Drift Masters Grand Prix Riga
Its #RigaBaby!
This past weekend saw many Link ECU powered vehicles competing in Riga, Latvia for Round three of the inaugural Drift Masters Grand Prix series. Although we didn’t take the top step of the podium like other rounds, the drivers and teams had a positive weekend in front of a hugely passionate crowd. After a street parade through the city, these fans were treated to rain, sunshine, smoke, epic driving and all the thrills and spills that come with the sport of #drifting!
Round 1 winner, Conor Shanahan, suffered a few technical issues throughout the competition. After qualifying in sixth position, the younger of the Shanahan brothers went on to get knocked out in the Top 16 competition.
Conor’s brother Jack was having a good weekend until the wet circuit caught him out is his Top 32 battle. Two wheels dropping off in his lead run meant he scored a zero and didn’t progress through to the Top 16.
Over for a ‘wild card’ appearance, Jordanian native Ahmad Daham had an exciting lead up to the event. After rapid final preparations to his 2JZ before shipping it to Latvia, Daham drove the car at the port upon arrival and came across some technical issues within the gearbox. The car was repaired by Samsonas and then taken back to the track for competition. Unfortunately this was not the end of car troubles as a broken differential in qualifying resulted in him not qualifying for the Top 32.
The good news is that Ahamd has stated he will be back for the remaining three rounds of Drift Masters Grand Prix 2018.
Red Bull Drift Brothers Johannes and Eli Hountondji qualified 14th and 18th respectively. It has been a successful season for the German brothers so far, but the slippery surface provided a challenge for the set-up of their Red Bull S13 and BMW drift cars.
The brothers are now sitting 15th and 20th overall in the championship respectively.
The overall Round win went to James Deane who is now leading the championship points. Conor is placed 3rd overall and still in the running to win the overall.
We wish all the best to these drivers competing in the next round in Torun, Poland in just two weeks time!