Legends against rookies and paired drifting of racing KAMAZ trucks: On June 3-4, Nizhny Novgorod hosts the second stage of the RDS GP

The strongest drivers of the main drift championship of the country return to the track – on June 3-4, Nizhny Novgorod will host the second stage of the Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series (RDS GP). After a sensational balance of power at the start of the season, a weekend in Nizhny Novgorod should determine the real situation – are the newcomers to the series really able to eclipse the legendary pilots or will the drifting stars be able to recover? ambitious newcomers?

Already this weekend, fans of controlled skidding are waiting for bright and unusual races in the Nizhny Novgorod ring.

The highlight of the next stage will be a unique racing format – for the first time in history, two racing trucks from the famous KAMAZ-master team will meet as a duo under the control of the legends of the Dakar and the Road of Silk Eduard Nikolaev and Anton Shibalov.

With the fans in the stands, RDS TV viewers will be able to watch the entire weekend in full format – live video broadcast on the platform will show qualifying and pair races, including KAMAZ-master performances.

Anton Kozlov and talented newbies return to the familiar track

The first stage of the new RDS GP season brought its share of surprises. Not least because of the vagaries of the weather and technical problems, it turned out that a number of the most experienced pilots gave up the fight even at the stage of the TOP 16. And the beginners of the main drifting series of the country showed their ambitions, reaching the TOP 8, the semi-final and the final.

New RDS GP leader Anton Kozlov (Carville Racing) and his young rivals Timofey Dobrovolsky (TAKAYAMA FORWARD AUTO) and Denis Sorokopud (LUKOIL Racing Drift Team) are familiar with the Nizhny Novgorod Ring circuit from the stages of the RDS EUROPE interregional series . All three will certainly give their best in order to demonstrate their full potential – you can safely expect pleasant surprises.

Georgy Chivchyan and Damir Idiyatulin on their way to another record

RDS GP legends are no less hungry for success. Georgy Chivchyan (TAKAYAMA FORWARD AUTO) will be the favorite in the battle for victory – he is the record holder for the number of stages won on the Nizhny Novgorod Ring. And now Gocha has a chance for the eighth victory in Nizhny Novgorod.

Another record contender is Damir Idiyatulin (SINTEC • FRESH Marketplace), who, after a triumphant 100-point qualifying at Moscow Raceway, claims to become the first driver in RDS GP history to score maximum points at two circuits different. However, Damir’s serious rival on the way to this record will be his teammate Evgeny Losev. If the pilot finally finds a common language with the new Toyota Supra A80, expect sensations.

Defending RDS GP champion Arkady Tsaregradtsev (“FailCrew x DarkSide”) has more tasks for the next stage. He will first have to ensure the reliability of his car in order to obtain a high result. Second, Tsaregradtsev definitely needs a prize at the Nizhny Novgorod Ring if he wants to retain his league title at the end of the season.

Strengthen STAR PёR STARS AIMOL and TimeUp hopes

Another intrigue of the weekend in Nizhny Novgorod, the return of Sergey Kabargin (ddKaba) to the RDS GP. Legendary STAR PER STARS AIMOL driver and hypercar creator Flanker F missed the first stop in Moscow and are now ready to enter the fight. As well as Boris Abramov, who will also start the competition in RDS GP 2023 from the second stage.

We can expect pleasant surprises from Dmitry Ermokhin (STAR ​​​​​​РЁR STARS AIMOL). Last year he was already one step away from winning the Nizhny Novgorod Ring, and the new season started with a lot of confidence. Of course, crowd favorite Charles NG, who has already made it to the podium twice in the Flanker F hypercar, is also capable of surprising. All these four pilots have the possibility of being part of the main formation of STAR РЁR STARS AIMOL, which will be announced just before the stage.

And the composition of the young TimeUp team does not change. If the technique does not fail, then Leonid Schneider, Danila Skorobogatov and Maxim Grossman will be among the contenders for the highest positions. As well as representatives of the LUKOIL Racing Drift team, Andrey Astapov and Grigory Gusev are strong and experienced pilots, but have not yet shown themselves to the fullest this season.

For the first time in history – twin drift of KAMAZ-master trucks

Representatives of other disciplines also aspire to the main national drift championship. For the first time in the history of Russian drifting, the pilots of the legendary KAMAZ-master team will organize a duo drift on their racing trucks.

Demonstration races will be organized by five-time Dakar cross-country marathon champion and winner of numerous rally raids Eduard Nikolaev and multiple winner of the Africa Race, Silk Way and other rally marathons Anton Shibalov. For the first time in their careers, such experienced drivers will take part in official drift competitions.

Pilots of the famous Blue Armada will bring trucks for rally raids on the Ring track of Nizhny Novgorod, but the pilots will have to demonstrate the capabilities of their equipment and their own talent on an unusual asphalt surface. The more interesting the debut of “KAMAZ-master” in the RDS GP will be for athletes and spectators.

Program for the 2nd stage of the RDS GP 2023 on the Ring of Nizhny Novgorod

June 3, Saturday

• 8h30-9h30 – training

• 10:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. — qualifying

• 2:00–3:00 p.m. — official opening of the competition and autograph session

• 3:20 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. — truck drift performed by KAMAZ master pilots

• 3:30–6:00 p.m. — TOP 32 pair races

June 4, Sunday

• 9h30-11h00 – training

• 11.30am-12.30pm – official opening of the competition and autograph session

• 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. — TOP 16 pair races

• 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – truck drift performed by KAMAZ master pilots

• 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – TOP 8 / TOP 4 / final couple races

• 6:30–7:00 p.m. — award ceremony