![]() Following individual runs, winning drivers are paired against each other for twin battles, the aim being for the chase driver to follow the lead driver as closely as possible – the high point of the meetings as cars speed at 160 km/hour-plus while just 10 – 15 cm from each other. ![]() Aficionados say it is the most difficult, demanding, and exciting way to drive a car on a track.Ĭompetitors in races must complete a pre-defined course and are judged on how close they get to “clipping points”, as well as their car’s set up, speed (faster is better and time is irrelevant), driving strategy, and style. Also, they strive to achieve this while adhering to the standard racing lines (or designated “clipping points” if drifting in competition) and maintaining extreme slip angles. Drifters emphasize car control by coordinating the amount of counter-steer (or opposite lock) with the simultaneous modulation of the throttle and brakes to shift the weight balance of the car back and forth through the turns. So, what is drifting? As described by drifting journals and websites, it is a driving style in which the driver uses the throttle, brakes, clutch, gear shifting, and steering input to keep the car in a state of oversteer while manoeuvring from turn to turn. The cost of the whole project is put at around $5 million. Next will come an off-road track and a children’s off-road zone along with training areas, other motor-related activities, catering, and the necessary parking. The first stage of Lilo Arena is complete. Along with that comes the payoffs for Georgia of badly needed upmarket tourists, drift car manufacturing, and export opportunities, as well as a higher country profile. The FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of much motor racing, including Formula 1. Its architecture contains ideas from top tracks around the world, with state-of-the-art design incorporating difficult corners, jump sections, and flat-out layouts.Īs Lomadze notes, this layout “gives us the opportunity to bring into Georgia international competition series in 2023-24, such as the Drift Masters European Championship, the FIA International Drift Championship, and the FIA RX World Championship.” Georgia’s most famous drift driver, multi-time champion and vice-president of the GASF, Mevlud Meladze, who devised the idea for the Lilo complex, announced to journalists last year that the 2023 European Drifting Championships will be held at Lilo Arena. The cost of the whole project is put at around $5 million, and the time period estimated for completion is around five years. ![]() The first stage of Lilo completed, next will come an off-road track and a children’s off-road zone along with training areas, other motor-related activities, catering, and the necessary parking. Racing already gets support from the government in the form of tax exemption for racing cars, and the municipality was happy last year for Tbilisi to host an international drift race through its streets, though Covid-19 complications led to its cancellation. The sport and its major players are big public advocates of safe driving and backers of road safety initiatives. Official backing has come, as the aim of the project is not only for professional racing, but to help move reckless amateur street-racing to a safe and organized space and provide driving training. A formal grand opening is planned for September, although the main track is finished and races have already started. At Lilo Arena (on a site near the Kakheti side of the market), Tbilisi City Hall has allocated over nine hectares for the construction of a multi-functional motor complex, including a drifting circuit that is sophisticated enough to host international drift competitions. ![]() While there are official drift races at the Rustavi International Motorpark, it does not have a dedicated drift track. Following on from the Lilo Arena plans is one in Kutaisi, for which talks with investors have already started, and then Kakheti and Adjara. “Our plan is to expand the motorsport infrastructure in Georgia and build four compact racetracks which can be used for Drift, Rally Cross and Kart,” Lomadze says. Put together those watching the drivers at the tracks plus the followers on social media, according to Sandro Lomadze, President of the Georgian Automobile Sport Federation (GASF) and a racing driver himself, and you can get up to a million fans. In the next few years, millions of Lari will be spent building dedicated circuits of international standard across the country to add to the brand-new arena at Lilo and the established facilities at Rustavi.īut drifting is becoming more than a sport in Georgia it is a burgeoning consumer industry with accumulating ancillary activities. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |