What’s it like to be a pro level drifter?

Drifting is a spectacular form of motorsport with a huge following around the world, and yet it doesn’t always get the coverage that other classes of motorsport do. Now, with the recent news that Motorsport UK (the national governing body of four wheeled motorsport) and the UK Time Attack event organisers have formed a new Motorsport UK Drift Pro Championship for 2021, top-tier Drifting in set to be re-established in Britain.

This new ‘invitation only’ series intends to implement a series of new controlled regulations that will ensure professionally administered competition, participation by the sport’s leading drivers and the highest standard of cars. Three events are scheduled for later this year at Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Snetterton, with a full season planned for 2022. Each will take place along a round of the hugely popular Time Attack Championship and supported by a major car show held at each of the venues.

We’ve caught up with one of the sport’s key UK professional drift drivers, Olly Silcock, for an  insight into what’s happening in the drifting scene, why the sport is so addictive and the reasons that he and his support crew JDM Motorsport, chooses to only use Motul products in his amazing  675bhp machine.

What’s competitive drifting like in the UK?

Competitive drifting in the UK has come a long way, even since I started back in 2013. It’s easy to see why it’s one of the fastest growing motorsports in the world – the level of tracks, cars, drivers and fan interaction just goes from strength to strength. The popularity of live-streaming has really brought it to a wider audience in the past few years too which is awesome for the sport.

Back when I started at professional championship level, we were competing with 300 to 400, maybe sometimes 500 horsepower cars; with machinery values averaging under £20k. These days, even some entry level car builds exceed the £100k mark, with the average Pro car performance moving to between 500 and 1000 horsepower! Nitrous, Anti-Lag and Sequential gearboxes are also becoming ‘normal’.

Whilst there are very stringent rules and regulations on the car builds, there is also a lot of free rein on design and engineering; meaning drivers and teams invest a lot of their own experience or ideas into their builds. It’s quite unique to the sport and means there’s always new things you’re able to try to improve your driving and car.

What’s it like being a Pro level drifter?

Hard work! Whilst the level of competition in the UK has got crazy over the past few years, you’ll find that 95% of the grid still work full time to support their programmes themselves. That’s alongside the majority of drivers building and working on their own cars too. It’s almost as much of how good a mechanic or engineer can you become, as well as your driving performance on track.

I think that is one of the things which makes competitive drifting such a passionate sport – all the drivers there have invested so much of themselves, friends and families to get out there on track, it really does make it a high stakes motorsport. Especially when you’re pushing cars beyond their normal limits. But when it all comes together, you can take unbridled satisfaction in the fact that your efforts have paid off and you’re achieving what you set out to. Definitely a sport which when you’re into, you’re 110% into. But I also think that’s what makes it so great, and how it can deliver such gripping action.

Plus getting to throw a 650bhp car sideways inches away from someone else is one of the most exhilarating things you can do. Every run, you want to drive harder, get closer, do better. It’s addictive.

What type of business are you involved in away from the track?

I actually work in the Transport industry full time, facilitating emergency responses for water utilities throughout the UK.

How long have you been involved in motorsport?  How did you get into it?

I began from a fairly young age on motorbikes; I built my first bike from a box of bits when I was about 12 and then went on to compete in motorcycle trials as a schoolboy. Years later after having bikes on the road too, I transitioned to 4 wheels and started doing a few autocross events and trackdays. It was quite a while before I discovered drifting – but boy was that a game changer!

When was your first race?

My first competitive event was Round 1 of the British Drift Championship in 2013. I’d never competed before – yet my Qualifying session saw me land 2^nd place! Sadly my clutch failed in my first battle putting me out of the competition, but what an explosive start to a competition that was!

What level of motorsport do you currently compete in?  What type of car do you drive?

I currently compete at the top end of competitive drifting in the UK, the Pro class of The British Drift Championship. My car is a Nissan Silvia S13 with a fully build Toyota 1jz.

Do you prepare the car yourself or do you have a team?

The majority of prep on my car over the years has been myself with help from friends. A local garage helped me start off, teaching me basic skills to keep my car running and on track. Following that I took a few years out to upgrade my car, which I did in a little workshop unit with the help of some friends; I learned to fabricate, weld, wire and generally build a race car from the ground up!

In 2020 I formally partnered with JD Motorsport Engineering, who helped me raise the bar in car preparation, setup and attitude! This led to previously unimagined successes and kicked off a great working relationship.

What preparation is involved between races?

A surprising amount! Drift cars at Pro level have a really hard life! Our general rule is to ensure that everything is cleaned, all fluids are drained, assessed and replaced with fresh and we go over every component to check for wear and degradation.

That said, if we have any on-track incidents during an event, I normally have already created something we need to replace, fix or re-fabricate it.

What is your training regime for fitness?

Grafting in the workshop! I do like to get out on a mountain bike as often as I can around our work on the car between events though.

What is your racing schedule like? How many events are you involved in per year?

The British Drift Championship normally holds 5 events per year, however there are other competitions we drive in where dates don’t clash. As a rule we hope to be out for around 10 events per season. Essentially, if there is somewhere we can drive, we’re there!

What Championships have you contested in?

The British Drift Championship has been the mainstay over the years, and I’ve progressed through the classes to Pro. I have taken part in the Retro Drift Challenge, Extreme Torque Show, Battle Royale and other showcase events too. Each has a different vibe and audience, but they all share the common factor – everyone there is a massive drifting fan.

What is your favourite track and why? 

