When it comes to Tsuiso, who do you look forward to staging against?
I like drifting against Dai and Miki because their cars are fast, but not too fast. I can also relate to Sam and Rhys' style but if they beat me to the first corner, it's hard to catch up.
Conversely, who do you dread?
Some cars are just smoke machines and that can be hard to deal with... Conrad, Tuerck, JR and Darren put out so much smoke that it's hard to see the track.
Switching gears, how was winning 2008 X Games Silver?
It wasn't quite as nice as the Gold in 2007, but pretty damn great! We had a lot of problems with the car that week and I was lucky to just get a medal!
How different is rallying from drift?
The cars have four tires and a steering wheel... and that's where the similarities end! Rally racing uses a different part of your brain. You're driving on a road that you've never seen before, there are trees clipping the mirrors and you're going over 100 mph in some spots. A co-driver basically determines exactly how fast you can go by telling you the radius and shape of each corner and the driver is just a translator putting those notes into the steering wheel and pedals. It's pretty cool. With drifting, the mentality is to have a game plan before each run--where to get close to the wall, when to brake, etc.
Are there any similarities?
In both sports, the driver is pushing the car very hard. Both sports involve sliding the car and using car control while still maintaining a safety buffer.
Money question: which is more difficult?
Drifting is incredibly committed but not nearly as dangerous as rally. I think you could take a drift driver who doesn't mind listening to a screaming co-driver and make them a fairly fast rally driver in the US, but making a US rally driver competitive in Formula D would take more time. However, competing in rally at the WRC level around the rest of the world would be more technical and difficult than both US rally and Formula D drifting.
Have any of your X Games peers shown any interest in drift?
I've taken Travis Pastrana and Ken Block drifting. They are great drivers and could understand the amount of practice that goes into the sport. I've also talked to Bucky Lassik about drifting. It attracts some attention from other athletes and I hope they get some drift cars and come play!
That would be cool. Most people know about your drifting and rallying, what they probably don't know is that it's just the surface...
I'm lucky enough to work on various films as a stunt driver. Several of the Formula D drivers make part of their living in the car commercial world. I also get to compete in "one-off" races like the Baja 1000, and occasionally Pikes Peak, in addition to Time Attack and various road course events. I'm also spending an increasing amount of time hosting TV shows for ESPN, SPEED and NBC.
Speaking of which, as one of the new hosts, how is the new Top Gear for the U.S.?
Shooting the pilot was a freakin' blast. Hanging out with Adam Corolla was a pretty cool experience. He is a genuinely funny guy and is exactly the person who you would think he is. I can't talk much about the show, but I can say that the format is very similar to that of the U.K. version. Adam is an amazing fit for the lead host role and the U.S. Stig kicks ass. We do some pretty cool stuff with some not pretty cool cars. Check NBC.com for more info.
How did you learn how to drive?
I learned at a young age in Scotland. When I was 10-13 we had an 18 mile drive through the countryside (which is all there is there) and seven of those miles were on private property. My mom taught me to drive our VW Van and I drove those seven miles every day possible. It was my favorite part of the day for sure.
By Carter Jung
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