Maxxis Sponsors 2011 British Drift Championship

Maxis has announced that it will continue its title sponsorship of the British Drift Championship in the 2011 series. The brand’s purpose-designed MA-Z1 Drift tyres will once again be used in the championship, having scored numerous wins and podium places. Maxxis International says it aims to build on these achievements this year, which gets underway with the meeting at Donington Park on 22-23 April. “Since we began our association with the British Drift Championship in 2009 it has really moved on, enhancing its standing within the drift world as it successfully established itself as a vehicle for the best in multi-class drifting throughout Britain,” says Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin.

The 2011 series makes just one key change to the series format; the Semi Pro and Professional class will each comprise five rounds, while a new Super Professional class comprising six events has been added. All will run alongside the traditional team competition.

The championship opener at Donington played host to the tightest of battles in both the Semi-Pro and Pro classes last year, with Mark Luney taking a first win for the SATS/Cosworth Toyota Supra. The Maxxis British Drift Championship travels to the Norfolk Arena for round 2, where drifting takes place on the purpose-built oval in Kings Lynn over three days: 20-22 May. This will include a full day of practice on the Friday and the finals run under floodlights on the Saturday evening, as well as the annual BDC Triple Drift Team competition on the Sunday.

On 2-3 July the series returns to the Teeside Autodrome. Many aficionados consider this the perfect track for drifting in the UK and it holds a special place in fans’ hearts as it hosted the first ever BDC event in 2008. For round 4 (20-21 August) the championship heads to Scotland and the Knockhill Circuit near Dunfermline. 4 September sees the Maxxis British Drift Championship join forces with top performance car event TRAX to provide a drifting spectacular at Silverstone. Round 5 of the Super Pro event will be the main attraction of the show and will involve the best of the best drivers battling for honours at the home of British Motorsport.

The championship decider (round 5 for the Semi Pro and Pro classes and round 6 for the Super Pro drivers) takes place at the Nissan factory in Sunderland on 24-25 September. The venue is a special addition to the 2011 BDC calendar, giving the organisers a chance to create another bespoke circuit, which they say will “push the boundaries of track design”.

In addition to trackside advertising and the branded podium, all cars taking part in the 2011 Maxxis British Drift Championship will feature Maxxis windscreen banners. Maxxis is ensuring it will be highly visible at each round by taking its hospitality unit, and a giant orange inflatable arch will once again be the landmark feature in the pit lane. The sponsorship deal also incorporates Maxxis branding of the official BDC website – http://thebritishdriftchampionship.com – and Maxxis British Drift Championship advertising in major consumer magazines, while the Maxxis Babes will be in attendance at each round, chatting with the crowds, posing for photographs and handing out giveaways. 

Fans will be able to keep up to speed with Maxxis and its drifting activities in 2011 by visiting the Maxxis  website, Maxxis Tyres (UK) on Facebook and www.maxxisbabes.com, where the girls will be posting photographs and updating their blogs.

“We are delighted to be back for a second year as title sponsor of the series, which continues to attract the very best teams and drivers while also managing to retain a certain informality which makes the sport so popular with high performance enthusiasts. The revised format gives the most talented drift drivers in the UK and Europe the chance to show off their skills, and with a starring role at TRAX, 2011 promises to be a year to savour for the Maxxis British Drift Championship,” concludes McMartin.