Kirsty Widdrington on Drifting IDC & BDC #WomeninMotorsport
Hello my name is Kirsty Widdrington & I have been competing in the Motorsport of Drifting for 7 years in total with 6 of those being in my boy #syrilthesilvia
The 2018 season will be my 8th year in competition.
Syril was purchased for a mere £400 back in 2008 from a drive way where he had grass growing up through the wheels & when I started him the O/S/F wheel turned but the N/S/F didn’t – yes the owner had indeed hit a kerb and broken an arm (This to me was fate as my nickname is Kerbs)
He was a 1989 ‘F’ Reg Tommy Kaira spec car with a CA18 Engine & Automatic Gearbox complete with a heads up speedo display & sunroof.
After many years of blood, sweat, tears & ploughing all of my hard earned money into him he is the car that you see today which makes me so VERY proud!
I cannot take all of the credit and nor would I, during the years I have worked with & still work with some amazing companies who help to keep #syrilthesilvia & myself out on track in Competition – with their fantastic products he is a spoilt boy indeed.
However people do look at #syrilthesilvia & believe that I am “minted” or even “well off” this is simply not the case…
I (as many competitive drivers do) have a “normal” day job however I am very fortunate with mine as this also intertwines with the Drifting in a manner as I now work for SuperPro Europe and get to attend various garages as well as shows & events to talk cars (so yes it’s a terrible job for me as total a petrol head)
I really do not drink alcohol (pass me a cup of tea or 3 any day ha-ha) and am not really a person into pubbing & clubbing so I spend any spare money that I may have after all the boring “adult” stuff like paying bills on #syril
This really isn’t so bad as I can physically see where money is going I guess into my boy (aka the money pit)
I have a fantastic boyfriend David who is super supportive & helps out with Syril all the time & a great friend called Ali – I would have been lost also without Ali’s help as he was kind enough to tow Syril to all of the events last year that he could attend (work commitments pending for Ali) as we do not have a tow vehicle currently.
So that we can afford to attend the events a hotel is a financial no-no for us which means we rocked hotel-a-la-tent all season – I love the fact of sleeping at the track however the bone chilling winds, rain & dampness always fills me dread as I wake up so stiff & sore the next day (The things we do for the love of Motorsport huh!) 😊
We are hoping that we may be able to progress up to a tow vehicle of our own this year (again funds dependent) or maybe a covered trailer as at least that would be a great place to sleep with it closed – but hey if all of this fails we are fully prepared to be sleeping once again in a tent. If that’s what has to be done to be at an event then that is what we will do #becausehardcore
From a personal point of view I really do hope that now the FIA are involved in the fantastic Motorsport of Drifting this makes Drifting now a “recognised” Motorsport rather than the hooligan Motorsport that some people believe it is/was – as all they see is smoke pouring from the rear tyres, hurtling at some pace around a set track and to some people the cars looking “out of control”
Anyway I digress so my hope is that more companies will look to get into this fastest growing Motorsport to advertise their companies & for extra brand awareness thus bringing more money into the sport & hopefully we can rid “hotel a-la-tent” for one and all…
COMPETING IN THE IDC:
In 2016 we (David from DLR Motorsports & I) decided to compete over in the Irish Drift Championship for the season as I needed more aggression in my driving & I knew that the Irish were totally nuts with their driving & the level of skill is insane!
This meant that Syril was kept in Ireland for the season so we sent him to Richard Bradley at Bradley Motorworks to get re-mapped & oh my Syril has never felt so spritely, responsive and crisp as he does with this map.
The power band is exactly where I need it with no lag what so ever and 2 years on it’s still going strong, the thing that I love is hearing the sound of Syril on videos, he has a very distinctive aggressive rasp to his fully forged SR20 with his top mount 3071R Garrett Turbo.
To keep all this power from the engine successfully transmitting to the 350z gearbox we have been using Advanced Clutch Technology’s twin plate clutch in Syril for 6 years now & never looked back since with their superior clutch quality & craftmanship!
So back to the IDC – I cannot lie I was a tad apprehensive of taking part in a whole season as in the UK having been around the drift competition scene for many years I knew most people in the Championship however venturing over the pond I was unsure as to how I would be received there, Would I be accepted as a fellow competitor or would I be shunned?
Would I be picked on for being the newbie & also a Female trying to win battles against the lads…?
Well I needn’t have had any worries as everyone both on & off track were smashing!
I was accepted as one of the drivers & made to feel very welcome – the banter was awesome & very entertaining! 😀
I truly was made to feel a part of the IDC as a whole package & was absolutely gutted that we did not have the funds to get back to at least one round of the IDC Championship last year (2017) as I made some great friendships there.
When we attended the end of season party for the IDC 2016 some drivers were really trying to talk us into coming back in 2017 and doing another season as they could see how much my driving had changed & improved throughout the season which was lovely to hear from both aspects. 😊
IDC vs BDC
The IDC vs BDC question I cannot fully explain it as I personally feel that to truly understand this statement you would need to attend both Championships to feel it in person but having competed in both the BDC & the IDC there is a different atmosphere, level of crowd support & well buzz I suppose you could say at the Irish events vs the British ones.
In Ireland people are willing to shout & cheer on their favourite drivers, the turnout of crowds to the tracks appear to be better & the passion for the Motorsport of Drifting is simply electrifying!!!
That being said last year in the BDC you can see & feel that the tables are starting to turn slowly towards the same feel as at IDC events but just not there yet however it is steadily making progress into the right direction…
Hence why attending a mix of events this coming season should see us gain the best of all worlds, we have chosen certain competitions that we feel will give larger exposure back to the companies that we work with – after all a partnership is a two way relationship & so we want to give as much exposure & ROI as we can back for these companies that show us such support & generosity.
Each of the chosen events are set to have very large coverage & social media presence.
We will also be participating in many varied demonstrations & static shows throughout the year.
Our plan (financial assistance pending) is to attend 2 British Drift Championship rounds, 2/3 Irish Drift Championship rounds & 2/3 King/Queen of Europe rounds.
This will see our coverage spanning UK, Ireland & Europe and we are very excited to get back to Ireland & Europe.
Thank You for your time reading this article & to keep up to date on all of our antics, Competitions/Events that we will be attending & also demonstrations please feel free to follow our social media pages as below.
If your attending an event we are at please do pop on over & say hi 😊
Facebook: /Kerbdrift
Instagram: @kerb_drift
Twitter: @kerbdrift
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