Thai ‘wizard’ shows ‘em how in asian drifting series

Thai drifting champion Wuttitat “Keng” Pankumnerd didn’t need a win in the final leg to assert his dominance in the King of Nations Asia Pro Series 2018 which ended at Clark International Speedway over the weekend.

Ahead of the field with 240 points after two legs, Pankumnerd was tipped to seal the crown over 30 other drifters from Asia, including Filipino veterans Atoy Llave, Gabe Tayao, David Feliciano and 19-year-old Luis Gono.

“They are all very good, but I really want to win the championship,” said the 23-year-old driver, known as “The Little Wizard,” through an interpreter.

Pankumnerd, who drives a 1989 Toyota Corolla for Thailand’s PTT RD-2 Drift Team, leads a Japanese rider by 50 points after the two previous legs in Thailand.

Among Asia’s finest drifters who joined the race were Charles Ng of Hong Kong, Nasser Almutairi of Kuwait and Japan’s Daigo Saito, Hirohide Tanaka, Keiichiro Kaderkaru and Toni Arakaki

“They are all very good, but I really want to win the championship,” said Pankumnerd, who learned how to drive when he was 10.

His next mission is to race in the tough Japanese circuit.