The Great Debate - Is Drifting motorsport?

[Chris Y]

Originally Posted by EvilPumpkin

Ok so what about illegal street racing then? Does that mean that circuit racing is bad because people also race illegally on the roads?

Not per se, but the damage to the image of the sport is the same. The difference is that circuit racing is more 'established' (in time if not popularity with the hoons). Drifting is in its infancy, and its image as a 'serious' sport/event/competition is being tarnished by the car park warriors.

[nihil]

Originally Posted by Slippy Diff

I'd guess that you have more than a passing interest in 'drifting', competitor or organiser or fan?

At this moment in time, only a spectator. I wouldn't say fan, but only because my occasional job as a writer prevents me from being a fan of anything! Always need a bit of critical distance...

[The STIG]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

New Hoon laws in Australia give the police the power to impound cars.

Here's the Ontario approach : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAICt5pACz8

Bout time they did this everywhere worldwide IMO

[Al Weyman]

My son James God rest his soul, was a young guy (18 when he died he would be 27 now) who owned a Mini and got in with a crowd and the thing was to do handbrake turns and fool about in general in car parks like these idiots are doing now (its hard to drift in a front wheel drive car, look at the idiots in the Escort in the video clip so yanking on the handbrake is the only way to step the backend out) which resulted in him wearing the rear brake shoes out a few months after I had fitted new ones.

On a return journey from one of these car park 'meets' he lost control of the car went head on into the oncoming traffic killed himself and the young lady (16) with him, seriously injured the young couple in the back and another young couple in the car he hit head on. The Police report had shown that the rear brake shoes had come delaminated and may have locked up a back wheel (we will never really know as it was left as an open verdict).

I have to live with this everyday and blame my passion for motorsport as a factor in all this although I never drive fast on the roads so please lets discourage this illegal practice in car parks and any form of Motorsport that allows cars to be driven back from any event on the road as no doubt some these Drifters will be and I would wager that many don't even change their tyres. Trailer to a proper organised event and I have no problem with this form of the sport as each to their own, anything else as promoted by these ridiculous Hollywood movies just ain't on IMHO.

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by silver bullet

OK so drifting is cool, baseball hats arn't cool.

OK, maybe I was being too subtle. The pic of the Burberry baseball cap was more of a euphenism for the type of person attracted to the display that is drifting; a male approximately 18 years old who is also remarkably spotty due to the amount of burgers consumed whilst parked up in burger joint car parks, small front wheel drive hatch with an assortment of plastic appendages, a girlfriend very much in the style of the Vicky Pollard character from Little Britain (yes we get it over here) and no regular job.
I know it's generalising, but tell me I'm wrong....

There is definitely an element of skill involved but at the end of the day, you can take drifting out of the car parks but can you take the car park out of drifting?

[The STIG]

A tragic tale Al, and one many young drivers would do well to read.

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

lets discourage this illegal practice in car parks and any form of Motorsport that allows cars to be driven back from any event on the road as no doubt some these Drifters will be and I would wager that many don't even change their tyres. Trailer to a proper organised event and I have no problem with this form of the sport as each to their own, anything else as promoted by these ridiculous Hollywood movies just ain't on IMHO.

I've seen cars being driven away from circuit races on the roads - although normally with a stack of tyres in the boot. Ditto Autotesting, Sprints and of course rallying.

Drifting however is the only motor competition which involves deliberately destroying the tyres. I would suggest that instead of insisting that the cars be transported via trailer (which involves taking an extra road driving test, another vehicle, a trailer, and lots of money) the tyres are checked by a suitable official before leaving the venue. Prehaps VOSA can be persuaded to have a checkpoint at the gate of the venue to enforce this scince it is a road traffic problem.

This of course, does not remove the problem of the Illegal events, but the only way of making this safe is to force the illegal "competitors" into entering a legal competition. This is highly unlikely however.

[touringlegend]

There was a very interesting feature on Drifting on Fifth Gear tonight in the UK. Be worth catching the repeat if you can.



Al, as The STIG says that hopefully is a lesson to many other drivers.

[nihil]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Trailer to a proper organised event

That's a harsh way to acquire wisdom, but its wisdom nonetheless. All the more respect for not allowing such a loss to taint your continuing passion.

