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KAROLINA PILARCZYK, THE QUEEN OF DRIFTING: LIVING IN A WORLD OF POWERFUL ENGINES AND LOTS OF SMOKE

20.09.2018

Powerful engines and lots of smoke – motorsport is too often seen as a men-only club. But when it comes to drifting, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Karolina Pilarczyk from Poland is a professional drifter and has twice been crowned the Queen of Europe champion. She certainly knows how to tame the big boys.

 

KAROLINA PILARCZYK, THE QUEEN OF DRIFTING: LIVING IN A WORLD OF POWERFUL ENGINES AND LOTS OF SMOKE

Of all the motorsports out there, you’ve picked drifting as your passion. How did you get involved?

That’s a long story actually. I come from a background in IT. I used to be a manager at an IT company and I had nothing to do with motorsport whatsoever. One day, I did an advance driving course in which I learned how to control a car in a slide on one of those wet skid pads. It was so much fun that I wanted to do more. Although there was no real professional drifting competition in Poland at that time, I saved up as much money as I could, started building a drift car and took part in some amateur events just for fun! I loved it and that’s how I started learning. The years went by and I started looking into getting a more professional car and finding sponsors. Now I’ve finally succeeded in building my perfect drift car and for the last three years I’ve been a full-time professional drifter.

 

 

Of all the motorsports out there, you’ve picked drifting as your passion. How did you get involved?

Drifting might be one of the most popular motorsports in Europe. Why do you think it’s so popular?

Drifting is a real spectacle, and it’s easy to follow for the spectators. On top of that, it’s less expensive than other forms of motorsports. I drive a fantastic custom-built race car but it’s not nearly as expensive as a TCR touring car or a GT3/GT4 race car, so this makes it much more accessible.

 

Drifting might be one of the most popular motorsports in Europe. Why do you think it’s so popular?

You drive an amazing looking (pink) car. It looks like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

It’s a custom-built drift car that started out life as a Nissan Sylvia but now there’s not much Sylvia left. We designed a new front and replaced almost every mechanical part. The engine is now a 6.2 litre LS3 V8 Corvette engine with a Vortech supercharger and it produces around 800bhp. I drove it for the first time on Oschersleben and we had to figure out a few details, but after a few events the car is perfect.

 

You drive an amazing looking (pink) car. It looks like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Drifting is one of the few motorsports with a number of women on the grid. Why is it so attractive for women?

To be honest, I don’t know exactly why. The fact that it’s very accessible and independent has something to do with it. But it’s still hard for women to be acknowledged in motorsport, even in drifting, and especially in Eastern Europe.

 

Drifting is one of the few motorsports with a number of women on the grid. Why is it so attractive for women?

As a strong woman in drifting, do you get many reactions from other women in the paddock?

Yes, all the time. I get DMs and e-mails every day from girls and women who are inspired by what I do. I win as many trophies as I can, and the fact that I’m able to inspire young women to understand that they literally can do anything – that’s so powerful and it’s the biggest reward for me.

 

As a strong woman in drifting, do you get many reactions from other women in the paddock?

Pictures : ©Frederik Herregods