Ireland.

Lwi Edwards Vs David Egan : Tullyroan Oval 2019 : Practice runs

Friday started with practice through the day and the chance to twin with names like David Egan. The weather was mixed with heavy showers and the track was patchy in places so made it quite challenging to run qualifying lines.

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval 2019 : Qualifying run

Qualifying: As darkness fell and the rain came down hard, the qualifying runs began. Lwi, as always putting his clinical line driving to score an 82 point run to put him just out of the top 10 in 11th place, with only names like Shanahan’s , Quinn , Larner, and McKeever and Drift Games Extreme drivers above him, another great result in the conditions

Saturday: And the weather was mixed again, heavy showers and dry spells and after a short practice during the early afternoon start it was time to run a Superlap which gave the running order for battles.

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval 2019 : Top 32 Battle : Lwi Vs Harry Kerr

Top 32 Battle: Now the battles were going to get serious and Lwi had been seeded against another hugely talented young driver, Harry Kerr, in pretty identical spec M3 BMW’s. The first run and both drivers made few mistakes and put pretty well identical runs in lead and chase, so much so, it was judged to go OMT (One More Time), a good call and both drivers agreed on the decision with another chance to battle.

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval 2019 : Top 32 Battle part 2 Lwi Vs Harry Kerr OMT

Top 32 Battle OMT : And another chance to battle Harry Kerr for a place in Top 16, it was close again but Lwi put a better run by a small margin and won! So Lwi was through to the Top 16. The next opponent was going to be interesting…

Lwi Edwards : Tullyroan Oval 2019 : Top 16 Battle : Lwi Vs Conor Shanahan

Top 16 Battle : And this couldn’t get any better, something Young Blood, Lwi Edwards had been praying for all year, the chance to battle arguably one of the best drifters in the world and recent Red Bull athlete, Conor Shanahan. It was a tall order to ever beat Conor but Lwi put up an amazing fight, held proximity and ran his perfect lead line. Conor’s smooth style is very similar to Lwi which gave him confidence to make a dive on his door but Lwi was certainly out car-ed and he was happy to take the defeat. The opportunity to be able to run with Conor was invaluable and has been a great experience for Lwi to prove he can battle with the best even with a inferior car. This sets him in good stead for 2020 when the next step up car is built.

An amazing weekend with some world class drivers, thank you to Kevin Quinn for the Invite, all our partners who help us out including Allitalia Wrexham, Irish Ferries, Sonoco UK fuels, L2D. We are always looking to work with new names, if you would like to get involved with this journey, get in touch ready for 2020. Its going to get exciting!

Check out selection for In-car and images below:

September 16, 2019September 22, 2019

British Drift Championship Round 5 Three Sisters. The Bar was officially raised

Round 5 of the British Drift Championship was to take place at the Three Sisters race circuit in Wigan, a tight and twisty track, using a new layout. Although Lwi had only done a novice day in 3 sisters previously, the new layout helped level the field a little against regular visitors.

The weather forecast was good, warm and dry, unlike previous rounds, this would give Lwi the chance to silence the doubters who think his current position in the championship, 1st, is due to the previous wet conditions favouring the lower power of the M3.

Friday, was a short drive from the Allitalia base in Wrexham after the M3 had been checked over and was spent with free practice and Lwi familiarising himself with the new layout. A very technical line had been set out to challenge the drivers, Lwi inputted the data into his processor type brain, spent some time perfecting the line then called it a day.

Lwi Edwards : BDC2019 Rnd 5 : Qualifying run : Top qualified

Saturday morning and the weather was dry and warm, after a short practice it was time for qualifying. Lwi was the last to run due to his position in championship and was determined to prove a point. His first run was a tidy 94 points and a second run topped this with a 95.6! Top qualified again but always chasing that perfect 100 score

The Battles

Top 32 Battle: The first battle was to be with local drift god Karl Farrar with Lwi putting in his now almost perfect lead line, Karl was able to get up close, physically pushing him over the finish line. Lwi chase was tidy and close enough to win the battle. Advantage Lwi and through to Top 16.

