Round 4: Saturday news

Drifting in Zhengzhou: Qualifying Day of Round 4

Zhengzhou, October 10-11 - the first competition day of Round 4 of the Royal Drift Series drifting championship has ended at the Zhengzhou International Autodrome. Saturday was qualifying day, and the battle was intense: 43 drivers from 10 countries are taking part in the tournament.

Newcomers of the Round

8 new participants joined the championship at this round. The main star of the newcomers is drifting legend DAIGO SAITO from Japan. In addition to him, several new drivers from China joined the field, which shows the growing popularity of the discipline in the region.

Preparation and the course of the weekend

Thursday and Friday were set aside for administrative and technical checks, as well as training runs. Saturday opened the competition program: drivers took to qualifying, where they performed solo runs, demonstrating precision of line, drift angle and consistency.

Qualifying results

The victory in qualifying, just like at Round 3, went to MIKA KESKI-KORPI from the ZERO MILEAGE LUBRICANTS NUO YU GC-ZM RACING TEAM with a result of 95.5 points.

Championship leader ARTEM SHABANOV, representing the TIMEUP team, finished second in qualifying. The results are very tight, which once again proves the highest level of competition in the Royal Drift Series already in its debut season.

Qualifying results and the TOP 32 tandem run sequence: R4 Zhengzhou

The special prize for tandem battles in the Super Top 4 format was won by ORJAN NILSEN from the MARVI RACING team.

The main sensation of the day

The most discussed event of the round was the success of a championship debutant. A newcomer to drifting, but at the same time a star of world table tennis, GAOYUAN LIN advanced on qualifying for the first time and will compete in tandem battles tomorrow. This is a rare case when an athlete from a completely different discipline adapted to drifting so quickly and managed to make it into the main bracket.

What's next: Sunday tandem battles

On Sunday, October 11, tandem battles from TOP-32 to the final will take place. Let us remind you that in the Royal Drift Series the TOP-4 final battles are held in a round-robin format. This means that the final four will determine the winner not in the usual bracket, but in a round-robin format, where each driver meets every opponent. This system maximizes the intrigue and leaves no room for randomness.

Royal Car Show: 60 best projects in Zhengzhou

As part of Round 4 of the Royal Drift Series in Zhengzhou, the Royal Car Show is taking place - an exhibition of unique cars. The organizers received more than 200 applications for participation, but after selection only 60 best projects made it into the final exposition. Each of them is the result of serious work by owners and tuning studios: here you can see rare models, deeply reworked builds, unconventional technical solutions and cars with a vivid history.

Based on the results of the exhibition, the best projects as judged by the panel will be awarded special cups in five nominations: ROYAL BEST OF SHOW｜全场最佳, BEST CREATIVE｜最佳创意, BEST STANCE｜最佳姿态, BEST CLASSIC｜最佳经典车, BEST DETAIL｜最佳细节.

For guests of the round, this is a great opportunity to see in one place cars that usually exist in a single copy.

Tickets are still available from the competition partner - the Damai service https://m.damai.cn/shows/item.html?itemId=1084251691419

Live broadcast:

For those who cannot visit the autodrome, a live broadcast is available:

• in English: https://www.youtube.com/live/snl_6CHIO4g?si=FXZNcJrJBCq8b5gl

• in Chinese: on the RoyalDrift account in WeChat and Douyin.

The intrigue remains

The intrigue is heating up and remains: will MIKA KESKI-KORPI be able to confirm his form in the duels, will ORJAN NILSEN keep the momentum after his Super Top 4 victory, how will the debutant tennis player GAOYUAN LIN perform in the top stage, will ARTEM SHABANOV be able to hold on to the lead, and will PAWEL KORPULINSKI challenge him: having recently won Drift Masters 2026, he is now fighting for the championship in the Royal Drift Series as well.

Battle in the team standings

But besides the personal standings, there is no less fierce battle for the team cup. The main question of the weekend: will TIMEUP retain the lead in the team standings, or will RYDANZ 441B.W. UPDRIFT and ZERO MILEAGE LUBRICANTS NUO YU GC-ZM RACING TEAM be able to close the gap?

The answers - tomorrow at the Zhengzhou International Autodrome!