The reputation of Lwi Edwards and his unique skills of car control in drifting opened up a golden opportunity to compete in the world recognised Gatebil Summer Festival in Mantorp Park, Sweden.
Representing Wales with a small team of UK Pro Drift drivers, Axel Hilderbrand, Gwion Saville and Hayden Cruikshank, we jumped at the chance to make an impression again on the International stage.
A 4 day festival at Mantorp Park with some of the best Scandinavian and International drivers to compete against along with a huge party atmosphere generated great publicity for our main sponsors Bilstein and Allitalia
The main competition at the events for invited drivers was the Breisladden or Powerslide where any driver can enter.
150 drivers including Lwi entered the competition which consisted of one run, one chance to make it to top 20 for the main evening competition
Lwi pulled off the manoeuvre than no other driver had ever achieved in the history of the event, a 360 entry drift into the complex! This put him in 8th place overall out of the field of drivers.
Main competition for the Top 20 on Saturday evening in front of huge crowds and Lwi stepped up to 2 x 360 drift entries on the first run .. but it was not enough to win
Needless to say, Lwi gained the title of the crowd favourite and crowned the 360 king of Gatebil!
The first 2 rounds of the MSUK Drift Pro Championship headed for the first time ever to Anglesey in North Wales. Our home track, Trac Mon in Ty Croes, an amazing technical circuit set on the coast of the Island.
Fresh from 6 months of engine rebuild and upgraded safely equipment to FIA spec, after a few hold ups with parts, the BMW E36 LSX was finished the evening before the event with no opportunity to test.
Round 1:
Saturday, with amazing spring sunshine, practice started on the technical layout that had never been drifted before. All the drivers quickly got to grips of the layout and speeds increased towards the end
Qualifying:
Getting to grips with the layout and Lwi put two solid runs in to top qualify with 95.33. Due to some drivers unable to start, Lwi was handed a bye run for the Top 16 battles, so straight into Top 8.
Top 8:
The top 8 battle was to be against Ian ‘Bizz’ Philips, who had been really fast all day. Lwi put on a clean lead for Bizz to chase but unfortunately Bizz fell off the track on the last fast corner due to driveshaft failure. Lwi took the win
Final 4
Final 4 was against a new young driver, Harry Love, a talented name to watch out for in the future, Lwi put on his clinical lead as always, the chase was nice and clean with Harry putting a nice lead. Lwi took the win to move to the final.
Final
The final was against the awesome driver and friend Dave Bastin in his Nissan, the battles are always close and fast and today was not different. Lwi put his perfect lead and Dave was close to his door, but Lwi had the edge. The chase was fast and smokey, Lwi pushed to gain close proximity and disaster.. on the very last bend the differential mount shattered and Lwi straightened. Dave took the deserved win!
Lwi finished the day in second position, a good position to be in the first round of 2024. The team regrouped, replaced the rear differential and prepared the car for round 2, the next day.
Round 2
Another amazing spring day, slightly cooler than the day before, but dry and sunny. The layout was changed slightly from the day before with the start line extended. All the drivers had improved from the day before in practice and it was going to be an even faster layout.
Qualifying:
Once again Lwi put a couple of clinical runs to top qualify with a 97.3 point run. This again allowed him a Bye run in Top 16 so it was though to the Top 8.
Top 8:
Top 8 battle was again against Ian Bizz Philips who was determined to take Lwi down this time but unfortunately on his lead he went far too hot into the final bend and ended up on the grass : Lwi took the win again.
Final 4:
Final 4 battle was to be with another young driver, Zak Parker, who is smooth and accurate in his style, another name to watch out for in the near future. Lwi’s experience shone through and although Zak put up a great fight, Lwi took the win.
Final:
The final battle was to be against Joel Conlan who had been getting faster as the day progressed. This was the first time Lwi had battled Joel but a mistake on his lead sealed the win for Lwi.
Lwi finished first at the end of Round 2 , another fantastic result for the start of the season and puts Lwi 20 points ahead in the championship already, a nice little buffer.
A 2nd and a 1st with two 1st in Qualifying, it was a good weekend, plus, it was a special weekend to win our home circuit in Wales. The first Welsh round won by a Welshman!
Next round is Cadwell Park on 6th May
Thank you to our partners friends and family who make this possible:
Haltech, Bilstein, Race Winning Brands, Allitalia Wrexham, TPW Engineering, Learn2Drift, Billys Speed Shop, Gizfab, and Family and friends