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Top 32 Battle Lwi Vs Farrar

Top 16 Battle: Lwi second battle was with Paul Cunnington, another driver who is close in championship, Lwi now has qualifying line dialled in and Cunnington made a few more errors than Lwi. Advantage Lwi and Great 8 beckons

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Top 16 Battle : Lwi Vs Cunnington

Great 8 Battle: A battle that Lwi was looking forward to, Martin Cowley, sitting a few points behind Lwi in championship, this was to be a head to head battle, and the conditions were dry, advantage should go to Cowley with his superior powered Nissan. But Lwi drove a clinical lead and an impressive chase which impressed the judges, against the odds he took the win and finally made it into the Final 4, a position that has eluded him a few times this season and achieving this by taking his direct competition out made it a special moment

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Great 8 Battle : Lwi Vs Cowley

Final 4 Battle: This was going to be a tall order in the M3, pitched against Andy Frost in the 600hp FastR BMW. Frost had started to gel with the car after spending some time testing and he was driving well. The battles were very close but Frost took the deserved win by a close margin.

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Final 4 Battle : Lwi Vs Frost

Final battle : The battle for the final place on the podium was against Minelga, another hard fought battle that Lwi managed to clinch with his precise line driving. 3rd position was in the bag!

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Final Play off for Podium : Lwi Vs Minelga

The Pro Class

But it was not over, the top 4 finishers in ProAm had opportunity to race on Sunday in the Pro class

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Pro Class : Qualification run 91 point : Qual 2nd in Pros

Qualifying: And Lwi pulled it out of the bag and put a safe first run in with a 78 point then nailed it with a 91 point run. He held the top place in qualifying until knocked down to 2nd by Martin Wonnacott. This put Lwi straight into Top 16 battles and he could sit back and watch the remainder of the field battle it out.

Lwi Edwards : BDC 2019 Rnd 5 : Pro Class ; Top16 Battle : Lwi Vs Simmons

Top 16 Battle: This level of the Pro class was alway going to be difficult and Lwi was to battle Adam Simmons in his LS powered BMW. Another very close battle that Lwi lost by just one point.

Overall a very productive weekend that showed what Young Blood, Lwi Edwards is capable of, wet or dry. The fact that Lwi has only owned a drift car for 18 months, this is the first year in competition and he is still only 17yrs of age. Looking forward to seeing what can be achieved in the Pro class in 2020.

The last round of British Drift Championship is Buxton on Friday 11th October for Pro Ams and a full weekend of competition. Buy your tickets here and support us

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bdc-round-6-buxton-raceway-20-discount-tickets-55893921223

Check out the Playlist below to catch action inside and outside the car from round 5

July 29, 2019August 15, 2019

British Drift Championship : Round 4 : NEC : Report

Round 4 of the British Drift Championship, High Roller, was to take place on a purpose built track at the NEC in Birmingham. Solid concrete barriers lined the technical layout which would favour the high horsepower cars, unless it rained, which it did, torrentially!

Arriving at the venue on the Friday ready for practice, the Allitalia crew set up their usual camp ready for a half day of practice for Lwi in the M3. Weather was dry and a limited amount of time for the field of drivers meant a rush to get some runs in and familiarise with the new layout. Lwi did his usual and just dialled in the line he needed , inputted the information into his computer type brain and signed off for the day.

Saturday turned out to be a different story, greeted with torrential rain that didnt let up for a lot of the day, this was going to upset the whole field of drivers and also level the playing field for lower horsepower cars, but still didnt make it easy for Lwi. Some extra practice in the morning helped get used to the rain, but it was going to be a lottery for everyone with standing water and slippy painted lines, some uncharacteristic zero scores were ahead.

Qualifying: and Lwi was determined to qualify well now he was 2nd in championship within reach of the top step so kept his cool to run a steady and safe first run, choosing to run the Triace soft tyres to search for grip in the wet surface. His score of 58 was lowest to date but enough for the conditions to keep him in top 10 for a while. The second run was a disaster, something rare for Lwi to ever do, a certain part of the track caught a lot of drivers out, and Lwi included, he span! This meant that his score of 58 was to stand and the long wait to see what position it left him in. Luckily for Lwi, and with lots of zero’s happening, he qualified a reasonable 17th place. The worst position ever but safe to fight in battles.

