Lauri Heinonen Suffers Yet Another Engine Failure At Drift Masters, But A Last-Minute Turn Of Events Changes Everything

Reigning Drift Masters champion Lauri Heinonen can’t catch a break while trying to defend his title this year. 

For those that don’t know, the Finnish driver campaigns one of the wildest machines on the grid – a Nissan Silvia 180SX powered by a supercharged Dodge R5P7 5.86L NASCAR V8 originally built for stock car racing.

Last year, it was not only one of the best-performing cars, but also one of the best-sounding ones.

However, the engine almost cost him the title in the stadium final in front of 50,000 fans when it gave out just as he crossed the finish line in the Top 16.

The points he earned from managing to cross the line in that battle just handed him the 2024 Drift Masters title.

This year, the issues have continued for the defending champion since the season opener.

Following the cancellation of Drift Masters Round 1 in Italy, the opening round of the season was held in Madrid, Spain. In the Top 16, he suffered an engine failure along with a tire de-bead at the same time – talk about bad luck!

Thankfully, the car behaved on home turf in Finland for the next round, where he was able to clinch third place on the podium after losing his Top 4 battle to eventual winner and current series leader Conor Shanahan.

But, the optimism was short-lived when disaster struck yet again at the next round in Mondello Park, Ireland, with another Top 16 engine failure.

The Drift Masters rules state that you’re not allowed to change cars mid-competition, so he was left with no choice but to retire.

Engine failures aren’t just a huge setback for drivers who are already covering the whole of Europe. With Heinonen nearly 3,500km from home, it’s far from ideal. That’s before you even consider the financial implications of fixing such a rare engine.

Still, Lauri has fought back time and time again in his desperate quest to turn things around. He got the NASCAR-powered 180SX fixed up once more ahead of this weekend’s highly anticipated showdown in Riga, Latvia.

As he started laying down laps in practice, things looked great… Until they weren’t.

You guessed it… Yet again, his freshly rebuilt NASCAR V8 completely failed. It looked like another disastrous end to the weekend for the reigning champion, who already finds himself sitting in 7th place in the rankings following the unfortunate start to the year.

Comments from Facebook fans began flooding in, who didn’t want to see Heinonen forced to make another early exit, this time before the competition had even started.

At this point, he was still allowed to switch cars, as the 180SX hadn’t even managed to reach qualifying. Facebook commenter, Jack Howe, said “Dave’s got the Supra spare,” while Ilse van Horsen also pointed out “Lauri in a Supra is what we need to see… I believe there is a spare one in the paddock 😅🙈” – tongue in cheek, of course.

But… Maybe?

Next thing we know…

That’s right – Dave Egan has officially provided Lauri Heinonen a huge opportunity to turn his bad luck around.

It’s not only Lauri who will be driving a new car for the first time this weekend, either. Dave Egan himself recently decided that he doesn’t feel the incredible HGK “Suprajet” is “his,” so the team opted to restore the legendary “Odyvia” S13 in just two weeks.

This turn of events yet again showcases the incredible camaraderie found in European drifting. Drivers who are competing against each other for the win also step in to help everyone else when they can.

The generosity comes after James Deane handed Dave Egan the opportunity to drive his BMW E92 Eurofighter at Japfest last year, following a devastating fire at the team’s headquarters.

With both drivers now ready to tackle one of the most legendary, challenging, and technical courses on the Drift Masters calendar, we’re set for a wild weekend ahead.

Here’s a flyover preview of how the crazy layout looks:

Here’s the official timetable for the action:

The weekend will undoubtedly have plenty more crazy storylines yet to come, but there’s one thing we know for sure…

It’s Riga, baby!