This is hard to choose, as different tracks have different aspects when it comes to drifting. The track that I know best and has a great level of variety for drifting is Teesside Autodrome – however I have to say that being privileged enough to get to perform drifting demonstrations during Time Attack at Brands Hatch was an eye opener. It was great being on such a large track where you could carry some real speed through the course and put on a show for the crowds.

Most memorable race?

This has to be the British Drift Championship round at Teesside Autodrome during 2014. I was leading the Intermediate class in the Championship but also had the chance to qualify with the big boys in the Pro class, which I did, and ended up making it into the Great 8, battling some serious big-hitters. I also ended up on the top of the podium, having come first in the Intermediate class that weekend.

What are your goals in motorsport?

Firstly to have fun, which is easily done! I like including people in the journey, and the more people I can help to experience and take part in Drifting the better. Long term, I’d love to continue to compete whilst also providing input to the advancement and development of the sport.

How did you become involved with Motul?

Our involvement with Motul began with looking to find the best branded lubricants we could get, recommended for the composition of engine, gearbox and differential setup we were using. Our HGT Precision sequential gearbox actually specifies Motul Gear Competition 75W140 to be the only oil used! Starting out in 2020 with a refresh of the engine and drivetrain was the perfect time to speak to Motul about their recommendations for each of the different areas of the car, taking their group expertise on board and combining it with what we know about the stress points of a drift car.

What do you like about Motul products?

Well the quality speaks for itself, and the range and variety is also a great bonus. Drift cars commonly suffer in areas such as heat-soak into brake and clutch master cylinders in the engine bay, and when running engine swaps like I am, these can be big issues. This is where we used the RBF660 Dot4 fluid. In prior years I’d suffered a lot with brake fade, and loss of clutch engagement, but in 2020 we saw no such issues.

What Motul products do you use and would you recommend?

The primary oil to consider is the engine oil, and for this we use the 8100XS series 10w60. This weight of oil suits our application, since drifting isn’t like circuit racing where there’s a prolonged warm up and cool down period. Whilst we do what we can, the engines go from idling to absolutely flat-out limiter bashing for 30 – 40 seconds, then back to idling again. I also run a forged engine, with ring gaps optimised for high boost pressure and Nitrous Oxide; so the correct engine oil is really important.

For the gearbox we use Gear Competition 75W140 as recommended by the manufacturer. HGT Precision gearboxes are works of art, but so is their operation and we want to prolong that as long as possible, especially with the violent loads put onto the drivetrain when drifting.

For the differential we run a shimmed LSD, which works much like a mechanical two-way. The best suited oil we have found for this is the Gear 300LS 75w90. Minimising heat soak in the brake and clutch systems we chose the RBF660 since it’s compatible with Dot4 specified systems, but also has great heat resistance. If you know anything about drifting techniques, you’ll appreciate just how important the clutch operation is for modulating your power delivery and grip.

Why do you choose Motul over other lubricants?

We don’t like to take chances on quality or reliability, and from our initial interactions with Motul and seeing how seriously the brand takes their motorsport and lubricant development, we knew that it was a brand to trust. I don’t think I’ve seen any other lubricant company have a Dakar-capable oil laboratory!

How do you spend your free time?

What’s free time?! Our team eats, sleeps and breathes drifting – so we have very little downtime ‘away’ from it as it’s what we love doing! In the evenings when I’m not at a workshop, I’ll most likely be practicing on my home simulator rig alongside other competitors and friends. When I do deviate from drifting, I like to get up to adventurous activities, I play a little Airsoft when I can or dabble in downhill mountain-biking.

How has the Coronavirus impacted you?

I’m very fortunate in the fact that I work for an essential service, so I’ve continued working throughout the pandemic as a keyworker.

What is your favourite film and actor?

I’d have to say that my favourite film is Event Horizon – I’ve got a real soft spot for sci-fi horror. Can’t say I’ve got a favourite actor though, different people are suited to and excel at different roles – much like motorsport I guess!

What is your guilty pleasure?

Well considering my background playing in metal bands in my younger years, you could say my guilty pleasure is listening to Johnny Cash when I’m TIG welding. No idea how it happened, but I’ve discovered that my welding turned out loads better!

Who would your ideal dinner date be?

That would be telling.

What is your proudest moment so far?

The first time my 1jz-gte engine fired up after a friend and I built it in my small workshop. I’d never built an engine before – so why not build an incredibly tight tolerance forged engine to run over 600bhp for a first attempt?

What is your favourite smell?

Two-stroke mix. That nostalgic smell spells fun by the bucket load!

Who is your favourite all time motor racing driver

This has to be Naoki Nakamura, ever since I saw him drift I wanted to be that aggressive and consistent. He’s still by far one of the most exciting drivers you could ever watch.

What are your dreams and aspirations for the remainder of the year?

To go out and put on a show bigger and better than last year! We have big plans (although they’re currently a little secret), so we’ll be focussing on making them a reality.

Olly’s car specification:

Chassis: Nissan PS13 Silvia
Engine: 2.5ltr Toyota 1jz-gte
Power: 675bhp (with full range Nitrous)

Engine Modifications: Single Turbo BW S366sxe, 8.5:1 compression ratio, ported and polished head, Crower 264 camshafts with BC valve springs and titanium retainers, fully forged block, Wet Nitrous System mapped to boost levels, Link ECU, 320a Alternator (and too much more to list)

Drivetrain: HGT Precision Sequential Gearbox, one-piece prop, Nissan GTR LSD, hubs and driveshafts.

Suspension: Wisefab front and rear control arms and hubs (65 degrees of steering lock and no rear camber gain), Tein suspension, Electric Power Steering conversion

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