2017 SupaDrift Series 02 Race Report

Round 2 of the SupaDrift Series took place at Dezzi Raceway in Port Shepstone. After a tough start to the season at Round 1 in Kimberley, drivers took to the roller coaster style track, honing in their drifting skills during the practice session in preparation for race day.

Fans were anxious to witness the new Monstang (Monster Energy, Ford Performance and Roush Ford Mustang) of Jason Webb competing but due to mechanical issues the team could not get the car to the start. Webb did however manage qualify in 15th position using a borrowed Nissan Skyline R33, that was not even setup for drifting.
Mikey Skelton made his return from injury in a newly branded and rebuilt Nissan 350Z, and pushed through the pain to qualify in 6th.

After the Top 16 battles it would be Paolo Gouveia Jr, Jim McFarlane, Morne Venter, Gavin Puren, Riaan Stokes, Brendan Puren, Eric Van Eyssen and Shane Gutzeit go through to the Top 8.

Drivers pushed the limits to qualify through to the quarterfinals and in the end it was Shane Gutzeit, Gavin Puren, Jim McFarlane and Paolo Gouveia Jr who won their match ups to make it through.

The quarterfinals saw Shane Gutzeit vs Gavin Puren and Jim McFarlane vs Paolo Gouveia Jr. With wins going to Gutzeit and McFarlane, we were in for a phenomenal final. Puren and Gouveia Jr would battle for 3rd place in what was a tight run with great scores by both drivers. Gouveia Jr would get the higher score from the judges for the podium position.

Jim McFarlane vs Shane Gutzeit in the final, and what a final it was. Both drivers made errors in the first run resulting in a zero score. In run two, with McFarlane leading and Gutzeit following, Gutzeit seemed to have the upper hand and the judges scored the runs a 4/6 giving Gutzeit the win and his first major win for the 2017 Championship.