Toma Ostojić ahead of DONUT 10: “Let Erik park the Drift Taxi, and we’ll meet on track in our BMWs”

The first drifting event Toma Ostojić ever competed in was also the first edition of DONUT, held in 2023.

Three years later, the former rookie arrives at DONUT 10 as one of five drivers who still have a mathematical chance of winning the championship.

Between those two appearances lie numerous events, the constant development of his car and a driver who has become an increasingly serious threat to far more experienced competitors every time he has taken to the track.

This season, his standout result was second place at Stinice, while his consistent points finishes have kept him in the championship battle until the final round. His first DONUT victory is still missing, but Ostojić believes it is only a matter of time before everything finally falls into place.

For him, DONUT 10 represents both the end of one season and the beginning of a new chapter. Alongside the fight for the final points of the year, Ostojić will unveil a new chassis at the Bugatti Rimac proving ground, prepared with his team for the next stage of their project.

Ahead of the finale, we spoke with him about his development since that first appearance, the wait for his maiden victory, Erik Janković’s call-out, his relationship with Ivo Znaor and the role his father has played throughout the journey.

From the first DONUT to the championship battle

The first drifting event of your career was also the first DONUT in 2023. Three years later, you arrive at DONUT 10 as one of the championship contenders. What has changed the most during that period—the car, your driving or the way you see yourself as a driver?

“Everything has changed. We improved and developed the car from one event to the next, while my driving became better with every appearance.

At the same time, I was gradually maturing both as a person and as a driver. I hope I will continue to improve over time, and I will do everything I can to make sure that happens.”

A little luck away from his first victory

Ostojić has come close to the top step on several occasions this season, getting closest at Stinice, where he finished second.

You have come close to the top several times this season, particularly with second place at Stinice, but your first victory is still missing. What has made the difference so far—speed, mistakes, a lack of experience or simply luck?

“We always seem to be missing that little bit of luck. Still, we are not giving up, and we believe that our first victory will come one day.”

Although the answer sounds simple, behind it lies a season in which the seventeen-year-old has consistently scored points and remained in contention against significantly more experienced competitors.

“Let him park the Drift Taxi, and we’ll meet on track”

Following his victory at DONUT 9, Erik Janković said that the overall standings make Ostojić look better than he really is, pointing to their head-to-head results as evidence.

Ostojić sees the statement as part of Janković’s usual attempt to apply pressure and attract attention ahead of the final event.

Erik Janković said the standings make you look better than you really are, arguing that you lost to him at two of the three DONUT events you both contested. What is your response?

“Erik regularly uses his statements to provoke his opponents, but also to tap into other people’s audiences and generate views. He often says things that do not get any reaction from the rest of us.

He is an excellent driver, but I do not think he really understands social media. Besides, I beat him in Čačak in the rain, in the worst conditions I have ever driven in. However you look at it, a win is a win.

Let him park the Drift Taxi, and we’ll meet on track in our BMWs.”

Ivo Znaor as a friend and driving role model

For Ostojić, Ivo Znaor is not simply another rival in the battle at the top. He is a friend, an idol and a driver he can rely on for advice and a deeper understanding of driving.

Their driving styles, however, are completely different. Those differences clearly reveal the experience Znaor brings to the track and which the young Ostojić is still building from one event to the next.

Who do you consider the best driver in this year’s championship, and which opponent would mean the most to beat?

“Ivo Znaor is still my idol and a great friend. He is someone I can always rely on when it comes to driving, and his opinion means a great deal to me.

Our driving styles are completely different, and those differences clearly show his level of experience. Because of all that, beating him in a tandem battle would mean something special to me.”

Znaor stopped Ostojić in the final at Stinice, just as the young driver from Solin came closer than ever to securing his first DONUT victory.

Another meeting between them would therefore be more than a battle for a result. It would also give the student an opportunity to outperform one of the drivers he admires most.

“My father deserves the credit for everything”

Behind every appearance, every stage of the car’s development and every result is the person Toma immediately identifies as the most important figure in his career so far.

You describe your father as your greatest inspiration and supporter. How much of the driver you are today comes from your own talent, and how much comes from his knowledge, investment and sacrifice?

“My father deserves the credit for everything I have achieved in drifting, although he will always say there would be no results if I did not drive the way I do.

The two of us work as one, and that is how it will always be.”

Their relationship best explains how the entire project operates. While Toma takes responsibility on track, his father manages the development of the car behind the scenes and creates the conditions that allow the young driver to keep progressing.

A new chassis and the beginning of a new chapter

DONUT 10 will be important for more than the championship finale.

Ostojić and his team are preparing a new chassis, which will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the Bugatti Rimac proving ground. While the current car has accompanied his development from his earliest appearances to the championship battle, the new chassis represents the next step in their shared project.

Its unveiling symbolically closes the period in which Toma developed from a complete rookie into one of the regional scene’s leading young drivers, while opening a new chapter with even greater ambitions.

From rookie to championship contender

Toma Ostojić arrived at the first DONUT without any previous experience of competing at a drifting event. He returns for the milestone tenth edition as a championship contender, with his first final behind him and a new chassis ready to be unveiled.

His first DONUT victory is still missing, but his journey so far shows just how much can change in only three years.

His next opportunity will come on 19 and 20 September at the Bugatti Rimac proving ground—the same place where the entire story began.