Jumps are the last thing you want to experience when you’re competing in drifting, so when Arkadiy Tsaregradtsev took to Arvika’s crest for the first time in free practice for Supercar Lites it was a big deal.
Just as well the Russian racer – who finished runner-up in the inaugural FIA Intercontinental Drifting Cup last year – branded the experience as ‘awesome’!
Competing with Sport Racing Technologies (SRT) this weekend alongside Vasiliy Gryazin, while the Supercar Lites machinery may seem an entirely different beast to what he normally is used to, Tsaregradtsev insists there are plenty of similarities he can carry from his ‘day job’.
“It’s a good experience for me,” he continued. “There are some techniques with the drifting and a lot of techniques for circuit racing, which I have done in the past. I’ve never done anything like this before though. This is my very first rallycross race, my first jump in a car.”
While this is simply a one-off outing for the time being, Tsaregradtsev – whose exploits will be the subject of a documentary – jokes he is aiming high straight away.
“I want to win,” he laughs. “Every lap I am improving. I need to improve one second to catch this guy [points at Gryazin] and he is fast!”
Tsaregradtsev – who is competing in the Russian Drifting Championship and is a three-times Siberian Drifting Champion – was 17th quickest out of the 20 drivers competing in the Supercar Lites class this weekend.
