Thousands of motorsport fans braved the rain at the new Dezzi Raceway in Port Shepstone on Saturday 11 May to watch more than 30 of South Africa's top drifters battle it out in the third round of the inaugural Supadrift national series.
The torrential rain added an additional level of complexity to the already tricky track, as the Japanese Hill Style design of the new Dezzi Raceway saw many drivers slide into tyre walls, skid out on the downhill, and collide with each other.
The midday qualifying round saw the youngest driver in the series, Jason Webb from Gauteng, at the top of the leaderboard, ahead of his mentor, Otto Graven from Kimberley.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Semi-final tandem battles saw Webb take out Wade van Zummeren, while home-track hero Shane Gutzeit from Port Shepstone lost out to Graven, which put the Kimberly driver into the final against his protégé Webb.
The final between Webb and Graven was certainly the best saved for last. Webb's initiation on the first blind rise saw him spin out ahead of Graven, giving the latter the upper hand going in to his turn to lead.
The final lap produced the most spectacular tandem battle yet seen in this series as the drivers maneuvered their cars around the circuit, centimetres apart, but in the end it was Graven's consistent performance that saw him take the win and move to the top of the log, ahead of Webb, Van Zummeren and Gutzeit.
Round 4 of the SupaDrift Series will be run during the Gauteng Motor Show at Zwartkops Raceway on 1 and 2 June.