drift your heart out

I'm a little ashamed to admit I first learned about drifting from the now widely-known cartoon Initial D. It's been almost four years and I'm every bit as enthusiastic as the first time I "saw" it.


These illustrate the idea of drifting nicely, although a four-wheel drive drifts at a much smaller angle in the real world.

The good:
Pushing cars to their very limit.
Let a car do what it's not designed to.
You get to learn some more about car engineering.
First motorsport to be judged not entirely on time alone.
Keiichi Tsuchiya said that drifting isn't about how fast you clear a corner, it about how you clear it. Drifting is the most exciting way to drive.

The bad:
Ricer* vehicles overflooding the scene.

The ugly:
Drifter-wannabes killing themselves AND others.

The practicality:
In order for drifting to be useful in a real-world situation, the traction between the tires and the road must already be weak. Right now in the world there are a few car races that allow that kind of conditions, namely, World Rally and Sno*Drift Rally.


*ricer is now a commonly used word to refer to a car that has questionable (usually cosmetic) modifications but nothing is done to actually improve its performance.

pics credit: GTPlanet members from the drift forums.