Drifting. No one really knows when or where the concept of drifting first began but historically, the purpose of drifting was derived from rally cross racing to maintain optimal engine rpms and speeds while entering and exiting turns. Perfecting the "art" of drifting was another concept conceptualized by a group of automotive enthusiasts racing in the Japanese mountain passes other wise known as "Touge." Those few individuals who first braved the treacherous mountains of Japan used multiple driver techniques to test their skills on who could climb up or down the mountain within the shortest time, as fast as possible. What started out as "Touge racing" where "gripping" was the focal point for each vehicle while minimizing traction loss, high horsepower vehicles regularly began spinning their tires and encountered counter-steering issues at each banking turn. At first, many feared the concept of loosing traction, as a loss of the vehicles control was believed to ultimately lead to certain disaster. But as time progressed, drivers developed a way to use "power sliding," or more popularly known as "drifting," as a means of displaying driver control. As racing on the mountain passes became more popular, so was the concept of loosing traction. To many it was considered a great driving skill to lose traction and then re-gain it by counter-steering. The longer a drift was performed, the more respect a driver was given. Today drifting has become an extremely popular among the import market youths of present society. The once underground sport of drifting has come out of the mountains and onto the circuits where competitors today compete at annual events held at various venues, such as the ever-popular D1 Grand Prix in Japan.
Touge disasterThe highly publicized "sub-culture" of drifting has recently taken the U.S. market by storm as manufactures and marketing agents have officially jumped on the bandwagon in hopes of profiting off the newest trend to hit the U.S. For those individuals who have embraced drifting as a "way of life" has come to recognize the once underground and negatively viewed sport of drifting has become the fastest growing automotive craze to hit the industry within the past year, eventually pushing the sport directly into the limelight. With all the excitement and positives of drifting, the negatives were inevitably bound to follow as mainstream drifting has caused an increase in accidents and the attention of law enforcement agencies around the world. Wanting to drift and being able to drift are two completely different scenarios. Contrary to reality, many fans of drifting swear they are indeed the real life "invincible" Takumi from Initial D. Understand if you crash your car, its "game over." Literally. There's no reset button or rewind control to magically bring your car back to its original condition nor can you revive yourself or a passenger if the inevitable were to happen.
Because drifting has been receiving more attention as of recent, newcomers to the "drift craze" are excited to partake in the activities by taking to the mountains in their newly acquired vehicles. These same individuals speed up and down the mountain side yanking on the E brakes or pitching the car in precarious angles in hopes of accomplishing the same "drift motion" they see on popular videos such as Drift Tengoku often ending up in a horrific accident or causing danger to others. "Accidents occur when the driver goes past his or her limits. The problem is that beginners are clueless about driving, car control and racing line, but they THINK they know," states drifter and sanctioned event participant, L. Toguchi. "I admit I used to go touge drifting but I stopped going a year ago when they started having more sanctioned track events. If I were to go up now, I'd fear for my life because of all the little kids up there trying to be Takumi. Those same people don't realize they're responsible for not only their lives, but their passenger's and the other people on the road with them."
The brighter side of TougeWith all the negatives publicity surrounding drifters who attend and drift at Touge, there are some positive aspects that many are not aware of. During my most recent interview with Katsuhiro Ueo, 2002 D1 champion (see Industry Profile, page 118), Ueo-san brought to attention the positives when drifting Touge.