G4 - Feature - Drift Defined

Drift Defined

written by Webmaster on Friday, June 02, 2006

For the next few months, you're going to be hearing all about drifting on Formula D, but if you've never seen it, you may be stuck wondering what it's all about. Often referred to as "drift racing," drifting is not a race at all but rather a subjective sport where drivers compete against each other but are judged on the basis of style and execution--think of it as the 'figure skating' of motorsports, a controlled ballet of lightweight vehicles sliding around a turn to make the most stylized and complex drift possible. As it is not a race, drivers are not timed but are judged using a point system based on form, and the high scorer of each heat advances to the next round. To create his (or her) own style, each driver customizes their vehicle with aftermarket parts that shape their personal style and performance. Only certain models are chosen for competitive drifting; though almost any car can be caused to drift momentarily due to a loss of control, the necessity of being able to control the drift requires that only rear-wheel drive and some all wheel drive vehicles be used. Typically, drift drivers use inexpensive and lightweight Japanese vehicles such as the Nissan 240SX and its Japanese counterpart, the Silvia, but American cars have been used in competition recently as well.

History

Drifting has been a part of racing for decades, though it was almost certainly discovered by accident. However, by the 1950's and 1960's, racers commonly used the technique to corner faster on winding courses. Professional Japanese racer Keiichi Tsuchiya often used the technique during touring car races and later helped to bring the sport into the mainstream with the creation of the D1 Grand Prix series in Japan in 2001.

Though it was often found in standard races as a special technique and featured in games and television programs about racing, drifting developed into a sport in Japan during the 1960's when racing enthusiasts would hold illegal runs through difficult, twisty mountain roads in Japan's mountainous regions of Nagano, Irohazaka, and Hakone. These runs were known as Touge, and gained great popularity as time went on; enthusiasts organized amateur contests but the sport remained largely confined to the domestic underground racing circuit until 2001. By 2003, drifting had gone international, attracting fans and drivers from all corners of the world with varied backgrounds, so the D1 Grand Prix came to the US for the first time and blew everyone away. While the results of the D1 Grand Prix USA did not count towards point standings for the competition in Japan, it became apparent that the sport was ready to take off in the US, which led to the creation of Formula Drift.

For more drift info, check out these sites: