Addison adds up victory
Chris-John Addison was the winner of the second round of Drift Ruption, which was held on Sunday, July 19, at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier, Trelawny.
“This victory is a great feeling, because we were leading the competition from round one, and nevertheless we came out today to execute, and that’s what we did,” Addison told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.
Addison worked his way through a field stacked with major drift talent from across the island.
In the Drift Ruption format, entrants are whittled down to the highest-scoring eight, and then the highest-scoring four to determine the winner.
It is not a timed event, but a pure drift event in which the drivers have to display maximum slip angle while navigating and interacting with various obstacles for points.
So tough was the competition that several drivers posted perfect runs, leading to multiple ties. When it came to the final four Addison was tied with Sheldon Johnson at the very end. It was his consistently high scores throughout the event that eventually gained him the win.
“This round we didn’t do anything different, because we have an engine being built for high-speed drifting, so we decided to use the stock motor for this, the last car park event. Other than that, no major upgrades. That happens next event,” explained Addison.
Following Addison and Johnson were Cleve Ottey and Nicholas Barnes.
The current standings put Addison at the top of the leaderboard with 200 points. Johnson sits in second with 176 points. Barnes is third on 128 points, while Ottey is fourth on 124 points.
“The event went very well for me and my team,” said Kingsley Scott, event organiser and conceptualiser.
This event marks a change for Drift Ruption as it shifts to high-speed tandem drifting and a move to circuit venues, such as Dover Raceway in St Ann and JamWest Speedway in Westmoreland. The Drift Ruption finale is for a to-be-determined date in December.
A single error dropped Nicholas Barnes to a third-place finish. (Photo: Rory Daley)
It was back-to-back wins for Chris-John Addison at the second round of Drift Ruption. (Photo: Rory Daley)
The Nissan 350Z has become the ride of choice for drift competitors. (Photo: Rory Daley)
In second place, Sheldon Johnson, popularly known as ZBoss.(Photo: Rory Daley)
Fourth-place finisher Cleve Ottey (Photo: Rory Daley)
Sheldon Johnson making short work of the visually exciting pendulm drift obstacle. (Photo: Rory Daley)
Chris-John Addison in action at Drift Ruption round two. (Photo: Rory Daley)
Cleve Ottey smoking up the venue for extra points while drifting. (Photo: Rory Daley)