Driver Interview : Mark Luney
Date published : 27 Jul 2009 - 09:36:29
They
call him Buff as he’s allegedly always polishing cars, although he
obviously gives that a break in order to drift them every now and then.
In fact, he claims he must be due a weekend off from drifting soon as
if he’s not competing he can often be found travelling all over in
order to teach others the fine art. And what better man to learn from
than the talented Northern Irishman….we caught up with Mark after Round
1 for this interview:
How’s things going so far this season?
We broke the rear suspension at Oulton Park but didn’t even realise. With the cars new suspension it’s even better now.
What are 350Zs like to drift - as you’re the only one who’s gone for one?
The
350Z is very hard to drift because it’s short. If you’re in an S14 or
Silvia their length makes them much more responsive. But it’s getting
better all the time. Only in the last two events, after three years of
driving the car, is it performing how I want it to though. The
attraction of being different is good, I think that’s why people like
it. If you just wanted to win you’d go out and build an S15.
Have you had any reliability issues ?
No.
Not one since the turbo conversion aside from the usual wear and tear.
The original engine only had problems after about 50 events of hard,
hard driving. We run it at low boost now which is about 400bhp.
Do you have your sights on the Championship title this year?
Phil
and his car are tough to beat. As long as we’re in the top two or
three, that’s what we always aim for – consistency. It’s about
enjoyment too… if I ever stop enjoying it I’ll stop doing it.
Rumours have it SVA Imports may be building something else a little different?
Ah yes. A widarch Supra with carbon panels, painted in MG Trophy Blue with yellow interior and a huge turbo. That’ll drift well!
