Drifters tear up the Carnival City tarmac
On Friday the drivers got some practice runs in before Saturday’s showdown where vital championship points were on the line.
The final SupaDrift battle of the year took place at Brakpan’s Carnival City on September 28 and 29.
Not only was this the final event of 2018 it was also the annual Riaz Alibhai Memorial Cup, a leg of the series that honours the late driver, who died in a tragic motor accident four years ago.
Jason Webb came into round six with a massive 101 point lead over Gavin Puren, Jim McFarlane, Zanil Satar and Shane Gutzeit, but that didn’t mean he was a certainty for the number one spot, as anything could happen before qualifying.
With rain in the late afternoon, Friday’s practice was cut short and a whole new mood fell over the drivers as they were not too sure what the weather would be like on race day.
Drivers were worried they would have to battle it out in the rain the next day.
They had reason to worry as the circuit is short and flat with an entry speed of between 90km/h and 110km/h.
Also read: Drama-filled first round of SupaDrift
Luckily, come race day, the sun was out in full force and there were no signs of rain for the day.
Drivers went out for morning practice in full force putting the pedal to the metal and getting in some stellar runs before official qualifying.
The event started with the Pro 1 category drivers heading out first, followed by the Pro drivers.
With only three drivers in the Pro 1 and only 14 drivers qualifying in Pro, there would be a single battle for the win in Pro 1 and a Top 14 showdown in the Pro event.
Before heading into the final battles of the year, the drivers all made their way to the track for a drivers’ parade and a minute of silence for Alibhai as his family members made their way to the track to honour him.
Results from SupaDrift are:
• Pro: 1 Jason Webb, 2 Gavin Puren, 3 Jim McFarlane
• Pro 1: 1 Trevor Puren, 2 Tinashe Bundo, 3 Sebastian Rich
• Driver of the Year: Gavin Puren
• Rooker (Smoker) of the Year: Zanil Satar
• Northern Regions Championship: 1 Jim McFarlane, 2 Zanil Satar, 3 Zain Hussein.
• KwaZulu-Natal Regions Championship: 1 Gavin Puren, 2 Shain Gutzeit, 3 Eric van Eyssen.
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