Pretty much all the events I've been to, the cars have been trailered in. They're track cars, designed to a standard in order to do a very particular job. Though the D1GB rules are fairly clear in wanting to maintain a strong connection between competition cars and the production vehicles they are based on

http://www.d1gb.co.uk/rules.asp#1

Originally Posted by Slippy Diff

the type of person attracted to the display that is drifting

You'll be glad to know that I'm a working class, middle aged, motorcyclist, with (reasonably) clear skin!

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by nihil

You'll be glad to know that I'm a working class, middle aged, motorcyclist, with (reasonably) clear skin!

So what do you ride?

[BigDaddy]

Sorry to hear that Al, I can see the points you are making now and they do make better sense to me. The Drift club that I am involved with offers a tyre changing facility at the Drift days and in no way supports or tolerates illegal competition, in fact the local police have even been present at the last 2 drift days. Your point about driving vehicles home, well thats always going to happen, but the good thing about drifting is half the cars aren't registered and never will be because they are imports that haven't been complied, well thats the case here anyway.

[275 GTB-4]

No way!!

[BigDaddy]

Originally Posted by 275 GTB-4

No way!!

Care to offer any sort of justification to your opinion or are you just going to leave it at that? very childish I think!

[nihil]

Originally Posted by Slippy Diff

So what do you ride?

I've had a series of small bore sports bikes. Just sold a TZR125 (late eighties model without fairing) that I originally bought on a whim. Had ideas about restoring it, but it was just so much fun in London traffic, and so cheap to run, I ended up using it as my daily ride. Sold it to someone who would give it the tlc I was never going to find time for!

[BigDaddy]

There is still no legitimate argument to say that Drifting is not motorsport.

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

There is still no legitimate argument to say that Drifting is not motorsport.

Until I see it listed here, I agree with 275 GTB-4.

[BigDaddy]

But who says that the FIA decide what is motorsport and what is not? Are they the self appointed rulers of motorsport? There is plenty of motorsport that happens that the FIA knows nothing about - think about it......

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

Are they the self appointed rulers of motorsport?

Try telling them otherwise.

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

There is plenty of motorsport that happens that the FIA knows nothing about

They are the font of all motorsport knowledge. They may not know about those forms of motorsport that require a tin foil hat however.

[BigDaddy]

The AASA runs National motorsport events in Australia that the FIA know nothing about, Does Nascar fall under the FIA?

[Al Weyman]

Or short circuit racing!

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

The AASA runs National motorsport events in Australia that the FIA know nothing about

Oh, they'll know about it.

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

Does Nascar fall under the FIA?

You can't use the US as an example. They take about as much notice of the FIA as they do of the UN.

[Slippy Diff]

That's drifting.

[BigDaddy]

The only reason the FIA would know about is because CAMS are complaining because it is the people they screwed that are leaving them to run at the AASA events.

Why can't I use the US as an example, is that because it doesn't suit your argument? Is it because I have brought up a relevant fact?

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

Why can't I use the US as an example, is that because it doesn't suit your argument? Is it because I have brought up a relevant fact?

Woah woah, don't turn purple, it wasn't meant as a serious comment, I was trying to be funny (operative word 'trying'). The title of the thread reads 'Is drifting motorsport?' not 'please posts facts to determine whether drifting is motorsport or not'. In my opinion it ain't.

Taken from another site discussing the same question "I keep waiting for them to use skater-like terminology . . . "Joey just pulled a front-side juicy spliffer, and waxed Jimmy's Nissan into a radical a**hat grab. Whoooooa, man!"

[BigDaddy]

There are technical terms for all the moves.....

[alfacors]

Drifting is motorsport. It involves cars, it involves racetracks, and it involves a winner. Therefore it is motorsport. What is NOT, is motor RACING.

and FWIW, I am heavily involved in the Drift scene in NSW, with ties to Initial Drift Australia (the first CAMS affiliated Drift Club in the country) as well as the Drift Australia (National) Series. I am a circuit racer at heart though (albeit not a very good one!) and that is where my allegiances lie, but Drift is an emerging sport and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. I've seen it grow from a demo at a Procar event in 2004 through to a National Championship the following year, to this year's Championships with double the fields of 2005 (and with a wait list for entries!).

Whether you like it or not, whether you consider it a motorsport or not, it's here and here to stay.