The fourth stage of the Russian Drift Series Grand Prix (RDS GP) at ADM Raceway was the site of a historic result, which was achieved by a series newcomer Artyom Shabanov. The newcomer of the TimeUp team, who made his debut in the country's main drift championship in 2024, achieved unique success: he won the RDS GP stage for the first time and completed pair races among the winners in four out of four stages.
The Moscow pilot has made it clear with his successes during the season that he will not make his fans, who are growing in number with each stage, wait long for victory. Having been on the third and second steps of the podium, the athlete finally conquered the first, and did so in a fierce battle with the most titled participant of RDS GP in the most difficult conditions on the track.
At ADM Raceway in the TOP 32, Artyom easily dealt with Grigory Burlutsky from Carville Racing, but already in the TOP 16 Shabanov had to work hard — a grid of paired races brought him together with Damir Idiyatulin, with whom they have been sorting things out for three stages in a row. If in Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg these were the finals, then in Moscow a place in the TOP-8 was at stake, which went to the debutant of the series. Then the intensity of events only increased.
The intra-team derby between Artyom Shabanov and Maxim Grossman in the TOP-8 first led to a re-race (OMT), which began with a breakdown of Maxim’s car. The mechanics returned Grossman to duty, but he lost to his teammate. In the semi-finals, Shabanov prevailed over Sergei Kuznetsov (AUTOBAN AIMOL) and earned a place in the final duel of the weekend, where his opponent was four-time and current RDS GP champion Georgy Chivchyan.
On the way to this battle, the leader of Takayama Forward Auto first defeated his main rival from last season, RDS GP 2023 vice-champion Anton Kozlov (Carville Racing), in the TOP-32. Then in the TOP-16 he prevailed over his teammate Timofey Dobrovolsky, in the TOP-8 he survived a stubborn battle with Evgeniy Losev (Fresh Racing), and in the semi-finals he overcame the young representative of “Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed Motorsport” Ilya Popov.
However, before the decisive races for places on the podium, the athletes met an unexpected opponent in the form of a natural disaster, which suddenly brought down a real tropical downpour on Myachkovo. The pilots decided to wait for the precipitation to stop in order to continue the fight, although, according to the regulations, there was an option to stop the competition at the TOP-4 stage and award its participants half of the points due. But no one wanted to give up.
In the final race, Artyom Shabanov was able to cope better with the pressure, with the car and with the difficult wet surface than his opponent, chalking up his first victory in the RDS GP. Together with Leonid Schneider's victory in qualifying and TimeUp's triumph in the team competition, the team for the first time in its history became the owner of “three stakes” in the Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series!
Although Georgy Chivchyan missed the victory, he took silver for the first time in the 2024 season and, for the first time in the history of Russian drift, secured a podium for the newest Nissan Z, which Gocha and his team prepared for this year’s championship. The top three winners were completed by Ilya Popov — the pilot of “Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed Motorsport” stood on the RDS GP podium for the first time in his career. The young pilot was able to achieve this in a battle with Sergei Kuznetsov — the debutant from AUTOBAN AIMOL became fourth and this is also his best result in the series.
RDS GP 2024. 4th stage. ADM Raceway. Personal score. Top 3:
- Artem Shabanov (TimeUp) – 255 points
- Georgy Chivchyan (Takayama Forward Auto) – 195 points
- Ilya Popov (“Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed Motorsport”) – 156 points
RDS GP 2024. 4th stage. ADM Raceway. Team competition. Top 3:
- TimeUp – 347 points
- Takayama Forward Auto – 232 points
- “Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed with Motorsport” – 194 points
After the weekend in Moscow, Artyom Shabanov seriously strengthened his leadership in the individual competition, increasing the gap over Damir Idiyatulin, who was following behind. Evgeny Losev remained in third place, but Grigory Gusev (LUKOIL Racing Drift Team), Arkady Tsaregradtsev (Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed Motorsport) and Georgy Chivchyan (Takayama Forward Auto) came within attacking distance of him.
RDS GP 2024. Individual competition after four stages. Top 3:
- Artem Shabanov (TimeUp) – 800 points
- Damir Idiyatulin (Fresh Racing) – 586 points
- Evgeniy Losev (Fresh Racing) – 466 points
In the team competition, the Moscow team Fresh Racing is still first, but TimeUp has come close to the leader. But for the third place, which was taken by the current champions Takayama Forward Auto, “Evolution Yuka ADV by Obsessed Motorsport” is also vying for third place, coming with a minimal lag.
RDS GP 2024. Team standings after four stages . Top 3:
- Fresh Racing – 1122 points
- TimeUp – 1080 points
- Takayama Forward Auto – 650 points
The next stage of the Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series will be held in a month and again in Moscow — on August 10-11, the country's main drift championship will hold the fifth stage of the 2024 season at Moscow Raceway in the “reverse” configuration of the circuit. Given the incredible density of battle in the title race, both days of racing guarantee spectators in the stands and at the RDS TV broadcast screens the most interesting spectacle in a season that will definitely be one of the brightest in the entire 15-year history of the championship
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