Amit Saraswat 
Sanam Sekhon rose to the top at the inaugural edition of the JK Tyre Drift Challenge, which took place at the Buddh International Circuit on October 16, 2023. The Chandigarh-based driver snatched the victory from competitors by winning 2 out of 3 categories of the Drift Challenge.
Sanam Sekhon scored a whopping score of 744 points in the D1 category, followed by Jugraj Singh Bhurjee in the BMW M3 who managed to score 476 points. Mudit Grover took 3rd place in the BMW E46 scoring 286 points.
Sekhon extended his victory to the D2 category as well, scoring 460 points in his Lexus GS300. Mudit took the 2nd spot bagging 262 points while Mugdha Grover in the Mercedes-Benz C200-K secured the 3rd spot with 156 points.
In the Open category, Mudit snatched the victory away from Sekhon by shredding rubber like a hooligan in the prepped-up BMW E46. Mudit scored 700 points in the Open category, followed by Sanam Sekhon with 636 points and Samyak Kapoor with 281 points.
JK Tyre Drift Challenge underwent with backing from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). The challenge took place in three categories — D1, D2 and Open. The categories differed as per the tyre width and the competitors were allowed to participate in all the 3 categories, running setups as per the guidelines of each category.
Cars competing in the D1 category were running on tyres that were 215-255mm wide. The maximum permitted tyre width in the D2 category was 205mm, while all competitors, regardless of the width of their tyres were eligible for the Open category. The results were judged by various parameters like line, angle, style and speed. Points were awarded by a three-member expert panel which comprised Taniguchi Atsushi (Japan), Tanakorn Lertyaovarit (Thailand) and Alistair Woodham (India).
Upon the successful inaugural round of the Drift Challenge, Sanjay Sharma, Head Motorsports, JK Tyre, said, “We are overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response we’ve received for India’s first ever Drifting competition. Drifting has been gaining popularity all over the world it’s great to see the turnout we had today. We had a field of 20 incredibly talented drivers, who served up a truly heart-stopping, tyre-smoking spectacle. They put on quite a show and we’re confident that this discipline in general and the JK Tyre Drift Challenge in particular will get bigger and better in the coming years.”
