The FIA Central Asia Drifting Cup will make its debut this weekend as drivers from across the region converge on Kazakhstan’s Sokol International Circuit for the inaugural edition of the competition, taking place from 25-27 September.
Created as the FIA’s first regional drifting competition, the new cup represents an important step in the development of the discipline across Central Asia and will bring together competitors from multiple countries for three days of action. The event has been designed to support the growth of drifting in the region while providing competitors with an FIA-sanctioned platform to compete at international level.
Hosted at Sokol International Circuit, the competition will feature qualifying sessions followed by the head-to-head tandem battles that have become drifting’s trademark spectacle.
Following the individual qualifying runs, the top performers will advance to the knockout stages, where tandem battles will decide who progresses to the final and has the chance to become the first FIA Central Asia Drifting Cup winner.
The inaugural edition has attracted a diverse field of drivers from across Central Asia, underlining the growing interest in drifting throughout the region. A strong home contingent from Kazakhstan will be joined by competitors from neighbouring countries as they battle for victory across the three-day event.
Among those entered are Uzbekistan’s Sen Man Lee and Dilshod Yusupov, Mongolia’s Altangerel Khosbayar and Bilguun Erkhembayar, Kyrgyzstan’s Gairatzhan Yusupov and Kurban Imma, as well as a sizeable Kazakh contingent led by drivers including Mikhail Pak, Ruslan Smagulov, Alexandr Bochkarev, Sergey Ovsyannikov, Ilya Lyubman, Oleg Khridochkin, Anton Avdeyev and Denis Shishkin.
Sunday’s programme will begin with an Official Opening Ceremony ahead of the start of the decisive competition. A parachute display performed by KazAviation during the National Anthem of the Republic of Kazakhstan will be followed by the Driver Parade, giving fans the opportunity to see all competitors before they take to the track for the knockout battles.
With drifting continuing to expand under FIA governance, the launch of the FIA Central Asia Drifting Cup marks an important milestone for the discipline’s development in the region. The event forms part of the FIA’s broader efforts to support participation in motor sport and to help emerging drifting communities build sporting, organisational and technical expertise.
Action gets underway on Friday at Sokol International Circuit, with qualifying on Saturday followed by tandem battles on Sunday set to determine the first winner in FIA Central Asia Drifting Cup history. The event will be streamed live via the official FIA Central Asia Drifting Cup YouTube channel.
