2018 SupaDrift Series Round 2 Drift Report

The Polokwane Short Circuit Raceway played host to Round 2 of the 2018 SupaDrift Series. The silence of the Limpopo air was interrupted by the ensuing growls of V8 and screams of turbo-charged engines as the country’s premier drifting championship came to town.

In Qualifying Mozambique’s Zanil Satar showcased tenacious and stylish drifting which led him to top the qualifying standings. Shane Gutzeit also rose to the occasion and spelt out his ambitions for the day to qualify in 2nd place. Round 1’s winner Jason Webb rounded off the top three by qualifying in 3rd position.

Drivers then proceeded into the tandem battles where they are given a chance to lead and chase down their opponents. From there, a Top 16 roster ensued, and drivers were attacking the technical track and leaving the crowd astonished with their skill level and all-out entertainment package.

Drivers battling their way into the Top 8 were the formidable Series championship contestants who all stamped down on the track to gain that little bit extra speed, angle and style in in order to impress judges. Zanil Satar advanced through with ease with a bye run, whilst Shane Gutzeit and the likes of the Championship leader, Jason Webb disposed of their opponents relatively quickly and with ease.

Zein Hussein had to go up against Fred Cooper in the Top 16 and won convincingly, but was found elimanated when he came up against an on form and in tune, Gavin Puren Top 8. Chris Long made it difficult for Zanil Satar but failed to initiate inside of the box and gave the win to his challenger whilst Shane Gutzeit had his hands full with Jim Mc Farlane but managed to sneak into the Top 4 alongside Jason Webb and Gavin Puren.

The semi-finals were an equally brilliant showdown, with Gavin Puren going up against Zanil Satar and Shane Gutzeit against Jason Webb. Puren and Satar battled hard but when Satar passed Puren in chase (against the rules) and managed to collide with the front part of Purens Toyota causing him to straight-ine, the judges deemed Puren the winner. Gutzeit, similarly, hit a clipping point and knocked it over in his lead run to hand the Final’s spot to Webb.

The final was a testable battle for both Gavin Puren and Jason Webb. Webb managed to pull a gap on Puren in the final tandem, which saw him take to the top spot on the podium. Webb now has two wins from two events in the 2018 season and tops the Championship points.

2018 SupaDrift Series Round 2 Results

PRO Class
1st Jason Webb – Monster/Roush Ford Mustang
2nd Gavin Puren – Lil Rich Toyota Soara
3rd Shane Gutzeit – Dunlop S15 Nissan

PRO 1 Class
1st Trevor Puren – Puren Plant Hire, Lil Rich S14 Nissan
2nd Tinashe Bundo – S13 Nissan
3rd Melanie van der Merwe – Centerco S13 Nissan