Team ORANGE" drift team in Greece
 

Touge drift team orange greence montain
:-):thumbup:

unbelievable driving I think...

Fun is not a straight line ;) Thx :D

Just wanted to say that I was there and it was awesome!!

It looks "fun" in a "Movie of the Week" sort of way - but seriously, why is everyone so obsessed with cars that have been setup to be impossible to drive in a straight line, and still require the handbrake to be used to induce oversteer?

It is not only the slowest way to travel between 2 points, it is really hard to not get the tail out with special tyres and the hand brake - as kids we did that for fun when joy riding our parents cars.

What would be impressive is if drift rules did NOT allow the handbrake, and that cars had to NOT have such bizarre suspension setups and impossible turning locks...

Then I could see some respect for the real skill it would take to drift down the mountain using only throttle, regular brakes and steering input ;)

More power to the folks who have grown drifting from nothing to a huge money making racket :P

Getting the tail out is one thing, but to be able to control it like these guys can is absolutely incredible. Cool vid!

Yes it is a cool video... but my point is exactly that the cars are specifically designed to be tail happy and allow such odd-attitude control.

If they did these kinds of displays and competitions in STOCK setup cars, then that would be impressive - this is just "cool" :P.

Seriously, just like motorcycle stunting or other "fringe" motorsports, if you have someone else pickup the bill (ie sponsor) and practice, anyone with the most basic abilities can do it - witness Hogans kid ;)

Just cool and the tire company love it:mrgreen:
Drifting is the art of car control not really a motorsport

The hand brake is used to maintain the drift angle, not to initiate it.

In otherwords.. without yanking up the parking brake, these guys would be no more impressive than a red neck in a pickup track on a dirt road.. ;)

I rest my case :)

RC...are you maddox from the best page in the universe?

No, but I seriously feel like him as I am surrounded by complete morons and suckers.. ;)

Drifting is pretty spectacular and fun to watch for bits at a time. This was a pretty impressive video.

The fact that it's just not racing is what keeps me from getting really excited about drifting though.

3 Quotes from Keiichi Tsuchiya (the original Drift King) come to mind RC45 when you say that we (All who find drifting so interesting) are morons and suckers.

#1 - "What is power without control?"

#2 - "The Most Important thing is Balance."

#3 - "I drift not because it is a quicker way around a corner, but the most exciting way."

Drifting is about controling your car with style, grace, balance and smoothness of one power slide linked to another seamlessly. They do so with steering wheel, throttle, clutch, hand and foot brake control not just one exclusive way. The fact the cars are set up to run drift is no different than some cars a set up to run the 1/4 mile. They are amazing in thier own arena. You wouldn't expect stock cars to run sub 10's. So why expect stock cars to drift like purpose built drift cars.

As for it being a MotorSport. Well the D1 GrandPrix pretty much makes it one and it has been one since 2000 when it was first started and has been expanding ever since. Even F1 had its grassroots and started somewhere.

Not all people like Drag, Stockcar, F1 or in this case D1, but no doubt about it they are all legitimate motorsports and not "Fringe" motorsports. As for motorcycle stunting I refer you to the X-Games. Looks pretty legit as well.

Not just anybody can backflip a motorbike and land it. Not just anybody can hop in a F1 car and turn a qualifiying lap and not just anybody can take a D1 car up or down a mountain at high speed. Basic ability just don't cut it at this level.

Why you gotta be so down on it? Sit back, ride the slide and enjoy the ride.

Da Goose

RC's point about the car setup is that because they are set up in such a manner, it's not quite as hard as it looks. Nick "Hogan" Bolea can drift more or less . . . I think that says something. Of course it takes skill. I'll once again cite Nick Hogan (and his frequent crashes) . . . hehehe.

Considering that the D1 Grand Prix isn't in the US anymore, I wouldn't say it's expanding quite like you say. It's definitely a motorsport, a judged one. It's not a race so it's just not my cup of tea. While Formula D may list "speed" as the first of their 4 basic judging criteria, it's hardly the primary objective of drifting. If that's what other people are into, then more power to them.

The term fringe motorsport is accurate enough. For instance, the main formula D event occurs a full week before the actual Long Beach Grand Prix. The team drift at the Grand Prix is just sort of an exhibition to draw more people into the series (and to advertise like any other conventional racing series.)