Up until very recently, I can’t say I’ve had much respect for drifting.
I never got the point of the sport, and I use the term “sport” loosely. I mean, you could argue the point of circuit-racing as well, but at least that has a point. Drifiting is just showboating, and being graded on how much of a showboat you are.
It’s like the automotive equivalent of equestrian dressage, which is arguably worse, because you’re poncing about in a ridiculous outfit with a funny hat.
Oh wait, that describes all form of motorsport, too.
Anyway, I’m now a changed man, because I now have a good deal of respect for drifting and drifters. My dramatic U-turn came about after a recent ice-driving event held on a closed circuit near the nigh-on unprounounceable town of Skelleftea (it’s shell-eff-tee-o, apparently), Sweden.
I can conclude that managing a severe lack of grip in a car with too much power is difficult, to say the least. More than once, I found myself stuck in a snowbank after understeering myself into oblivion. The photo below speaks volumes about my lack of skill and how I’m not cut out for drifting.
So, showboating or not, here’s a big Torque salute to all you drifters and drifting fanatics. To use the words of a famous local politician, “I stand corrected”.
