17 Jun 2017 Waltzing in the rain - Circuit Hero-Drift Steeplechase

At 11 am on 17 June, Circuit Hero-Drift is held right after the Circuit Hero-One qualifying session. At this time it is raining hard at Zhuhai International Circuit, this of course will help to reduce the tyre wear, but at the same time the low temperature will help the race cars to deliver more power. But the slippery surface means the drivers will have to operate their race cars more preciseky, drifting is a set of skills for driving glamorously around the edges of adherence, in this kind of weather mistakes are intolerable.

In the steeplechase drivers need to spend the least amount of time to complete a set course in the most glamourous style. The closer they drive to the cones the more the spectators will appreciate their skills. But any touches on the cones or spins will likely be penalized. A race in the rain not only challenges the drivers’ skills but also their minds.

On the other hand, the drivers excitement rise as the spectators enter the grandstand. Hong Kong driver, #68 James Tang came up and asked us about the attendance after the race. Thankfully the spectators enthusiasm is not dampened by the rain, the interaction at the site is still very good.

In the first round, #55 Indonesian driver Emmanuelle Amandio drove his powerful and high grip Nissan GT-R 35 around in 28.26 seconds. But unfortunately he touched a cone in the final parking area, resulting in a 2 second penalty. Similar to Amandio, #86 Michael Xue (China) also suffered the same fate. A beautiful time but a touch on the cone at the end.

#68 Hong Kong China driver James Tang performs steadily and finishes in first place with a 30.70 second.

After round 1, all the drivers are familiar with the track environment. They increase the tempo for the second round. #86 Micheal Xue continue his good form and his Nissan S13 is more nimble than the larger GT-R and performs faultlessly to achieve a 27.44 result and wins the competition. Emmanuelle Amandio performs admirably after handing first place over in round 1, the car drifts beautifully and makes no mistakes. He achieves a 28.46 seconds time to finish second. James Tang from Hong Kong, China hits one of the cones but still finishes third due to his good performance in round 1.

Brazilian female driver Tsukamoto Nanami spins in round 1 and is penalized 5 seconds. But in round 2 she finishes in 30.84 seconds to take a very strong fourth place.