The first ever RDS Winter Cup took place in Moscow

The new Russian drift season in 2024 began unusually early – on January 19-20, the first ever RDS Winter Cup took place in Moscow, which gave the official start of competitions under the auspices of the Russian Drift Series . The Luzhniki Olympic Complex hosted a two-day weekend of professional drifting for the first time.

A team of Russian drift stars and young drivers who passed the preliminary selection stage fought for the status of winners of the RDS Winter Cup. The qualifying subgroup “A” included champions Georgy Chivchyan and Arkady Tsaregradtsev, winners of the RDS GP and RDS Europe stages Roman Tivodar, Timofey Dobrovolsky, Danila Skorobogatov, holder of the Russian drift speed record Sergey Kabargin, creator of the legendary project “Zhigatsar” Fedor Vorobyov and the head of the Russian Drift series, RDS Europe pilot Dmitry Dobrovolsky.

16 talented young athletes from the “B” subgroup fought for the right to become their rivals in the doubles races. Not everyone’s qualifying went well, as several drivers at once – in both groups – lost at least one attempt. Nine newcomers from subgroup “B” received a ticket to the TOP 16 stage, since for technical reasons Sergey Kabargin could not qualify. His place went to Nikita Kuzmichev, who became ninth.

The winners of Saturday’s qualification were: Danila Skorobogatov, who scored 98 points in subgroup “A”, and Kirill Sholdan with a score of 93.5 points in subgroup “B”. These two athletes resisted the challenges posed by wet asphalt and the proximity of concrete barriers better than their rivals. Both pilots demonstrated aggressive aerobatics, which was appreciated by the trio of judges consisting of Anton Novikov, Vladimir Safonov and Stanislav Dolgikh.

At the TOP 16 stage, it was Kirill Sholdan who became the only representative of subgroup “B” who was able to win and advance further in the doubles category. Dmitry Balandin also had every chance of joining the winner of the qualification, met in TOP 16 with Timofey Dobrovolsky – the judges needed two rounds to identify the strongest in this duel. As a result, RDS GP driver Timofey Dobrovolsky secured a place in the TOP 8.

Throughout the weekend, participants in the RDS Winter Drifting Cup had to find a balance between spectacular aerobatics and attention to technology. The level of grip on cold asphalt turned out to be higher than the cars could withstand, so the mechanics were not left without work either on Friday or Saturday. Not only young drivers, but also RDS GP legends faced difficulties – not all cars passed the winter drift tests without losses.

Three athletes from subgroup “A” reached the semifinals: Georgy Chivchyan, Danila Skorobogatov and Dmitry Dobrovolsky, as well as a representative of subgroup “B” Kirill Sholdan, who defeated Arkady Tsaregradtsev in the TOP 8. In a duel with Georgy Chivchyan, the young beginner prevailed over the current four-time champion of the RDS GP, and in the battle for third place, Chivchyan was stronger than Dmitry Dobrovolsky and won the bronze medal.

The fate of victory in the first RDS Winter Drift Cup was decided by two qualifying winners. Both races were closely fought, but Danila Skorobogatov’s mistake as a chaser brought victory to Kirill Sholdan. The young driver, who did not immediately decide to participate in the tournament, ultimately won a sensational victory and triumphantly entered the history of Russian drifting.

“From the point of view of the format, I am very happy: we gave the young people the opportunity to race with the adults. This is one of our main tasks: to get them off the street, to show them that the real thrills are found on the circuits and not on public roads, so that they become real athletes. Of course, the guys were preparing for the tournament, building their cars all over the world. I’m very proud of these guys for riding today, and the winner was a guy we’ve never heard of before. It’s definitely a talent! — said Dmitry Dobrovolsky, head of the Russian Drift series.

The next time RDS athletes meet will be during the official weekends of the RDS Europe Summer Championships and RDS GP in spring 2024. The first stage of RDS Europe will take place on April 13-14, and two weeks later late, on April 28 and 29, the country’s main drift championship, RDS GP, will begin, the first stage of which will traditionally be organized by the Moscow circuit.

RDS Winter Cup. OK Luzhniki. Top 3:

1st place – Kirill Sholdan (VAZ 2102), Moscow

2nd place – Danila Skorobogatov (VAZ 2104), Tomsk

3rd place – Georgy Chivchyan (VAZ 2103), Krasnoyarsk