For the first time in the history of the tournament, the fate of the title was decided in the final duel of the final stage
- Georgy Chivchyan and Anton Kozlov met in the decisive race of the 7th stage of the series at Sochi. Autodrom.»
- Georgy Chivchyan became the sole RDS GP record holder for the number of titles won
- Anton Kozlov became the RDS GP vice-champion in his debut season.
The federal territory of Sirius became the scene of the most spectacular battle in history for the championship title of the Russian Drift Series Grand Prix (RDS GP). For the first time, the fate of the championship was decided not just at the last stage of the season, but also in the very last race of the weekend. Two contenders for the title entered the final duel and there they determined not only the winner of the “VTB Final Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series 2023” stage, but also the name of the RDS GP 2023 champion in the individual competition.
The path to the decisive battle was not easy for the finalists. Georgy Chivchyan (TAKAYAMA FORWARD AUTO) in the TOP 16 met with Anton Klyamko — the opponent forced a fight on Gocha, but overdid it and finished the race with a broken suspension. And Chivchyan got a ticket to the TOP 8, where he defeated Anatoly Shcherbak without much effort. In the semi-finals, Arkady Tsaregradtsev became Gocha’s opponent, but the leader of “FailCrew x DarkSide” was unable to gain the upper hand and opened the way for Georgy Chivchyan to the final.
There his opponent was the second remaining real contender for the championship at that time — Anton Kozlov from Carville Racing. For the RDS GP debutant, the path to the final was full of surprises. It started with the fact that Grigory Gusev took the young pilot out of the TOP 16 during a staging — the LUKOIL Racing Drift Team pilot was unable to adapt to the pace of his opponent and hit Kozlov’s car twice. The judges found Gusev to be the culprit of the collision, so Anton entered the TOP 8. Leonid Schneider was waiting for him there, and in this confrontation the leader of the TimeUp team lost. In the semi-finals, Kozlov met with another representative of the LUKOIL Racing Drift Team, Andrey Astapov — this duel took place without contact, but with technical problems. Astapov had difficulties with the car, which could not be eliminated within the 5 minutes allotted by the regulations. The pilot announced a technical retirement, and Anton, through a single “bye run” passage, reached the final.
The decisive duel between the two strongest drivers of the 2023 season led to an OMT race, since the judges failed to identify the strongest on the first try. During the re-run, Anton Kozlov made a mistake, which was enough to give the victory at the stage of the “VTB Final Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series 2023” to Georgy Chivchyan. Along with first place at Sochi Autodrom, Gocha took his fourth championship title.
Georgy Chivchyan officially became the first and only four-time champion of the Russian Drift Series Grand Prix, and his team TAKAYAMA FORWARD AUTO became the series winner in the team competition for the second year in a row. As for Anton Kozlov, he made a bright debut and claimed the title until the last — the title of vice-champion only emphasizes the level of the pilot, who from the very first stage of the season joined the championship race in the main Russian drift tournament.
Arkady Tsaregradtsev completed the podium at Sochi Autodrom. He was unable to defend the title of RDS GP champion, but ended the season with a prize result. In the TOP 16, Tsaregradtsev confidently won a duel with Evgeniy Losev (“SINTEC • Fresh Marketplace”), and then became the strongest in the battle with another representative of “SINTEC • Fresh Marketplace” — Damir Idiyatulin brought the matter to contact and was unable to make it to the semifinals. In the brightest Siberian derby with Georgy Chivchyan, Arkady Tsaregradtsev lost, and in the battle for third place he won through “bye run” — Andrey Astapov caught the wall, broke the suspension and was unable to start the second race.
Andrey Astapov did not reach the podium, but he became the author of one of the most striking races of the “VTB Final Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series 2023” stage. At the TOP 16 stage, the grid of doubles races brought him together with the leader of STAR PЁR STARS AIMOL Charles NG, and this duel became the highlight of the weekend.
RDS GP. «Sochi Circuit». Personal score. Top 3:
RDS GP. «Sochi Circuit». Team competition. Top 3:
The award ceremony for the winners and prize-winners of the Grand Prix of the Russian Drift Series at the end of the 2023 season will be held in Sochi on October 16 and will officially sum up the results of the past championship. For pilots and teams, as well as the organizers of RDS GP, the grand finale will be the beginning of preparation for the new season, which promises to be no less interesting and intriguing.
RDS GP. Personal score. Position at the end of the 2023 season. Top 3:
RDS GP. Team competition. Position at the end of the 2023 season. Top 3:
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