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It is strange we find ourselves back here again, fighting the world over against a pandemic that has claimed so much from so many. I am lucky that on a personal level I have not been affected where much of our country have suffered on a daily basis. It is horrible to think our way off life has changed so much in the last year never to be the same again. In this chaotic time we look for comfort in many places, a chance to bring us back to a sense of routine and normalcy. Life deals us all cards that probably we do not want but in order to carry on we do the things that make us, define us and push ourselves to the limit. The light shines on in so many and those individuals that compete in drift series around the world have declared their intent to fight once again here in the UK. Two individuals that are high on our list are Charlie Hulme and Josh Payne. Charlie and Josh are both seasoned competitors in different series. Both are here to fight in the British Drift Championship 2021. Both are planning on fighting hard and claiming their podiums this season. Charlie in the Pro class and Josh in the Pro2 class.

With that in mind lets take and individual look at each driver. Firstly Charlie Hulme.

Name – Charlie Hulme Occupation – Operations Analyst (Sounds more interesting than it actually is)

Daily Driver – Suzuki Swift Sport

Competition car – Nissan S13 Current driving/drifting series – BDC 2021 Pro Class

BDC Dream car – Mk4 Mazda Mx5 with fully built SR20

Accomplishments to date – Driftcup Rd 3 Winner 2019/BDC Up and coming driver 2019/BDC Rd 3 2nd Place 2020/BDC Battle Royale 2020 Winner

Career highlights – Being promoted to BDC and getting on the podium in BDC

Driving heroes – Naoki Nakamura/Naoto Suenaga

Favourite tracks – Hmmm, I don’t really have a favourite! Maybe if I HAD to choose in the UK it would be Anglesey.

Ultimate goals – Compete in BDC Pro and be competitively pushing for the championship.

Sponsors – Kenda Tyres AB Auto-works Retro Speed Shop TS12 Motors Liquimoly Driftnuts Eclipse Motorsport D8RC Fabrication Rota Wheels Modstop Exclusive JDM Haltech

Thanks – Huge thanks to my team – Amy my partner is my spotter and is amazing, she knows exactly what to tell me and keeps it short. She is also very handy when it comes to working on the car! Harry and Kylie Hudson have been amazing pit crew all year – always on hand and great company! Gee, Gemma and the kids from TS12 Motors have also been great around the pits helping where they can!

Roll on 2021… We’re coming for ya

Images courtesy of ShaunWoodsPhotos, Beasy Media and BDC

Now onto our second driver, Josh Payne. A veteran of the Norfolk track, a champion of the Norfolk track and a true achiever despite the odds.

Name – Josh Payne
Occupation – IT Technician
Daily Driver – BMW E90 330D
Competition car – BMW E36 Coupe, 3.2L M3 Evo
Current driving/drifting series – British Drift Championship
Dream car – Audi RS6
Accomplishments to date – Diemax Champion 2017, RDC 3rd Place Championship Finish 2018, DriftCup 3rd Place Championship Finish 2019, BDC Battle Royale 2nd Place 2020
Career highlights – Diemax 2017, podium every round and winning the championship at my home track. My first podium at RDC at Santa Pod. Finishing 2nd at Battle Royale 2020 in front of the home crowd.
Driving heroes – James Deane, Duane McKeever, Ryan Tuerck, Micah Diaz (I’m his hero)
Favourite tracks – Norfolk Arena, obviously! Driftland, Teeside
Ultimate goals – Getting a podium in BDC to start with, winning a championship again.
Sponsors thanks
Massive thank you to
HoldFastUSA / Micah Diaz
KeepPushin
Steve Fellows Building – Comes to every event with us and a good member of the team
Ruthless Perfomance – Body Kit
JDGarage – Garage based in Kings Lynn, rebuilt my M3 engine for me and come to every event with us to assist with any issues.
RTSPerformance – I run their BMW E36 Clutch Kit, never had any issues, very solid clutch kit.
ModStop – Best place to get all your drift parts from your favourite drift part suppliers at very good prices.
HELPerformance – I run all their brake lines.
StreetTireUK – Suppliers of my tyres for 2020 season, I ran the Accelera 651 Sports all year.
Accelera – Used their Accelera 651 Sports all year, at various sizes.

These two are set to challenge the grid this year and we will be there every step of the way. Stay here to follow their progress as and when it occurs.