02 Apr 2015 2015 Red Bull Drift Battle closes its curtains; Mentor and pupil battle

At 12:10pm on 22 March 2015, Red Bull Drift Battle roars onto the main stage at Zhuhai International Circuit's Pan Delta Super Racing Festival. Japanese driver Suenaga Naoto beats his pupil, Australian Jake Jones in the final, while Hong Kong driver James Tang takes third place.

The Red Bull Drift Battle is now a regular race on the Pan Delta schedule. In 2015, the chase race still retains the exciting two cars format. 13 drivers are separated into two halfs according to the qualifying results. Then they will race one-on-one in an elimination battle.

From the quarter-finals to the semi-finals, Australian Jake Jones performed beautifully with his overtaking moves, getting the crowd to cheer for him. Each driver gets a chance to lead and chase. The chasing driver must follow his leader closely, both cars must complete their drift moves and try to hit the suspended ball. The judge will determine the points scored by each driver based on his line, angle and other elements. The driver with the better score will proceed to the next round.

Jake Jones was the steeple chase champion on Saturday and obviously feeling confident for the chase. He performs well from the start on Sunday. He beats both Chinese drivers with ease in the first two rounds, overtaking both while in the chase position both times. In the semi-final, he races Michael Sit and has no trouble either, his only real adversary is Suenaga Naoto in the final.

Suenaga Naoto is Jones mentor and they are still driving for the same team. There are no secrets between the two. Suenaga Naoto says, "Jake is my pupil, I instructed him and I know him very well."

In this final battle, both drivers use everything they know. Jones tries to overtake Suenaga Naoto again but he is blocked, causing both cars to hit slightly. Next, Suenaga Naoto chases and keeps Jake Jones close, controlling his pace fantastically. Both cars drift through beautifully. Judge Iwata said, "Jones hit the car in front when he was chasing, this cost him points. When Suenaga chased, Jones performed well, but Suenaga was better, he was much closer but did not hit him. Suenaga showed he was a better driver as everyone could see. His line, speed and angle were perfect. This is why he won."

Suenaga Naoto has won the chase before, this second victory further confirms his superior ability. "I am after high speed drifting and today I drove quickly. I love the feeling of high speed drifting." He said, "I like today's weather, too. There was some rain in the morning but I especially like rain. It does not affect me much and I will return for the Summer and Autumn races."

Jake Jones is gracious in defeat. He says, "I still need more practice, I have not won against my mentor. He is too good! I started learning from him in 2012 and he really taught me many things about drifting. He really is the master!"

Hong Kong driver James Tang says, "Suenaga Naoto's characteristics are very obvious. He is very fast and his angles are very wide. He has been drifting for 22 years and is absolutely a top performer. Red Bull Drift Battle is more and more attractive for drivers now and in June we will get even more foriegn drivers to take part."

Red Bull also provided Crazy Kart in the commerical area for fans to enjoy. The activity is hosted on a track that is 70m long and 15m wide with 8 obstacles. The crazy karts are not easy to drive at all as Federico Sceriffo said, "Crazy Kart looks easy but it is not. Drivers must get the speed and angle right to drift the cart well."

In June and September of this year, there will be more Red Bull Drift Battle in the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival Summer and Autumn races! Don't miss them!