Mark Luney
Encyclopedia
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
1972) is a professional drift car racer
Drifting (motorsport)
Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
.
History
Mark Luney has been involved in motor sport from a very young age. This obsession started off with an interest in RallyingRallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
, attending events from the age of 7. As Mark was too young to get behind the wheel, he managed to try the next best thing and started racing 1/12 scale Radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...
s. During this time, R/C racing was becoming hugely popular and competitive, so Mark decided to try his luck in the new off road R/C racing.
Mark started to race a R/C 2 wheel drive off road buggy with spectacular results, moving on to 4WD cars. Also, due to his success, he received full sponsorship from Schumacher Racing Products
Schumacher Racing Products
Schumacher Racing Products is a well established manufacturer and distributor of radio-controlled cars and accessories.- History :...
, England in 1985.
Mark won the Irish championship 5 times between 1984 and 1989. He also won various championships with EABC, UBC and had various successes in England and Europe.
By 1989 he had reached the age where was finally able to drive the real thing. This led to Mark hanging up his controls for good in 1990.
Mark started to attend road rallies in 1989, entering in a Fiat Uno Turbo. The car had varying degrees of success, but unfortunately it was failing more often than succeeding.
A few local rallies and forest grouts in the early 90’s saw some success, but unfortunately for Mark rallying was getting pretty expensive. This was a terrible blow for him as he was passionate about motor sport, so he looked for another way to continue this passion, which led him to the modified car
Modified car
For the American oval track automobile racing series, see Modified racingThe term modified car is given to any vehicle that has been altered from its original state; most commonly with aftermarket components...
scene.
Mark built various modified cars from an MI 16 engineered 205 to a concourse BMW M6
BMW M6
The BMW M6, also known as the BMW M635CSi, is a high-performance version of the 6-Series automobile, designed by the motorsport division of BMW...
. Throughout the modified scene he owned various top quality sports cars from a Lotus Carlton
Lotus Carlton
The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall Carlton saloon upgraded by Lotus Cars to be a 177 mph sports sedan with acceleration to equal contemporary supercars. Like all Lotus vehicles, it was given a type designation — Type 104 in this case...
, TT Supra, Sierra Cosworth and an MK2 Escort to name a few.
During this time, Mark was asked to perform in several live action events around the country and was eventually persuaded to take part in a few track day
Track day
A track day is an organised event in which members of the public are allowed to drive or ride around established motor racing circuits, or alternatively on closed or disused airfields...
s. These track days are what led him down the path of drifting.
The first real track day was in 1997, attending the Ford RS Owners Club meeting at Nutts Corner in his Ford Cosworth Sierra. At these events, drivers would have to go as sideways as possible around the track. The screeching of the tyres would have the crowds going crazy for more.
After Mark realised how popular this could be, he and a few of his fellow drivers would privately hire tracks and practice at night time during the summer months. He would practise in many cars ranging from a GSI 24v Carlton to BMW M5, Subaru Legacy Turbo, Lexus Soarer and a 200 SX.
Eventually, Mark thought the time was right and decided to enter his first competition in 2004. Several years later and he is now one of the most respected drifting competitors in Europe.
Drifting career
D1 Grand Prix
The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Option magazine & Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada, and drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting...
and the European Drift Championship. He has also made appearances at many motor shows and events, across Europe, such as the Knockhill Scottish Motor Show, Belgian Tuning Show in Mechelen
Mechelen
Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...
, STCC at Knutstorp, Sweden and Autosport International
Autosport International
Autosport International is an annual 4 day event motor show catering for both automotive industry professionals and motorsport fans who enjoy following and being close the sport....
at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.
In 2005, Mark was placed 2nd in both the D1GB championship and Prodrift Ireland championship.
In 2006, using the much loved Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R built by Mark and WK Developments, he took 3rd place in the D1GB championship. The car has received much praise both for performance and looks, featuring in many magazines.
In 2007, Mark was signed by SVA Imports of Dover to drive their modified Nissan 350z
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut...
drift car. In the European Drift Championship he was the seasons runner up, finishing behind Brett Castle.
In 2008, Mark once again drove the Nissan 350z for SVA in the European Drift Championship, and finished fourth overall. He also signed a deal with SATS to drive their Toyota Supra
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...
at local events and numerous drift displays.
After years of hard work, and development, Mark and the SVA Imports team narrowly took the European Drift Championship in 2009. This was made all the more special by the fact that Mark had literally just arrived at the event after travelling for 12 hours from Dubai.
In 2010, Mark once again took the European title, and also came forth in the British Drift Championship in the SATS Motorsport Supra. He was on course to win the championship, but a catastrophic engine failure at the final round put an end to his chances.
Mark decided to give up his drive with SVA Imports in 2010 to concentrate on the development of the SATS Motorsport Supra, which had signed a deal with many big sponsors, including Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
.
2011 sees Mark solely drive for the new SATS Cosworth Drift Team, which in his first competitive outing was the highest qualifier, and also saw him win the round at the British Drift Championship.
Sponsors
Mark is currently sponsored by:- AutoGlym UK
- Universal Turbos
- SATS Motorsport
- Vernst Media
- Cosworth
- Maxxis Tyres
- Meister-R
- VP Racing Fuels