Drifting is a type of extreme-speed motorsport, which has a lot of fans. It is characterized by the intentional stalling of the rear axle during a turn, its passage in a controlled skid at the highest possible speed. The angle of the rear wheels during drifting exceeds the angle of the front, sometimes significantly. This type of driving speaks of the highest skill of the driver, his ability to control the power of the car and direct it in the right direction.

Story

It all started in the 70s in Japan, it was this country that became the birthplace of drifting as a separate movement. The first drifters are street racers honing their technique on winding roads in the mountains. They used it to pass the track faster, the score was accurate to the millisecond. The key person in the origin of drifting is Kunimitsu Takahashi. This Japanese was originally a motorcycle racer, but later continued his career as a race car driver.

He has many victories in professional sports, including the 1961 German Grand Prix in road racing. An accident forced him to switch to motorsport, after which he began a new path. In automobile competitions, Kunimitsu Takahashi was also successful, even taking part in Formula 1. To date, the Japanese has completed his career, it happened at the age of 47 years.

His driving style gave rise to a whole movement of fans of extreme turns and burnt tires, a new kind of spectacular professional sport was gradually formed.

The second key person in the origin of this riding style is Keiichi Tsuchiya, who later became its king. This Japanese man has gained fans from all over the world, even made a video about his amazing drifting skills. It was thanks to him that the extreme form of racing became legal. In 1999, the D-1 Grand Prix series was created, and to this day remains the world's greatest drifting association.

Cars

There are two main requirements for a drift car: it must be rear-wheel drive, and it must have at least 160 horsepower.

Rear drive

It is he who will ensure the slippage of two rear wheels at the same time.

Maximum lightness

The car should be light and agile, within reason, of course. Without this, victories and successful passages of tracks cannot be achieved.

Engine

Volume matters here. It should work for the longest possible time in hardcore-extreme hard-load conditions. Well, if it is equipped with supercharging.

Suspension

You need strong shock absorbers and stiff springs.

Most often, the drifter car brand is Toyota or Nissan, but our domestic Zhiguli are also unexpectedly loved by the public and athletes. The best cars for drifting are: Nissan 180-SX, Nissan Laurel, Toyota AE86 and ().

Varieties

There are many techniques, and sometimes only a professional can distinguish one from another.

Hand-breaking drifting

One of the simplest, despite the intimidating name. Suitable for beginners, first steps in drifting. The main plus is that if you make a mistake, you can correct it with corrective jerks. Fulfillment: the clutch is squeezed out, a powerful jerk of the handbrake is made, the car skids. Then the clutch pedal is released. Hand-breaking drifting will train the extreme driver to control the strength and speed of the jerk.

Clutch-Kick drifting

Clutch is squeezed out and rushes sharply. It is because of this that the car also skids sharply.

Yorin drifting

During this variation, all wheels are stalled at once, which occurs in the middle of a bend in the track.

Kanteria drifting

Rotation is carried out in the form of the letter "S". In Russian, you can call it rocking, a whip. Kanteria drifting looks incredibly impressive.

Braking drifting

This drift technique is characterized by pressing the brake pedal at the very moment of entering the turn. After pressing, squeeze the clutch and turn on the handbrake, but not longer than one second.

dynamic drifting

When entering a long turn, the pilot quickly decelerates, corrects, maintains the skid by steering and quickly depressing the brake pedal. He no longer adds speed.

Heel Toe Shifting

This variation consists in switching speed with the toe and heel. At the same time, it is important to maintain balance, smoothness, correct steering, control over the operation of the brakes. The trick of the technique is that one foot can be on two pedals at once, which ensures smooth gear shifting.

Fact: Drifters not only move straight forward, left and right, but also up and down. Drifting is, last but not least, a show, and drivers must do everything to provide it. Execution: wheel on the inside of the turn, pushing off a barrier or bump on the track. Thus, the weight of the car moves to the other side, skidding begins.

Kansei drifting

An interesting type of drift. The car literally flies into a turn at high speeds, the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal. The weight of the vehicle passes to the front axle, the motorist controls the slip that has appeared with the help of the steering wheel and gas pedal.

long-slide drifting

An important requirement for this technique is high speed. The driver, using the handbrake, completes a long straight slide, which ends with a turn at a large angle.

With this technique, the car is shifted by the rear wheels on the ground or a muddy shoulder to maintain the slide and enter the track at the required speeds.

