SLADI Masters - [eSM] DC 2024

[eSM] Drift Championship 2024

STORY OF THE SEASON

The 2024 season was planned to consist of 1+6 races between October 22, 2023, and January 21, 2024. Prior to the start of the season, two practice events were held to rehearse the streaming and competition execution. A significant change for 2024 was that SLADI Masters eMotorsport officially became an international event for the first time, with the language switched almost entirely to English. Finnish was still used in the live streams when a Finnish driver was on the track, but once an international competitor appeared, the commentary switched to English. Mika Vilen took charge of the live streams, with Jukka Valkonen joining him as the co-host.

For the 2024 season, a €200 prize was set for the team championship, and the entry fee was €20. A total of 33 drivers registered for the season, with 8 coming from abroad and the rest from Finland. All the cars were made private, with only those who purchased the 2024 membership gaining access to them.

Changes were also made to the car construction rules, adding more downforce to the front and rear wings, which became noticeable at speeds over 100 km/h. The power was limited to 800 horsepower, and the cars continued to use 225 standard racing tires. One new rule for the season was that drivers could change tires between each run.

The season started strongly for #15 Tommi Luukkanen, who won the first three races. In Round 4, a new experiment was introduced: the winner of the qualifying session received a €20 prize, which was claimed by #15 Tommi Luukkanen. After that, #16 Jukka Hautanen stepped up his game and took victories in Rounds 4 and 5. Round 5 also saw a dramatic twist in the team battle, as Räntsilä Motorsport's #30 Teemu Sivonen scored two zeroes in qualifying and therefore didn’t earn any points for the event. This allowed Stalker Racing Team to take a lead of over 100 points going into the final race, with Stalker Racing Team's #16 Jukka Hautanen trailing #15 Tommi Luukkanen by just 13 points in the driver standings.

In the Round 6 final, Luukkanen and Hautanen faced off as the final pair, with #15 Tommi Luukkanen winning both the race and the driver championship. Stalker Racing Team kept the team championship title, with contributions from #16 Jukka Hautanen and #87 Niko Puntola.