Drifting: new Aussie motorsport
James Stanford
05aug05
Race fans love sideways action. Unfortunately, in most forms of motorsport, the driver whose car is the most sideways and looks the most spectacular is rarely the one who wins.
That's not the case with drifting, the fastest-growing form of motorsport in Australia.
Drifting is all about style and competitors are judged on appearance, as with diving or ballroom dancing.
The biggest slide, the most smoke, the driver who looks the most likely to lose control and spear off the track are all celebrated in this tyre-tearing sport.
Drifting was born after dark on the streets of Japan, where drivers perfected their sliding style before taking it on to the race track and turning it into a new form of motorsport.
The Americans caught on and adopted drifting as their own, fielding hot machines such as custom Pontiac GTOs and Dodge Vipers.
Now Australians are taking on the full-lock sport and race tracks are being booked from coast to coast for drift battles.
Wayne Boatwright helps to run the Drift Australia national championship, which cranked up this year. The sport is growing quickly, he says.
The sport has become so popular that the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport will officially sanction a drifting championship next year.
"This will take the sport to a new level," Boatwright says.
"It will be an official national series, just like the Australian Rally Championship or the V8 Supercar Championship."
Most drift cars are Japanese. Many are Nissans, and models such as the two-wheel-drive Skyline and 200SX popular. But all-wheel-drive cars such as Subaru's WRX also get in on the action.
Stuntmaster Robbie Bolger is bucking the trend, using a custom-built Aussie ute.
"People think it is a Japanese sport, but in Australia the V8 is king," Bolger says.
"Just because the Japanese invented it, doesn't mean we have to do everything they do."
Bolger is sponsored by CAPA superchargers, which gives you a tip that his ute might be a pretty potent beastie.
Any old supercharged V8 would give you enough grunt to fry tyres, but Bolger wanted a monster 7.0-litre C5R racing spec V8 in his drift ute.
With the help of a supercharger, his bent-eight belts out 932kW.
"It's the most powerful drift car in the world," Bolger says.
"It is probably a bit more difficult with all that power. It is a lot of fun and we have proved we can win."
Bolger, who also thrills crowds at V8 Supercar rounds with his doughnut displays, says there is nothing like the thrill of drifting a car at high speed.
"There is a fine line between the perfect drift and and being across a hedge somewhere.
"You are on the edge. You are trying to control something that is out of control and keep it going. You lose control and spin out all the time. If you are not pushing hard at the limit you are never going to progress."
Bolger won a Drift Australia round in his second meeting in the $250,000 ute, qualifying him for the global D1 drift showdown in the United States in January. Despite his expensive ute, Bolger says drifting is an affordable sport rewarding good drivers.
"You don't have to have a lot of money to win a drift race. All you need is a good reliable competitive car with a half decent driver.
"Our car is far from cheap, but you could run with a car worth about $20,000."
Bolger has just finished a custom Monaro that will make its debut at the Drift Australia Mallala round this weekend.
But he will let fellow racer Jeremy Lake take to the track in the Monaro because he wants to keep driving the more powerful CAPA ute.
"The Monaro is fantastic, but the ute makes more than 1000hp (746kW) at the wheels and I'm heavier than Jeremy so I need the extra power," Bolger says.
So what makes a good drift car?
It has to be tight, with strut braces and a structural cage that makes sure the body doesn't twist.
Suspension is important and adjustable dampers help you to find the right set-up.
It helps to run a locked differential, just like a V8 Supercar, to make the car easier to drift.
Power is also important.
The car needs enough grunt to step out and hold a constant slide.
It also needs to have smooth power delivery so the driver can hold a slide rather than have the car snap suddenly sideways.
The next round of the VicDrift series is scheduled for Winton Raceway near Benalla on September 24 and the next Drift Australia Victorian round is at Winton on October 29.
THE JUDGES' DECISION IS FINAL
Unlike most other forms of motorsport, drift competitions are scored by judges.
Three judges rule on each drift run, which are held on a series of tight corners at a traditional race track.
The judges look at three characteristics: speed, angle and style/excitement.
A good drifter must carry as much speed as possible into a corner.
Speed through the corners is also a plus.
The angle a drifter driver achieves is important.
Basically, the more sideways a car is, the better the score.
Judges also value drifters who keep a consistent line through corners, rather than sliding, straightening up, then sliding again.
Excitement and flair are highly valued. Some judges value lots of smoke, others don't.
To qualify for a typical drift event, drivers do two runs by themselves.
They are then ranked in order and paired off for drift battle runs.
The lower ranked driver leads through the first run, with the other driver close on their tail.
The order is reversed for the second run.
The idea, if you are following, is to get as close as possible while maintaining your drift to try to force an error from the driver in front.
If you lead, the idea is to do the best and fastest drift run and pull away from the driver behind you.
Passing, while drifting, is permitted but rare.
Drift cars have also been known to collide, but not often.
Drift racers progress through each round and the winner is decided in a two-run final.
Herald Sun
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