To the previous victories this year Trela has added another win during the night round of the international EEDC (Eastern Europe Drift Championship) league in Hungary.
The drifting competition on the track Rabócsi Ring/ Máriapócs is one of the most difficult in Europe. Traditionally, the 32 drivers who have qualified for the final begin their battles on sunset, and the best eight compete at night. The artificial lighting around the track helps the spectators observe the competition rather than the drivers. In clouds of smoke, as Pawel describes it, you can see nothing apart from the rear lights of your rival’s car. It’s like driving in thick fog at night at 120kmph with full throttle.
Already during the training session on Friday Pawel proved he was in good shape – he reached the highest speed on the drift initiation, almost 140 kmph. He performed well in the qualifications, which he finished with the second best result, losing only by 0.16 point with the Hungarian champion. Pawel: “The qualifications took place in unfavourable conditions that a lot of drivers had problems with. Until noon it had been raining, so the combination of rainwater and rubber that had been left there after the Friday training session made a kind of ice rink. It got even worse when the track dried in some places. Some parts of it were slippery, and on others tires got lots of grip. I’m all the more satisfied with my result in the qualifications, because it wasn’t easy to plan the drive in detail under such conditions. I had to rely on my skills and trust the car to do its part.”
On his way to the top of the podium Pawel won against competitors from Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. His battle with Andrius Vasillauskas, to whom he lost in the previous round of the EEDC in Kaunas, was particularly impressive. The rematch almost finished prematurely when both cars touched in the first and fastest corner. In the final Pawel competed against an award-winning countryman Bartosz Stolarski. Pawel: „Bartek is a very good and experienced driver. I knew I was risking when I was attacking him, because he has no problem driving in difficult conditions. For me not only the final but the entire competition was a success. This is one of my favourite tracks. Thanks to my fans I feel here at home. Despite unfavourable conditions, I still won against very good, top European drivers. I’m very happy about the repeatability and confidence of my performance. The most difficult moment during the competition was the qualifications. During the first drive I managed to prevent a huge crash three times. There were some emotions involved. And it wasn’t easy to compete against the Lithuanian Andrius. He’s a very good and aggressive driver so everything was possible.”
Troll is very satisfied with the last few weeks he spent improving the suspension in his Opel. Pawel: “Another competition, again on the podium. The second time this season on the top of it. I’m on the right track, the car is optimally prepared and we’re doing great, exactly as we planned. There were people who didn’t believe that the project would succeed. But this season, the results achieved, it all confirms that my choices were the right ones. The car works great, just like it should. The support from my sponsors and technical partners – CASTROL EDGE, RALLYSHOP.PL, ABC CLUTCH, OHLINS, FAST FORWARD, FMIC.PL, AM BRAKES- is crucial here. They provide great support all along. Now I’m loading the tires onto the service truck, filling up the fuel, changing oil and in a few days in Poznan during the night round of the Drift Masters Grand Prix we’ll meet again.”