Power over drifting

This technique is feasible only on high power vehicles. To enter a skid, the steering wheel turns in the direction in which you want to direct the car. Then the gas is pressed to the end, the rear wheels lose traction. All this is due to the sufficient power of the machine. To get out of the bend of the track without damage and accidents, the gas is not completely released, and the steering wheel is turned in the other direction.

Side-braking drifting

The rear wheel failure causes the drifting car to slide almost sideways.

Chokudori or Swaying drifting

As a rule, this technique is used after flat sections of a straight track. Fulfillment: braking occurs with the help of sliding. The car is set at the required angle, a deep skid occurs. The driver must choose the optimal angle to fit into the turn.

Manji drifting

Rarely seen on a winding track, more often on simple straight lines. Rocking the car all the way back and forth looks spectacular. Often performed for show.

Professional slang

Some words of motorists are very interesting. And very accurately reflect the harsh reality of this sport.

1. "Homeless drift" - when a car is used for drifting, not intended for it;
2. "Cut down sideways", "give a corner"
3. "Fog" - obstruct the view of the enemy with the help of smoke.

Competitions

The competition was not always a duel, before the riders made races one at a time. Over time, the competition came to the format of a pair race, followed by evaluation by the judges with the help of points. In addition to entertainment, boring technical parameters are also evaluated, so a spectacular race does not yet give victory on the track. It must also be done correctly.

There are summer and winter competitions, the rules are almost the same for any time of the year. The track is prepared or curvy to demonstrate the beauty and skill of corner entry. The primary task is to remain unharmed and reach the end. Another is to do it the best.

The competition consists of qualification (first stage) and duels (second stage of pair races). In Japanese, these stages are called Tanso and Tsuiso.

Each pilot has three attempts to qualify. The first one is not taken into account with a short track, this is a “warm-up”. On a long track, all three are scored. All drivers are at the beginning of the track in equal conditions - each has 100 points. Each mistake results in points being deducted.

Criteria for evaluation

Technical parameters in competitions are as important as spectacular performance, and sometimes even more important for some judges.

The first important criterion. Judges evaluate the trajectory. Usually it is determined before the race by the judges themselves, and each driver must follow it clearly.

The second criterion to be evaluated. The angle of movement of the vehicle relative to the trajectory is estimated.

The third mandatory criterion. Speed ​​- as in all races. The higher, the better!

The fourth mandatory criterion. Spectacle and individual style. This is appreciated not only by harsh impartial judges, who are hard to surprise with something, but also by the audience. Within the framework of the criterion, even the beauty of the smoke from under the wheels is evaluated. This criterion is defining and most important for many drifters, it inspires them to new achievements and victories on the track.

Personalities and their words

Kirill (Kaluga Drift Team) Izotov: « Why drift? I enjoy it».

Alexander (Red Bull Team) Grinchuk: " I love that burnt rubber smell. The state of a controlled skid - I lose my head from it. And I love and know how to win!»

Ekaterina (Ural Drift League) Shabarina: « Drift makes me happy».

Artur (OMNI) Yanabaev: " I love raising the bar. Drifting for me is an incomparable pleasure.».

Evgeniy (ToySport Drift Team) Satyukov: « Yes, I just love it!»

V. Pustoshny: " Drifting is from the category of collecting dead insects, growing cucumbers, gambling - to each his own».

1. Many people confuse drifting with power sliding or simply with uncontrolled skidding. This is a stupid mistake. For power sliding, the engine power is not important, and even the type of car. So don't stick a "Drift King" sticker on an old Logan, even if you manage to accelerate it and enter a turn.

2. There are many computer and mobile games dedicated specifically to drifting, such as CarX Drift Racing.

3. "Tokyo Drift" - one of the films about this type of motorsport.

4. If during the competition, not a single judge saw a single mistake in the execution technique, the chief of them says: “Anikuya to yourself!”, Everyone around them repeats in unison and joyfully.

5. A particularly cool drift is considered to be a light touch of the rear bumper on the barrier, this is called the romantic expression "Kiss the wall".

6. It's easy to kill two tires while drifting in less than five minutes. Drifter weekends are fun, but they cost five or more sets of tires.

7. There are specialized tires for drifting - the smoke from it comes out with a bright color or even a smell.

8. The pilot pulls the handbrake at speeds reaching 120 km per hour.

9. The handbrake is often upgraded and modified in every possible way, made longer, since this is the main tool.

10. The engines of the most powerful drift cars have up to 700 horsepower.

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