Round 2 Tianjin: Shabanov Beats the Heat and the Field

Round 2 of the 2026 Royal Drift Series season ran on 4-5 July at V1 International Circuit in Tianjin, and it asked more of everyone than any round so far. Extreme heat sat over the circuit all weekend. It punished tyres, engines and cooling systems, and it punished people just as hard: drivers in full fire suits, judges and marshals trackside, mechanics rebuilding cars on hot asphalt between runs. Forty-five drivers entered, and every result taken home this weekend was earned twice over.

Qualifying went to Artem Shabanov (#77, TIMEUP), who scored 96.0 to top the sheet. Ørjan Nilsen (#12, MARVI RACING) was half a point away on 95.5, and Koudai Sobagiri (#78, RYDANZ 441B.W UPDRIFT) took third with 94.0.

The TOP-32 bracket ran all the way down to a four-driver round-robin, and the finish was as tight as this format allows. Shabanov and Maksim Grossman (#44, TIMEUP) both ended on seven points with two wins and a draw each, and that draw was their own head-to-head battle, which the judges could not separate. Under the regulations the round went to Shabanov: pole position and the stage win in the same weekend. Pawel Korpulinski (#74, RYDANZ 441B.W UPDRIFT) completed the podium. Stage points: Shabanov 235, Grossman 197, Korpulinski 166, Nilsen 156.

In the team competition TIMEUP were untouchable, turning a one-two in the personal standings into 521 points. RYDANZ 441B.W UPDRIFT finished second on 406, and Zero Mileage Lubricants Nuo Yu GC-ZM Racing Team third on 327.

The championship, however, still belongs to Grossman: his Round 1 win in Shanghai plus second place in Tianjin put him on 419 points, ahead of Shabanov on 370 and Korpulinski on 297.

Full results of Round 2 – Tianjin: /results

Thank you to every driver, team, judge, marshal and volunteer who worked through that heat, and to the fans who filled V1 International Circuit regardless of it.

Round 3 moves to Ningbo International Speedway on 5-6 September. And if waiting is not your style: the exact Ningbo configuration we will race is already available as a free Assetto Corsa track on our homepage. Download it and start learning the layout today.