Top 32 Battle: A David and Goliath battle to be had, Lwi Vs Andy Frost. Lwi in with approx 340hp and Andy with around 700 hp, but the track was still wet and this would help Lwi get the power down. Lwi to chase on first run and he kept it safe and steady in the wet and slippy conditions. His lead run again was steady and accurate, running a nice lead line as always, this was in the bag for Lwi, and his confidence was growing on the day.

Top 16 Battle: and Lwi was facing a newcomer Damien Choppen in his E46 with 1JZ engine fitted. The track had started to dry slightly and this was to become a bit of an issue for Lwi running the sticky Triace tyres, with the mixed surface changes, gripping in areas made for a challenging drive. Lwi lead line was nice and tidy, the chase was on point and advantage to Lwi, so through to great 8.

Great 8 : This was to be an epic battle with William Hanna in his Skyline, almost twice the hp and a track that was drying out quickly. Lwi made some small errors on his lead run due to the grip level changing and not having the horsepower to compensate, but also ran a perfect line on the walls, then Hanna also made few mistakes. So it went to one more time, the best decision the judges could make. By now, the Triaces were grippy and did cause Lwi to shallow slightly on his chase run, but kept proximity and did a few demon dives on the lead car to please the judges. His lead run was an epic start, somehow left Hanna standing off the line but carried too much speed into the same corner that caught him out on qualifying and Lwi span! .. Again… Hanna took the deserved win.

So Lwi didnt make the final 4 again but an amazing result again for the 17yr old youngster in a relatively low powered car on his first ever year of competition

But consulation for the weekend was winning the ‘Hard Charger’ Award for the day knowing that he is now LEADING THE PRO-AM CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!

Check out the video below from the weekend

Video of the weekend from our media partner Sideways Media.net

June 18, 2019July 4, 2019

Nice to be recognised by BDC2019 as one to watch

A nice surprise for Lwi Edwards at Round 3 of the British Drift Championship, a small article in the program naming him as one to watch in the future, its nice to be recognised for his natural talent behind the wheel.

May 27, 2019June 7, 2019

British Drift Championship : Round 2 : Driftland : Report

Lwi Edwards : BDC2019 Rnd2 : Driftland : credit MS Photography

Round 2 of the British drift Championship found us making the long trip over the border to Driftland in Lochgelly, Scotland. With young blood, Lwi Edwards sitting in 5th place overall in the Pro-Am championship, we knew it would be a challenging weekend at the purpose built drift circuit that suits high horsepower cars

Friday practice was spent familiarising himself with a circuit that Lwi had not visted before. With the team trying different settings on the BMW E36 M3, he settled in pretty quickly and dialled in the qualifying line before session finished. Feeling comfortable with the setup, he decided to finish on a high after nailing an almost prefect qualifying run.

Qualifying : 84 points and 3rd Position

BDC2019 Driftland : Lwi Edwards : Qualifying

Saturday started with open practice for the morning, with the sun shining and a dry track, Lwi spent his time just cleaning up his qualifying lines before the main qualifying sessions started. The weather became overcast as sessions started and the rush to get a run in before it started to rain was on. His first run was clean and tidy, scoring a very impressive 84 points, putting him in 2nd place. Then the weather started to change and light rain started to make things interesting. After making the decision to ‘send it’ on second run, Lwi got caught out with the slippy track on entry to first clip and slipped off line, this was immediately a zero score, so luckily his 84 point run was enough to finish in 3rd place overall.

