King of Europe: Pro Series Round 3

Round 3 of the King of Europe Pro Series was held at Lydden Hill over the 28th / 29th of June.

This was the first time that King of Europe had held an event in the UK, giving us a chance to see how some of Europe’s best drivers would compare to 23 drivers from the British Drift Championship. The track was the same as used in the British Drift Championship with some minor modifications to clipping point locations.

The drivers would come down the hill and initiate earlier than normal at the attack line, they would then hold that angle past the rear clip (C1) and into Devils Elbow.

Up the hill and transitioning for the hairpin and another rear clip (C2).

If the driver has managed the correct line then they will continue to drift all the way through paddock bend and onto the final rear clip (C3). The judges emphasized that they didnt want to see big flicks or grabbing the handbrake and that they would be marked down if this happened.

Saturday morning gave the drivers plenty of time to practice, the European drivers took a few runs to get used to the track with the British drivers going all out from their first runs.

Qualifying would give each driver two attempts at the track with the highest score determining their result. King of Europe as a different qualifying format than other series as the drivers get both of their runs one after the other. The cars have an orange box placed on the rear of the car that measures their speed and angle of attack throughout the run. A judge then gives points for line and showmanship, together this determines the drivers score.

1st place was awarded to Adam Frank in his BMW E46 running 1000HP from a 2JZ engine. He managed an entry speed of 86mph and maintained the highest average angle and speed throughout his run.

Sunday morning gave the drivers another chance to practice before the Top 32 battles in the afternoon. The practice session claimed a few victims, Nikolett Szanto destroyed her clutch, Adam Frank broke a driveshaft, Steve Biagioni blew a head gasket and Shane Lynch was also out with car troubles.

Onto the battles…

Steven Donnelly and Luke Woodham had a close battle that went ‘One More Time’ before Steven progressed into the Top 16.

Ollie Elmore was taken out by 2013 European Champion Francesco Conti.

Adam Kerenyi knocked Stefano Alessandri out of competition.

Adam Kerenyi would then go on to beat Steven Donnelly, Matt Tilyard and Micheal Marshall.

The final would be between Adam Kerenyi and Paul Smith with Adam taking the victory. Paul Smith and Micheal Marshall took the rest of the podium spots.

The next round is being held this weekend (12/13 July) at Tor Jastrzab, Poland.