MANILA, Philippines - The third round of the 2013 Hyundai Lateral Drift Championship was held recently at the Clark International Speedway (CIS) at the Clark Ecozone in Pampanga. Organizers utilized the “short course†of the CIS and ran counter-clockwise through the big loop which participants refer to as the “engine killer†loop. As the fastest track in this year’s series, drift racers easily achieved speeds of 120 km/h at the drift entry.
Adding excitement to the event were the presence of D1 Grand Prix professional drift racer Kimihiro Obata and his wife Formula Drift driver Hiromi Kajikuma from Japan who acted as judges for the blistering event.
The highlight of the day was the Amateur Division, which saw young drift ace Luis Gono of Team Motul-Achilles KW suspensions dominating the rest of the field. Driving his red 400-hp Nissan 240 SX, the 15-year old drift racer stole the show as he drove consistently and wowed the spectators with red smoke pouring out of his Achilles tires. Gono had a tight battle with EJ Malibaran of Drift Mob in the final run. Despite the pouring rain, the young Gono managed to maintain his entry speed and drift the car to win the third round of the Lateral Drift Series.
Luis Gono is sponsored by Motul, Achilles Tires, KW suspensions and his 240SX is tuned by Pacho Blanco of Autoplus.