Tbilisi to host 2021 Drift Masters European Championship final stage

Georgia's capital Tbilisi will host the final round of the 2021 Drift Masters European Championship, after the Georgian Automobile Sport Federation secured the deal with organisers of the competition to use the city's sights as the backdrop for the showdown.

Up to 50 drivers from across Europe and beyond will descend on an area around the downtown Baratashvili Bridge in September, and use purpose-tuned, powerful cars in pinpoint sliding manoeuvres through the urban environment to entertain onlookers and vie for prizes, with the GASF and the Georgian Drift Series organising the contest.

In the line-up of participants, which will involve those from 25 European countries and a number from beyond the continent, Georgia will have its own representation in Nodo Kodua, the country's most recent drift champion, and Mevlud Meladze, the second-placed driver in the national championship.

The most recent round of the DMEC competition was hosted in Riga earlier this year. Photo via Drift Masters European Championship.

Racers will use the most powerful racing cars in motorsports for this competition, with 1,000 horsepower engines on average [...] beside witnessing the noisiest of shows, Georgian and foreign fans will also be able to take pictures with leading drifters from around the world" - Georgian Automobile Sport Federation

Organisers of the European series showed an interest in hosting the race in Tbilisi due to the "unique and incredibly attractive location", the GASF said in its unveiling of the news on social media. Georgian Drift Series founder Gigi Tughushi told Rustavi 2 channel his team had spent "years" in talks with hosts of the European competition to pitch Tbilisi as a spot for a round of the drift event.

The 2020 edition of the Drift Masters European Championship was suspended after a single round due to the coronavirus pandemic, however the organisers of the competition said earlier this month the next edition would be "back bigger than ever before in 2021".

The DMEC is promoted as "Europe's definitive professional drift series" with the continent's "highest-profile events and a grid of champions from all across the globe". The competition was launched in 2014 and has expanded its annual calendar to six rounds.