whats wrong with drifting?

[rotoryboy]

i think it will grow into a sport eventually

I don't disagree, I think it will be massive. Doesn't mean I have to like it

[Ski]

you dont have to like it at all costs more on the tyres

[Keeper of The Kitten]

I don't think there is any "eventually" about it - drifting has definitely become a sport. What Ottowa dude said is fairly accurate, it is a bit of a subjective sport like figure skating - depends on what judges think. Correct me if I am wrong but I understand it to be like that, even if a run is timed.

__MDC__

[Jas11n]

Whats drifting? thought that was moving from town to town asking for spare change

Jas

[OOOO]

Going sideways looks cool
Thats the way its always been portrayed in tv and movies etc
..and thats why people want to try it
Therefore if you follow your brain in the way its been programmed - yeah you are likely to like drifting once you try it.

But for me the problem is knowing its nothing to do with performance related skill, it might make you feel like a bank robber that cant drive straight and that might be cool for a lot of guys (and gals) so.. whatever works for you..
Personally im all about speed.
Im gonna get round that track faster than you, thats my aim and thats that.

Drifting is worlds apart from a race, its a dance.
So it should be on the bbc 'strictly come drifting'

i'll stick to the race track and F1...
Peace

[Ski]

I like smoking, it makes me look cool 8)

You have goto agree it takes more skill. Once u start the slide into the corner, theres no turning back.. there no turning at all really apart from 180

I dont think of it as cops and robber. I do think of it as the TV tho, one showing a nice S1 going sideways in the group B rally

[OOOO]

You have goto agree it takes more skill. Once u start the slide into the corner, theres no turning back.. there no turning at all really apart from 180

Ok
Thats cool
You rate very highly the skill of turning sideways round a corner.
I do too, its a very skillful manoeuvre

But the skill of getting round that track faster than anything else i rate higher.

[S2central.net]

Guys guys guys,

Firstly - I'm a rally fan. Always have been since I discovered it as a kid. Where I come from its all about rallying on tarmac and being the quickest from A-B. I used to build rally cars for a friend in a past life - nothing exotic - GpN Opel Corsa/Vauxhall Nova circa 10yrs ago. We did OK, got some good results and came 2nd in the National Tarmac championship.

So I'm no expert on drifting per se - except that yes it is a skill that requires practice and lots of car control. Yes it kinda looks cool in certain circumstances but it is NOT the fastest way down the stage or round the track.

The only drifting I can say I honestly really enjoy watching is 4WD rally cars in maximum attack mode where the drift is all about maintaining the poise of the car on LOOSE surfaces such that the balance and momentum of the chassis as it swings like a pendulum sets the car up for the next corner.

I love to watch 4WD drifting when its done well like that - on a rally stage which is otherwise blind to the driver - that is proper committment.

These nobs that just hang the tail out round 'drifting circuits' for aesthetic appeal just leaves me a bit cold. Its a bit like those guitar players you sometimes encounter that can copy that Joe Satriani or Stevie Vai solo at 300 beats per minute - so fupping what is my general reaction.

Drifting is often just showboating with a style of car control that throws it around the track. I'm not gonna say it is easy or pretend I can drift with the pros - I just find much more enjoyment watching the guys getting from A-B in the shortest time possible.

Watch some in car footage of someone like Colin McRae (in his hey day) going thru a Cumbrian forest stage, or Mark Higgins amazing run thru Thowlty Will (circa 1995) in the Isle of Man... or Bertie Fisher (RIP) thru Molls Gap (circa 1994) in Killarney... or Austin McHale on an equally famous 'balls out' run over Atlantic Drive in Donegal (circa 1993). THAT is proper driving that deserves infinitely more respect than the watered-down dross of 'drift racing' being discussed here...

That is all I have to say on the subject... Let the kids have their ridge racer style drift racing, and let the grown ups rule the rally stages of the world.


Paul

[Keeper of The Kitten]

I'm with OOOO on this issue, the best performance is measurable, like a lap time.

The reason rally cars are going sideways can be attributed to loose surfaces, the slower corners and the really tight corners where it's quicker to get the back end around than to do a three point turn. On the faster corners and especially on the hard surfaces, the driving style will be more like a circuit racer (Corsica at the weekend was evidence of exactly that - fast flowing sections on tarmac roads, sliding the car was mostly restricted to hairpin corners).

Anyway, watch an Outlaw sprint car on the loose to see real drifting - and on the big tracks, they're doing it at 130mph...

__MDC__

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Ya got there before me (re: loose surfaces) Paul!

__MDC__

[quattroTurbo]

Agree with Paul 100%. Drifting is a result of today's youth having no creativity or passion - they Just copy the neurotic Japanese youth culture. These guys (drifters, ha ha, yeah right) are not properly into cars, their knowledge is taken from the Internet and their involvement in this so called "sport" is fashion.

I know a lot of these t*ssers and they haven't got a clue. Most of them are only interested in getting their car all stickered up, body kitted and going sideways badly. There is no skill involved in getting a car with 300bhp per tonne to go sideways on an open track. If you think that is difficult, LEARN TO DRIVE!

If you actually watch these nobs closely, you will see that what they are doing has no finesse. The whole thing looks clumsy compared with REAL motorsport.

And look at their awful cars. Old Japanese bangers being paraded on race tracks taht actually have real heritage - it's a crying shame. Poxy cars with low-life riff-raff behind the wheel.

[~Delta]

When we judge people and label them "low life riff raff" They tend to act the part. Same as being judgemental and labelling folk "Chavs".

Where do labels end? It would appear people get stereotyped if they don't conform to convention. How do you judge one by the car they drive?

[Ski]

So far in this post I have read that "drifters".. i.e. some pple in this community, are "nobs" , "to**ers" etc...


so much hatred for having fun in ur car. We might as well die now shall we :/

[mcandmar]

I went to see one drift event here in Ireland and i can see both points of view. Half the drivers were the nissan skyline brigade who thought they were the best thing ever and the other half were driving early 3 series BMW's, Corolla tin cans etc. What put me off the most was the crowd, just looking around the car park was like a max power meeting.

As for the event, well first and second place went to an 86 Corolla, and a Mk2 Escort in that order, the latter of which looked perfectly suited to a rally special stage, despite being 40 years old and only having about 120hp it was by far the best driven and impressive car there. In the final he was paired with a late model Skyline and won, That somewhat restored my faith in the sport, it’s not all about high hp and showboating....

At the end of the day i believe your either a track person or your a loose surface person. People who like track racing dont like sliding and drifting, and for people who like loose surface's, well its only natural.

[Rusty]

Drifting is awesome. Went to Silverstone last month for the World Championship event and thoroughly enjoyed it. The atmosphere was superb, especially when an Irish wildcard almost beat the world no. 1!