EVENT: Prestigio EEDC 2014 Round 1, Riga, Latvia

On the first weekend of May, the best Eastern European drifters drove on the legendary Bikernieki race track in Riga. The first stage of Prestigio Eastern European Drift Championship 2014 took place there. Bikernieki is a special motorsport complex built in 1965 in the Bikernieki forest in the east of Riga. And now it is the largest race track complex of its kind in the Baltics for motorcycles, cars and go-karts. It offers a great configuration for drifting competitions with big grandstands, a convenient location and the famous big jump. Becoming victorious on this hot track is a true test of skill, and a show of determination and bravery – it is a real challenge for every driver. The list of Prestigio EEDC participants is exciting; top international drivers – Pawel Trela, Gvido Elksnis, Alex Golovnya, Kristaps Bluss, Juha Rintanen, Sergey Kabargin and others fight for the podium and the money prize of €3000. These participants usually guarantee a high level of drift and that’s why the audience is always happy to see them in action.

The Prestigio EEDC 2014 series has continued to grow in strength and depth. This year EEDC will host six rounds in six countries and, amongst them, herald the comeback of the world-famous BRNO race track in Czech. The judges’ team has been revised with Mantas Kuzmarskis now becoming the main judge of the series. What’s more, a professional live stream will be broadcast for all of the events.

The Prestigio EEDC series calendar:

1 June – Airport Minsk-1, Minsk, Belarus
5 July – Niemuno Ziedas race track, Kaunas, Lithuania
23 August – A.M.G. RabócsiRing, Mariapocs, Hungary
6 September – Warszaw, Poland
5 October Brno, Czech, Brno Circuit.

The partners of the first stage: Kumho Tyre, Yuasa, Motul, Optilas, Evil Empire, Audi Moller Riga.

Here’s all of the action captured from the first round of the 2014 championship…

Max Shatilo (BY) in his Rocket Bunny LS S13

Mantas Kulvinskas in his  2JZ powered E30 – the only one representing Lithuania in first stage of Prestigio EEDC.

Pawel Trela (PL) in his crazy Opel.

Gvido Elksnis (LV) and his mighty E36 from the 2013 season 2013. This car is proven and has remained largely unchanged from last year.

Kristaps Bluss (LV) and his tube-framed E46.

One wheel up!

The famous smoke machine, Juha Rintanen (FIN).

Pawel Trela  in attack mode.

Slava Kalashnikov and his Rocket Bunny LS S13. No camo livery for the first stage. Let’s see how will it look in the end of season 2014.

Croco flying by.

Alex Golovnya (UKR) struggled this time – first of all Kabargin crashed into his back and after that he has problems with wiring.

Drivers parade

Kurenbin (RU) is waiting in his RX7.

Tapinsh (LV). New guy in list. A promising one!

Mantas Kuzmarskis (LT) – the main judge of the series.

Qualification runs

Prestigio ladies – thumbs up!

Twin battles

Trela vs Kalashnikov – Trela wins!

Juha vs Tapinsh. Juha wins.

Gvido vs Ingus (Latvian battle). Gvido advances.

Mantas Kulvinskas vs Kurenbin. After bunch of ‘one more times’, Kurenbin advances to Top8.

The battle of the BMWs… Ivo Cirulis (E46) wins this battle.

Kabargin (RU) vs Brediks (LV)

Brediks follows Karbargin’s line, even off-track!

Many, many one more time battles took place!

Mantas Kulvinskas after his win against Kurenbin.

Trela vs Juha, both on three wheels!

Bikernieki racetrack does not love Trela!

Gvido pushes hard towards Top 4.

Ivo Cirulis wins against Mantas Kulvinskas and goes to Top 4.

Trela fixed his car after last crash and went to fight till the end.

Felix Chitipakhovyan (RU)

Ivo Cirulis vs. Kristaps Bluss. Kristaps advances to the finals.

 

Juha bites the dust.

 

 

Kristaps and Gvido before their final run.

They found a time to chill on couch 🙂

Time for the grand final – Gvido vs. Kristaps.

Gvido Elksnis – the winner of Prestigio EEDC 2014 Stage 1, Riga!

Next stage is just around the corner and we will provide you with best quality live-streaming and photo story after the event 🙂

Words and Photos : Giedrius Matulaitis

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