A Russian drifter and the creator of the Flanker-F hypercar, Sergey ‘ddKaba’ Kabargin, has set a drifting speed record in on the ice of Lake Baikal.

At the beginning of 2018, Speedhunters published a story on the first Russian hypercar. Within a year, the small team of six people led by Sergey had built three more Flanker Fs, the last one almost ready to leave the workshop.

There are currently two summer-spec cars in existence. In the first, the engine is built around an RHS (Racing Head Service) aluminum LS V8 race block and displaces 7.6-liters. It’s the full package, running Mast Motorsport cylinder heads and a Plazmaman Pro Series intake among other racing-grade upgrades. The second car has a different spec. It features an LT4 engine from a Corvette C7 Z06, with a compressor and a dry sump system. Both cars have sequential Samsonas gearboxes and Winters Performance quick-change differentials.

The third car created was originally designed as a winter version with one of the main requirements being the suitability for urban use. But even when creating a car for the city, the workshop did not depart from the general concept, using carbon and Kevlar for the manufacture of body elements, including canards and the rally-style front under-body protection.

Furthermore, the rear diffuser was improved, and the front and rear fin designs were altered. The winter package contains fully-featured doors, which are not hollow for safety reasons. There is central locking, a heater with wiring for all air ducts, and soon even an air conditioning option. The urban version has an LS7 dry sump engine and driveline from a Z06.

Early this year, a speed festival to be held in the very heart of Russia on the majestic Lake Baikal, was announced. The Baikal Mile is Russia’s answer to Bonneville Speed Week held on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, the difference being that this location is still actually a lake. In the winter months the lake freezes over, providing a flat but not entirely smooth surface.

The region is constantly suffering from earthquakes, which leads to splits and ridges in the ice. Right in front of your eyes, cracks can appear. At first, there is a loud crackle, more like a distant cannon shot, and then the ice underfoot begins to tremble like the earth in an earthquake. Then you start realizing how powerful this lake is. Even trapped in ice, it tries to show its violent temper.

Through the frozen surface of the lake, the thickness of which is more than 5-foot (1.5-meters) you can see the bottom in great detail, the water at depth a bright blue hue. When you look down, it’s so clear that there’s an illusion you’re standing on thin, fragile glass. It’s on this glass that the Baikal Mile is run.

Sergey decided to bring two cars to the festival, with the goal of not only setting the outright speed record, but also the speed record while tandem drifting. With this in mind, he invited Arkadiy Tsaregradsev to be his partner.

Achieving the Baikal Mile speed record for two cars in tandem drift was quite difficult to achieve due to external conditions: high air resistance, a cold and rough surface, and some issues with the Dackproffsen DPS 01 tires being used. The DPS 01 is a recapped tire produced from ex-Porsche Cup Michelin Pilot Sport slick casings.

The tire has several options, from 360 up to 540 studs. For the record attempt, there was an issue with the stud projection height, the stud bodies themselves, and the quantity of studs. In short, their safety at very high speed was in question for this particular task.

The rally-spec studs to be fitted weren’t really suited to these tires in terms of size, so motocross studs with a 16mm height and a 5mm working part projection were ultimately used, with the same pattern layout and number of studs – 480 in each – on the front and rear tires.

It turned out to be the right choice, as 246km/h was safely achieved in tandem drift. It’s official too – this achievement is now listed in the Russian Book of Records.

Maria Nait
Instagram: manyazzzz
Youtube: ddKaba Channel

Photos by Stanislav Ten
Instagram: stanislavten1

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