As neat a short story as this could have been, with McCord appearing as if he were about to sweep all aside on a romp to championship glory, there were an abundance of others with their very own tales of success that they also wanted to play out; some even coming from within the same camp. Top contender right from the off looked like being the 2008 ‘King of the Court’ Paul Conlan, in a similar wide bodied S15 although with a very different bark from its Toyota Supra sourced 2JZ engine. Indeed all this played out as expected in Rounds 1 & 2 with the two team mates claiming the top spots, closely harassed by newly emerging contender Robert Barnett and the always solid Ryan Tierney.

It was the return to form of 3 time champion Richard Bradley on Round 3 at Nutts Corner that seemed to start a tidal shift, with more and more new contenders emerging as a serious threat. Bradley took the win on that occasion but from there strange things began to occur. Not least of those being the emergence of this 13 yr old as some kind of wonder kid, absent of fear and immune to the symptoms of pressure in competition, effortlessly skidding his 180sx around the track as though… well, as though that’s how everyone should be able to do it. Q: Shouldn’t they? A: No. This kid is something special and would go on to take 3 outright wins, including the 2009 ‘King of the Court’ title ahead of a field of hard charging seasoned veterans.

Mid season saw McCord forced to fall back on a spare car as the pink torpedo suffered costly and time consuming engine troubles whilst contesting the EDC. The spare was a Toyota Chaser and a power figure of 800 Bhp was bandied about. The beast had in fact to be detuned in order so that it could be tamed around a drift course that combined flat out with technical sections. Tamed it was though and the ‘Hi Octane Imports’ ace was back at the top, this time besting 3 times championship runner-up Damien McBride in another Chaser in the semi-final and then young Duane in the Final.

Both title contenders fell in their bids to reach the final and this allowed Chris Brady the chance at revenge against young Duane. In a level of aggressive drifting seen only in glimpses before on these shores, Brady out muscled and even out-McKeevered McKeever to take his first win of 2009 at the UDC Finale. The grand finale of the season was then a shoot-out for the last podium position and the whole championship rested upon the outcome. With failing light, rain and greasy track conditions the duel for the title looked like exactly that, with flames from screamer pipes flashing as if from the muzzle of a gun. The one who stood tall at the end of the encounter, as 2009 Ulster Drift Champion, was Alan McCord. All hail!

Upon clinching the 2008 title in style with a win at the final round, Richard Bradley secured the trip of a lifetime for himself and a lucky partner. Such is the calibre of the prize that the top contenders pulled out all the stops in a last ditch effort to claim it for themselves. As in all things however there can only be one winner and it was Bradley that stamped his authority, and in doing so etched his name on the championship trophy for the 3rd consecutive time. This impressive feat has seen him recently dubbed ‘King Richard III’ by his peers. A worthy title, as is that of Ulster Drift Champion!

In 2009 we can expect to see ever greater levels of competition as it is my intention to lure the best drivers from the European, British and each Irish domestic championship all to compete with the UDC. As tall an order as it may seem it is the proven degree of talent that already exists within our regular pool of drivers that will make others wish to come here and compete against the best. To be the best you have to beat the best and in 2009 the best will be at Bishopscourt, the best drift track in Ireland. Look out for updates on this hot subject!