Into Battles – The heavens opened

BDC2019 Driftland : Top 32 Battle : Lwi Edwards Vs Charles Funnell

Top 32 : And the heavens opened, we hoped this could give Lwi a small advantage and level the playing field and we were right, so decided to change to narrower Triace tyres on the rear and Uniroyal rainsports on front for more grip in the torrential rain. First battle was with Charles Funnell in his nicely built AE86. Lwi had a great jump on him in lead position and lay down his usual perfect line even in the rain, unfortunately for Charles he couldnt get the grip needed to catch Lwi. The chase run for Lwi was same, with Charles struggling with conditions and Lwi comfortably keeping close proximity throughout. First win to Lwi and though to top 16

BDC2019 Driftland : Top 16 Battle : Stu Jones Vs Lwi Edwards

Top 16 : And Lwi was pitched against Stu Jones in his Nissan, another high powered car in hands of experienced driver. The Lead run and once again, Lwi was not phased by the very wet and slippy conditions to pull a clean lead line while the chase car struggled for grip and Lwi managed to pull a gap which he held until the finish. The chase run and Lwi held a good proximity to the lead car, keeping a safe distance as the lead car made a few small errors. All in Lwi’s favour and he moved through to the Great 8.

BDC2019 Driftland : Great 8 Battle : Lwi Edwards vs Martyn Cowley

Great 8 : A place Lwi has been before and this battle was going to be hard, with Matryn Cowley in his Nissan, another very talented driver who is renowned to be aggressive on the chase runs and is currently leading the championship. The Lead run, and Lwi made a small mistake into clip 2, just dropping a wheel over the circuit into the huge puddle that had developed, but the chase driver also made a large error in the middle of circuit which had now developed a mixed surface of grip, catching a few drivers by surprise. The chase run, for Lwi was hard work, Martyn’s car had the grip and the power but Lwi managed to keep close proximity but in the same area of the circuit that Martyn had problems Lwi had to back off to avoid hitting the lead car, this caused him to transition too early and he ran wide off track on that clip. After composing himself, he held a good chase position for the rest of the run.

So it was all up to the judges to make their decision, which seemed to take for ever, both drivers had made errors on the difficult mixed surface and opinions were mixed, the majority wanted one more time, but judges couldnt agree and the win went to Martyn Cowley. A controversial decision as both drivers would have been happy to run OMT to battle it out. So Lwi was out and Martyn Cowley made though to Final 4 and on to finish on the podium

Another amazing result for Lwi in his first competitive season at a circuit he had never even visited before, never mind driven, the weather did help with lack of horsepower in battles, but he also qualified 3rd in the dry against some big horsepower cars. The podium is getting closer every time and Lwi is currently sitting in a nice position on the championship table in 5th overall.

Credit must go to Learn2Drift, the leading UK drift school that started the whole drift mission 18 months ago, now officially an instructor for the school, with their help and guidance, it has enabled Lwi to experience drifting on both wet and dry surfaces in different vehicles. The opportunity to gain extra seat time inbetween competition is invaluable and is recommended to both beginners and experienced drifters. http://www.learn2drift.com

May 21, 2019May 22, 2019

British Drift Championship : Countdown to round 2 : Driftland, Lochgelly, Scotland

British Drift Championship Rnd2 Driftland 25th May 2019 : Lwi Edwards

Fresh from Drift Games Nationals in Cork, Ireland, it is now all change and 25/26th May will see us make the long trek back up north and over the border of Scotland to the drifters mecca, Driftland in Fife, the only purpose built drift track in the UK.

A notoriously fast track will be a challenge again for young Lwi Edwards in the Allitalia prepared BMW E36 M3 with moderate power against some high powered machinery but his technical driving style should make up for the lack of horsepower. Still only his first year in competition, Lwi is currently sitting in 5th place overall after a great result in Teeside and is hoping to build on this result this coming weekend.

Transformation from Drift Games Nationals to British Drift Championship for Lwi Edwards M3

The car has been checked over in the workshop, given a bill of health ready to go apart from change of graphics from Drift Games to British Drift Championship and a few minor changes and repairs. Transmission upgrades will have to wait until after this round, the car is continually being modified and improved this year as none of us expected Lwi to be competing at such a high level so soon and he will be competing within a limited budget.

So stocking up on tyres and fuel, our trip to Scotland will soon be with us, come and join the fun at Driftland, or if you cant, check out the BDC Livestream https://www.thebritishdriftchampionship.co.uk/live

April 9, 2019April 9, 2019

2019 BDC Round 1 Teeside – Raising the bar in UK

Due to the success with Drift Games in Ireland, Lwi was given a bonus opportunity to be able to enter the first round of the British Drift Championship to try and qualify for a place to compete in the 2019 BDC season. A golden opportunity to pitch his driving abilities against some of the best drivers in the UK.

