Round 7 of the King of Europe Drift Pro Series saw drivers head to Motorsport Arena Oschersleben as the competition headed to Germany for the first time in it’s 12-year history.
The fans once again lined up to have the opportunity to meet the Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya, as he returned as head judge in his third appearance of the 2016 season and also the ST suspensions Girls.
As always, with new tracks and layouts there comes new challenges. Some drivers had driven the Oschersleben circuit before, but for others it was an entirely new experience.
In his quest for the title, Adam Frank would be extremely unlucky when an engine failure almost ended his weekend in one of his first practice laps. Determined to not give up, he would pilot Brandy Brandner’s new E46 build in order to collect valuable points.
Silveszter Gyorgy would suffer a similar fate with mechanical issues in his return to the series despite throwing down impressive laps during practice.
As qualification was underway, the Drift King would carefully assess each driver to see who would nail the top qualifying position. It would ultimately be Joe Hountondji who would finish above the rest of the drivers with 95.76 points, also claiming the highest entry speed at 154km/h.
In his first appearance of the year, Calin Ciortan would make an impressive return to the series, stunning the fans as he took second place with his new-look E30.
Series leader Remmo Niezen once again landed himself in the top three, with Adam Kerenyi in fourth, earning them both valuable points as we get closer than ever to concluding the series.
In the Pro2 series qualifications, it would be Sebastian Matusezski who would once again come out on top with an incredible 95.96 score. Gary Gallopin took second place with Clemens Kauderer in third.
After a morning of battle practice, the Pro2 series would get underway as drivers fought for the Top 16 positions. An incredible battle in the Top 4 saw two championship contenders Matusezski and Ene Sorin go door-to-door, with Matuszweski’s aggressive chase run paying off as he headed to the final.
After showing great form throughout the weekend, Clemens Kauderer would slip past Gary Gallopin after an exciting one-more time battle, confirming his place in the final.
An early advantage for Gary Gallopin in the small final would be all he needed as he took his first podium of the season as he defeated an in-form Ene Sorin.
After an exciting final battle between Matuszewski and Kauderer, the judges would give Kauderer his first win of the 2016 season!
With double points on offer at the final round in Slovakia, and with 10 potential drivers in the running for the title, it’s undoubtedly going to be a crazy final!
In the Queen of Europe series, an early mistake for Michaela Sacherova would see Sandra Junginger make her way to the Top 4 where she faced Karolina Pilarczyk. Not letting Sandra ruin her chances for the title, Karolina fought her way to the final.
As Danielle Murphy defeated Corinna Graff, it would pave the way for the legendary rivalry between Danielle and Karolina to continue, as they faced each other for the first time this season.
In the small final, Corinna Graff took the early advantage over Sandra Junginger, which was enough to clinch the third spot on the podium.
In the final round, Karolina and Danielle once again found themselves face-to-face on the startline. Despite not using her usual ‘Green Monster’ Danielle pushed the borrowed car from Sam Woo as hard as possible. Despite her best efforts, it would be Karolina Pilarczyk who takes her third consecutive victory. Everything could change in the final round, as Danielle sits just 30 points behind with a potential 240 points on offer to the winner in Slovakia!
As the main event got underway, the ProSeries drivers would head to the startline to once again battle for the win.
The first early casualty in the Top 32 would be Adam Frank as Norweigan driver Tor Arne Kvia was determined to make a lasting impression on his series debut.
The next shock casualty would be Joe Hountondji in the Top 16, despite stunning the crowd during qualifying, Dennis Voll would put an early end to his weekend.
Reigning Champion Norbert Kovacik would also see his weekend ended early as an in-form Adam Kerenyi was determined to put his problems in Spain behind him.
An early error from Mike Kauffmann would prove critical, despite the advantage in his chase run it would allow Remmo Niezen to advance on his quest for the podium once again.
After incredible recent form which saw him take his first win in Spain last round, Andras Molnar would be the next shock exit, with Nicolas Maunoir showing some of his most impressive driving to date.
As Tor Arne Kvia continued his fight, knocking out Dennis Voll to reach the Top 4, it would also see Adam Kerenyi knock out Massimo Checchin.
As Nicolas Maunoir continued to impress, he would go up against series leader Remmo Niezen. With the judges calling a deadlock it would go to a one-more-time battle, where Maunoir would take the slight advantage to mark his place in the Top 4!
After a tie in the first run, Adam Kerenyi would push as hard as he could in his fight to return to the top of the podium. Despite Tor Arne Kvia’s stunning efforts throughout the weekend, Kerenyi would land his spot in the final!
Despite Maunoir continuing to land in-perfect runs, it would be a slight error which would see Laurent Cousin go face-to-face with Kerenyi in the final battle!
After stunning driving from both drivers, it would be an extremely tough call for the judges to decide the third spot on the podium…
As the sun fell down over the German track, one driver took a clear advantage in the final battle.
Adam Kerenyi once again lands his place at the top spot of the podium. After failing to reach qualification at the previous round in Spain, it’s an incredible turnaround for the former Champion who sits in third place as we head to the final round. Laurent Cousin and Nicolas Maunoir also take their first podiums of the season!
Photos EyedeaMedia
