Kiwi racing driver, Chris van der Drift (now 21) gets his motor racing career back in action this weekend, competing in the first round of the new International Formula Master S2000 championship at the Valencia circuit in Spain, the race being run in conjunction with the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
There are eight rounds in the championship, with two races at each round. 33 drivers have registered to contest the championship, in 14 teams.
There have been a number of official test days to shake down the new cars, and apart from a few teething troubles, all the drivers have been very impressed with the totally new cars.
Van der Drift is again driving for Italy-based JD Motorsport, in a team of three cars.
Van der Drift spent the summer months back in New Zealand – where he was born – and assisted Earl Bamber with his Toyota Racing Series car, as well as competing in the CIK Karcher kart meeting at Hamilton.
He had to return to Europe at short notice for some sponsorship duties, and stayed on with his parents in Holland, then worked as a mechanic for three kart races in Italy. Then it was time to get in to some serious training for six weeks with Formula Medicine to get fit for the racing season.
“The cars look very aerodynamic and professional, and have awesome grip and feel very neutral, so I am looking forward to driving them in racing conditions, after only a couple of brief test sessions” says van der Drift.
For those who wish to follow Chris’s racing directly, he has set up his own website : www.chrisvddrift.com.
Chris’s racing campaign this year is supported by : National Meats Ltd, Racing Pool, Valvoline, BMW Ekris and Momo.

Formula S2000 Master – calendar :
May 20 – Valencia, Spain
June 3 – Pau, France
June 17 – Brno, Czech Republic
July 8 – Porto, Portugal
July 29 – Anderstorp, Sweden
August 26 – Oschersleben, Germany
September 23 – Brands Hatch, England
October 7 – Monza, Italy

Attached is a free-to-use diagram of Chris van der Drift’s International Formula Master S2000 car.