Engines roared and tyres screeched as XS Promotions hosted the finals of the SupaDrift national championship series held at Carnival City on Friday and Saturday.
The first of seven national rounds in the series started in February at Redstar Raceway in Mpumalanga after which the events moved to Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal as well as the northern and western Cape.
Read: Carnival hosts national SupaDrift Series 07 championships
The practice rounds started at noon on Friday which also posed an opportunity for children from the Character Company, a long term mentorship programme for young boys growing up with absent fathers, and members of the media, to drift in a “suicide ride” with a professional driver.
The main event kicked off bright and early on Saturday which saw 30 drifters compete for the title accolade as national champion 2016.
Dez Gutzeit walked away with the title while his son, Shane Gutzweit, came in second place.
Jim McFarlane finished the series in third position.
“A long but rewarding season has come and gone, but the 2017 drift season is going to blow people away,” SupaDrift director Mikey Skelton says.
“We have seen drifting explode in terms of its following and fan base,” he says.
Read: Insane drifting at Carnival City
According to Mikey, the focus on the 2017 season will be purely on the drivers and their machines.
Drifting is a driving technique in which the driver takes the racing line, or ideal path, on a designated course on a track that provides the highest speed and angle that the car is capable of handling.
Each driver starts with 100 points from which deductions are made due to the line they take, the speed they maintain, the maximum angle at which the driver can control their car, and the impact or style in which a driver showcases their abilities.
SupaDrift started in 2010 and has since developed into a full blown motorsport frenzy.
