18 Mar 2017 Great drivers gather for a visual feast (Circuit Hero-Drift Steeple Chase)

At 11:05 on 18 March 2017, the Circuit Hero-Drift steeple chase group of drivers appear on track for their 50 minutes battle.

Pan Delta’s Drift races have always been a popular event for the fans. Since its inception six years ago, its unique decorations and stunts have become a festival for the drifting community. Every time Pan Delta comes around, world class drift drivers will gather for this visual feast.

This edition of Pan Delta Circuit Hero-Drift is no exception. A total of 8 cars have entered the competition, including mainland Chinese driver Xue Kun, Hong Kong drivers Li Xiao-Lan, Ray Mak, James Tang and the 4 remaining drivers are from Italy, Australia and Brazil. Interestingly Brazilian driver Cristiani Nanami is a female driver.

Circuit Hero-Drift is divided into Steeple Chase and Drift Battle. In the steeple chase, the driver must complete a fixed set of maneuvers and the fastest driver to do so wins. There will be the Drift Battle tomorrow and two cars will drive through a course and perform a fixed set of maneuvers. The driver who can best perform the maneuvers between the two wins.

The rules for today’s steeple chase is relatively simple. Starting at the finish line of the ZIC main straight, the driver must drift around the two mascots – the Circuit Hero Bear – performing circular moves, then rotates 180 degrees into the parking lot. Although the route looks simple, the technique and bravery required definitely are not, especially the parking maneuver. The parking space is right next to the barrier and a slight mistake will mean the car crashing against it.

Italian driver #17 Federico Sceriffo is the first to give it a go. His Toyota Altezza does everything required but does not seem to be particularly fast.

#22 Jake Jones of Australia is second on track. His technique is clearly very good and his car gets very close to the Circuit Hero Bears. On his second run he was even closer and then spins smoothly into the parking space. It was a great performance and he looks like he will be one of the top 3.

#23 Hong Kong Chinese driver Li Xiao-Lan is one of the favourites. But he was a little anxious and lost time in both runs. After him, another Hong Kong driver Ray Mak also made a small mistake. #55 Indonesian driver Amandio made a smooth run and each of his drift moves were more or less identical. Clearly he is able to perform at a high level. But his focus on technique might have affected his speed. He received a lot of praise from the grandstand but in terms of speed he was not very impressive.

#68 James Tang from Hong Kong China drove his Toyota Altezza pass the start line and in order to save time he did not get very close to the bears. His second run performance was mediocre. Following him, #86 Xue Kun seems to be under pressure from the drivers who performed before him. He slid around too much and hit the obstacle when he parked and is penalized two seconds. Last on track was #773 female driver Cristiani Nanami. She is clearly a fan favourite and loud applause from the crowd. Her moves were smooth and clean, she was not very fast but her lines were good. Her final parking move took a little too long but it was still a good performance.

In the end #22 Jake Jones took the win with a 21.906 seconds time. Second place is Indonesian driver Amandio and James Tang of Hong Kong, China is third. But the solo running steeple chase still lacks the excitement of the drift battle which will happen tomorrow. Will the drivers be able to continue their good performances tomorrow? Let’s wait and see!