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Formula Drift on Tour
In the sports world, the first week of April is commonly associated with the return of Major League Baseball. But car-racing enthusiasts have that timeframe marked on their calendars for a very different reason: the start of Formula Drift season.
Formula Drift is the leading international showcase of the auto-racing phenomenon known as drifting, where drivers intentionally oversteer their vehicles to make them slip and slide across the track in a thrilling display of controlled chaos. (Ever done donuts in your car in an empty parking lot? Now imagine trying to do that continually along a predetermined route without crashing into anything.)
Drifting originated in Japan in the 1970s before gaining traction in the U.S. in the '90s, culminating in the inaugural Formula Drift competition in 2004. Since its launch in Atlanta as a four-round, 16-car competition, Formula Drift has expanded into an eight-round, 32-car championship series, with racing sites spanning California to New Jersey.
In most car races, the winner is determined by one simple factor: who crosses the finish line first. Drifting, however, is actually closer in spirit to figure-skating than traditional racing, with competitors awarded leaderboard points according to three criteria: line, angle, and style. "Line" refers to the drivers' ability to follow a demarcated drift line established by the judges. "Angle" analyzes the drivers' control over their wheel alignment while mid-drift. "Style" essentially is a measure of drivers' fluidity and their willingness to careen as close as possible to the track wall without scraping it.
Formula Drift competitions are traditionally two-day events, beginning with the qualifying round, where drivers perform solo trial runs to accumulate points for a Top 32 placement on the leaderboard. On the second day, the qualifying drivers square off round-robin style in a pair of races where drivers take turns shadowing each other and are scored on their abilities to lead and follow. But even if you're not the sort to obsess over the nitty-gritty of scoring, Formula Drift can be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level as the most artful and graceful form of professional auto racing.
Great racing event especially for tunners and who appreciate fine and precise driving. Highly recommended event if you looking for something different than cars running in circles.
I can't wait for the next competition. If I could I would follow them all season.
Fun afternoon, I liked what I was seeing but didnt understand any of it. Anouncer was anoying at times. Existing the place was horrible, took us around 30 mins. Porta Johns were trash!
Certainly requires more talent than they probably get credit for. The course at Long Beach is both challenging for the drivers and very well setup for the spectators. The big screen video feed had problems throughout the event and all seating areas need to utilize the video feed in each heat as no seat see's the whole track all the time. The rules seem arbitrary at times and not applied equally to all participants.
Even if you have never been to drift before, it's fun and action packed but a little on the pricey side. You can see all the cars and drivers up close and personal. Tons of give-aways. The Long Beach event could have been a little better organized. Not enough toilets, and they were too close to the food! and no re-entry between events.
The event was better than I was expecting. I was sick on the day of the even, and I was debating whether I should go or not. My boyfriend talked me into, and I am so glad I went. We had a blast, and are thinking about going to the Las Vegas one!
It was my 1st time and The event was incredible so many cars and also you can meet the drivers and take pictures of all the cars before and after the races I really like it and I'm going 2 the next one in Las Vegas...
The event felt it was being rushed. And the drivers don't seem to be into the race.
Way too many people in way too small of a space. We had good seats (second row center on the end of the aisle) that was the only saving grace. The food & drinks were limited to one area. You had the choice of three stands; BBQ, CPK, & a taco/burrito stand. We opted for the BBQ $10 bean & rice bowl. The pulled pork was big & good, the tri tip was alright but, not enough meat. We also imbibed in $9.00 Coors light at one of the two stands. The bathroom lines were very long and there were not enough of them. The hand washing station ran out of water before the end of the first round of races. There were a lot of concession servers walking around and they seemed to appear right at the race cars came by making a better door than window. (duck) The video coverage was very good and the announcer was very entertaining. Overall I would say you get a better feel of what the drift racing circuit is all about but, I prefer the drift racing "demonstration" put on by the drivers on Sunday at the Grand Prix.
car show was a bit of a let down but the drifting was amazing.
matt powers and daijiro yoshihara rocked streets of long beach,can't wait to see them again at Irwindale in October 7 - 8
This was fun and exciting, and I will be attending the remaining competitions.
Highly recommend, amazing! Must see. See YouTube video.