Drifting has evolved over the years from a young, upcoming sport to a fully grown professional motorsport, widespread across the globe. With professional organizations developing race calendars year after year, and hundreds of professional drivers, drifting has seen an exponential development which continues to attract millions and millions of fans from all over the world.
History of Francesco Conti
Professional drifting in Europe goes back as far as 2005, with the introduction of the King of Europe Series, which is the biggest, oldest and most popular European Drift Competition, now in its 10th year of existence. Broadcasted to more than 85 million people around the globe, with more than 1 million fans on Facebook, and hundreds of thousands of spectators per year, King of Europe is the place where professional drifters from across the continent, and even outside from outside, gather to compete against each other, for the fun, the excitement, the high level of competition, and of course, the title of King of Europe.
Francesco Conti started drifting in Italy in 2009, behind the wheel of a BMW M3 E46, a very popular and competitive platform. With back and forth trips to Japan, the home country of drifting, where he studied and trained with some of the most respected and well known drifters in the world, Francesco Conti’s skills skyrocketed, giving him a profound understanding of the techniques and skills required to evolve to the next level.
After just one year, Francesco Conti managed to win the Italian Drift Championship, one of the most competitive championships in Europe at the time. Outgrowing the capabilities of the M3 E46, and in search for an even more competitive and equally impressive machine, Francesco managed to introduce the first ever BMW M3 E92 GT4 to the world of drifting. Armed with this new weapon, he managed to win a second consecutive title in Italy and decided it’s time to move on to the next level.
Conti made his first appearance in the King of Europe Series in 2012, and from the very beginning, in one of the most difficult races of the year, he finished in the 2nd place, with no prior experience on that particular racetrack, and no prior experience in the series itself. Going up against some of the most skilled drivers and most impressive drift cars in Europe, Francesco quickly claimed his place as leader of the series, which he maintained up until the final round.
Having broken his leg in an unfortunate incident just before the Final round of 2012, Francesco was unable to drive to his full potential, and thus eventually finished the championship in 2nd place in individual rankings, and 1st in Team Rankings, with the help of his team mate, Amerigo Monteverde, who was driving a BMW M3 E46.
For 2013, Conti upgraded the S65B40 engine of his M3 E92 GT4 by installing an ESS supercharger, increasing the output to 585 horsepower, a much needed upgrade in order to keep up with the horsepower wars fought in the drift scene, with some of his opponents going as high up as 1.000 horsepower. He outperformed everyone and drove in an amazing manner, taking 7 podiums in 8 events, with two recorded victories. He claimed his second European Team Title, and his first King of Europe Championship Title.
Moving on with 2014, the fight for a second European Title continues, with amazing support coming from renown companies like Liberty Walk Performance, Forgiato Wheels and Flashtec. Francesco Conti is currently standing in 3rd place overall in the Championship, extremely close behind 2nd place. With one victory so far this year, and two more races left, the chances are still significant that he will be able to win a second consecutive European Title.
Partnership with BMWBLOG
The partnership between Francesco Conti and BMWBLOG only comes as natural, seeing that Francesco Conti has competed solely in BMW chassis, using only BMW engines, as opposed to what other professional drifters are doing by using engines from different manufacturers. Francesco Conti has always been loyal to the BMW Brand, and wishes to continue in this direction by upgrading to a new drift project for 2015, a world premiere for this motorsport for that matter.
Speaking about this new partnership, Francesco added: “I love BMW. I’ve started my professional drifting career in a BMW, I have won my first Championship Title and European Championship Title in a BMW, and I intend to develop an even more spectacular drift BMW for my 2015 season. I am extremely happy to become an ambassador for BMWBLOG in the world of drifting, and I am anxiously waiting to share my Story, Knowledge and Love for the brand with the millions and millions of BMW enthusiasts around the globe”.
For more information about Francesco Conti and his professional drifting career behind the wheel of the Supercharged BMW M3 E92 GT4 and future builds to come, feel free to follow:
Francesco Conti Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/FrancescoContiDrift
BMWBLOG Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BMWBLOG
