FIA Drift Cup: Yves Meyer stuns in Japan 🎥
VICE WORLD CHAMPION Sensational success for Yves Meyer. The instructor from Seelisberg took the unexpected second place at the FIA World Final of Drifters in Japan. A documentary film about his team will be premiered next week. Spectators at the hillclimb races in Reitnau and Oberhallau know and enjoy the drifting skills of Yves Meyer during the race breaks. The Lucerne native works as an instructor and [...]
spectators at the hillclimb races in Reitnau and Oberhallau know and enjoy Yves Meyer's drifting skills during the race breaks. The Lucerne native works as an instructor and division manager for courses and marketing at the Eventcenter Seelisberg, which is owned by his father Hans Schori.
Best Rookie in Europe
This year, Meyer showed that he is not only a good showman, but also a racer in this particular motorsport discipline, which has not long been sanctioned by the FIA.
The 27-year-old finished his first season in the 2018 King of Europe Drift Pro Series as the best rookie in seventh place overall. The events took place in Austria, Germany, France, Italy and Greece. The Swiss driver finished second twice and third once on the podium.
Invitation to Japan
The reward was an invitation to the 2018 FIA Intercontinental Drifting Cup in Japan, the motherland of this sport. A meeting of the world's best drifters under the sovereignty of the Automobile World Association was held for only the second time since 2017 on November 3-4.
21 riders from 13 nations took part, including Yves Meyer, the only Central European. And he only found his conqueror in the final!
Yves Meyer: "Basically, this trip was supposed to be a new experience and an adventure for us. That it could end like this was unimaginable for us!"
Whoever loses is eliminated
16 drivers qualified for the so-called battles in two solo runs, which are judged by a jury according to style, line choice, drift angle and speed. Whoever loses is eliminated.
Yves Meyer qualified third best with his BMW M2 F22 Eurofighter with a risky but almost perfect solo. In the round of 16, he met the third-last qualifier in accordance with the regulations. Meyer easily eliminated him.
In the quarterfinals against last year's winner and champion from the Japanese GP Drift Series, the task was trickier. It solved itself for the Swiss when the Japanese retired with differential damage to the Nissan GTR.
The semifinal against the champion from the Malaysia drift series turned out to be a door-to-door duel in both heats. Because the latter touched his opponent's car, the jury declared the Swiss Kid the winner.
Yves Meyer: "As a rookie, I would never have expected to make it to the final among these big names. That meant everything was already good for me. It didn't matter anymore whether I finished first or second."
All battles were broadcast in the three-hour livestream. The decisive final under floodlight with subsequent winner ceremony follows from 2:30:00 (36:00 before the end).
https://www.facebook.com/FIADriftingCup/videos/916850992035736
Yves Meyer's disappointment at losing to Russian champion Georgy "Gocha" Chivchyan in a Nissan Silvia was therefore limited.
Yves Meyer: "Days later, I still don't really realize what we managed to do. It was also crucial that my father was always able to work out a perfect setup so that I had enough grip, as strange as that sounds in drifting. Without him, I would never have completed my apprenticeship year as a drifter so well."
Film premiere in Lucerne: There are still free seats!
This unexpected success in Japan is also the perfect happy ending to a film project Yves Meyer has been working on for months. Next week, "90°-The perfect angle" will premiere at the IMAX Film Theater in the Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
In this 40-minute documentary, the secrets and fascination of this fringe sport are brought closer to a wide audience using the example of the motorsport team from Eventcenter Seelisberg. At 7:30 p.m., there will be an introductory discussion with Yves Meyer and the Latvian drift star Kristaps Bluss.
The following trailer gives a foretaste of the film premiere:
The event in the presence of many celebrities from racing begins at 6:30 pm (door opening) with an aperitif. The film ends at 8:30 pm. At the end there will be a meet and greet at the film theater bar.
Tickets cost 19 francs per person and can be ordered via the following link:
https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/besuchen/filmtheater/extern/detail/shows/show/90-the-perfect-angle.html
fia.com/news/idc-chivchyan-victorious-second-fia-intercontinental-drifting-cup