Friday was spent practising the very technical circuit layout, organisers had decided to run the traditional Teeside layout in reverse to spice things up a little and level the playing field. This suited Lwi and the less experienced drivers as it was new to everyone. The car was set up and tyre choices selected by main sponsor Allitalia Ltd with just 1 broken driveshaft changed in record time to keep the M3 Powered BMW out on the track for a long as possible

Saturday was the main event for the Pro-Am and after a morning practice it was straight into qualifying mode. For Lwi, the pressure was on to qualify in the top 32 to gain his BDC Pro-Am status but he didnt let his nerves get the better of him and nailed his first run to put him in top ten, then drove a nice tidy line on second run to a final qualifying score of 73 which placed him in 8th place overall at the end of the session. A pretty incredible result for the young 17yr old in his first competitive season. This result secured his BDC Pro-Am license to compete in the UK but the real competition was just about to begin…

Let The Battles Commence

Top 32 battle started with Matt Fountain in a Soarer, Lwi putting in the usual clinical lead run which seemed to unphase the experienced chase car, and he made a few mistake, running off line and also finishing with a small ‘love tap’ around final bend. The chase run for Lwi saw him being left behind slightly due to the power difference but Lwi managed to make up some proximity and also followed a qualifying line to take the win.

The top 32 Battle to take Lwi into Top 16, Lwi Edwards Vs Matt Fountain

Top 16 battle was against William Hanna in another high powered Nissan Skyline, but this didnt phase Lwi with his technical approach to driving, again the lack of horsepower was compensated by car control , putting the BMW where it needed to be to take the win and move into Great 8!

Great 8, where things really start to get tough,and only one step away from the final battle and chance to go through to next day with Pro class! Unreal that Lwi should be at this level on his first ever attempt of BDC

Great 8 battle for Lwi . Lwi Edwards Vs Josh King

So, the Great 8 battle saw Lwi and Josh King. Both in BMW E36 but one was turbocharged and had twice the horsepower as the other… unfortunately, Lwi was in the M3 engined one, so was about 300 hp short. However, this again didnt phase Lwi, once again he drove a near perfect lead run, following qualifying line, and let the chase car make the mistakes, but he just couldnt make up any proximity on his chase run against the superior power of the lead car, so the battle was lost. Josh King went on to win the ProAm on the day

Expectations officially exceeded

Lwi went into this competition just to qualify in top 32 to gain his BDC ProAm license but once again, as in Drift Games license day, he has shown his incredible talent to both qualify in top ten and take a relatively under powered car up to top 8. He was officially the youngest driver in the lowest power car to get into top 8 on the day, a pretty decent result.

Next event will see us back in Ireland for round 2 of Drift Games Natonals 4/5 May

April 2, 2019April 9, 2019

From the Wild West to the Far (North) East

Our trip West last weekend saw young Lwi Edwards competing in the first round of the Drift Games National Championships in Mondello Park in Ireland, the most premier championship in Ireland against a field of top class drivers, qualifying 6th out of 75 drivers and finishing 19th on final leaderboard.

7 days later, we load up again and head to the Far East of the UK (well actually North East from our base in Wrexham) to compete in the British Drift Championship round 1 at Teeside Autodrome, with an opportunity to qualify and gain a Pro-Am license for the season.

The BDC is the topflite drift championship in the UK and the opportunity to compete at this level shows the natural talent and precise driving style that Lwi has to be a serious contender in the championship at Pro-Am level. It will not be easy again with a field of very experienced and talented drivers with high horsepower cars but he has proven that he can hold his own in Ireland with the current relatively moderate powered M3 engined BMW.

2019 is turning out to be a bit of a rush, we couldn’t have predicted that Lwi would have been competing in two of the biggest national championships at the same time, but we are all up for a challenge and Lwi’s machine like driving skills are being honed every time he gets into the new car.

BDC here we come!

We are looking for selected companies (or individuals) who would wish to get involved with our quest to dominate two championships in UK and Ireland with a young driver. A golden opportunity to be part of the story from the start.

Please drop us a line at support@lwiedwards.com