NURBURGRING – Over the weekend the second to last round of the World Series by Renault was held at the Nürburgring in Germany. Kiwi driver Chris van der Drift began his preparations well by appearing high on the timesheets during Friday testing. However while attempting to get a better qualifying time the 23 year old New Zealander went slightly over the limit resulting in the race organizers deleting Van der Drift’s best qualifying lap. This resulted in Van der Drift having to start further back in the field, missing the superpole session.

PORTIMAO - After all the setbacks of recent race-weekends in the Renault World Series 3.5, Chris van der Drift was hoping for a problem free time at the new circuit of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal over the weekend. And it was looking very promising with a front row start in the weekend’s first scheduled race. However the satisfaction of starting on grid two turned quickly into disappointment when the Kiwi was hit from behind in turn one just after race start. Race two brought the New Zealander more fortune, with a seventh place finish, and four points in the championship.
After having to contend with brake issues in the Thursday testing session, the team renewed the complete system in readiness for Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions. Despite a small gearbox problem, and a driver on a slow down lap, the current Formula Master Champion ensured himself of a Row One start for the first race, and a grid eight start for the second race, also held on the Saturday.

Le Mans, 19 July 2009 – Yet another weekend full of issues for Kiwi race car driver Chris van der Drift, but more importantly the speed in his Formula Renault 3.5 car showed an obvious improvement in pace over that experienced in the season to date. The gap in lap times to that of the front runners closed over the weekend, the 23 year old New Zealander now hoping that he gets a bit more luck in the next event to be held in Portugal. At the French circuit of Le Mans, Van der Drift lost his front wing when an errant driver came back on track un-expectantly in his path in race one, and in race two he received a 10 second penalty which he felt was unwarranted.
The progress the team had made since the previous race weekend was highly noticeable. From the first moments of the Friday collective test, Van der Drift was able to push and this resulted in the seventh fastest time of the day. With a feeling of anticipation, the New Zealander began the Saturday qualifying session, hoping to finish at least sixth fastest to go through to the superpole. While the gap to the front runners had shrunk considerably, this was not to be. “It’s a real pity we came so close to making superpole, but at least it is now only some 4/10ths off the best time. Earlier this season it was a good second off”, said Van der Drift.

Shanghai, China 19 October 2008 – Kiwi driver Chris van der Drift finished his first race weekend in the GP2 Asian series scoring points in both races. The 22 year old New Zealander competed for the first time in GP2 with Italian team Trident Racing at the Chinese Shanghai International Circuit, GP2 being a support class as part of the Formula 1 Chinese GP weekend. During the first race, Van der Drift fought back strongly from a problem filled disappointing 16th in qualifying to a seventh place finish at the end. In Sunday’s sprint race he finished in a very well deserved fourth position.
Although the opening weekend of the GP2 Asian Series included many experienced and talented drivers, Van der Drift was able to finish both races in the points. In a GP2 main series test day held on 26 September at the French Paul Ricard HTTT circuit he drove to impressive fifth and fourth fastest times, leaving more experienced top level drivers behind him.