Published: 26/05/2010
Baking in temperatures of 30C, Silverstone played host to the second round of the British Drift Championship, and once again Buff was back to not only fight for points, but to also wow the crowds with massive amounts of speed and smoke.

With Brooklands and Luffield being the major corners drivers had to contend with, it was certainly going to separate the men from the boys. Entries of almost 100mph were being clocked up throughout the day, and Mark was one of those drivers to reach the highest speeds.

In qualifying, Mark played it safe and put in a good run, initiating early into the first corner and keeping a good consistent speed throughout the course. With plenty of smoke behind him, the judges were impressed with his overall drive, and placed him 9th out of the 40 drivers.

In his first run of the competition proper, he was up against Greg Gush in his Nissan Silvia S13. Luney pushed Gush hard throughout the run, piling the pressure on and causing him to spin out. In the second run for the pair, with Luney leading, the immense power of his T51-powered Supra was just too much for Gush, and he was left in a cloud of thick tyre smoke as Luney created a massive gap between the two.

The top 8 saw Buff up against old arch rival Phil Morrison in his Silvia S15. Nothing could separate these two, with both putting in perfect performances. As it was so close, the judges couldn’t call it and made Morrison and Luney drive another two runs.

The third run saw both, yet again, seamlessly throw their cars around the fast corners, and another draw was called. However, in the fourth and final run, Buff literally had no rubber left on his tyres and a result Morrison was able to pull slightly away from the Toyota Supra and won the run 6-4.

As a result Buff was out, but he wasn’t disheartened, as yet again out of a field of 40 drivers he was in the top 8.

Currently sitting in 6th place overall, Buff will be hoping to climb the table even higher after the next round at the famous Lydden Hill Circuit.