What is drifting? A deep dive into the art of driving sideways (2024)

Car drifting is one of the fastest-growing subdisciplines within motorsport, as smoking tyres and mind-blowing driving manoeuvres continue to fascinate. Many young people will know about drifting from The Fast and the Furious films, but as a motorsport, it goes much further back than the movie franchise. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about drifting.

Drifting is a sport that focuses on a particular driving technique of the same name, which has been used in other well-known motorsports, such as rally and speedway racing, for numerous years. Car drifting is all about using oversteer to get the vehicle to drive sideways through corners. This has to happen at a high speed and while the driver remains in full control of the car.

Learn about the basics of drifting by watching the video below:

There are numerous championships held around the world, but perhaps the most prestigious is Drift Masters (DM).

DM features top drivers – such as young Irishman Conor Shanahan – who compete in six events spread across challenging and stunning locations. Below is a list of the six rounds taking place this year, including when and where they are held. All rounds can be watched on RedBull TV.

Watch two stars of the DM, Johannes and Elias Hountondji, go head-to-head in a tight race in 2018.

Theoretically, every single car is capable of drifting. However, cars that are equipped with rear-wheel drive are particularly good at this technique. A four-wheel drive can also make a good drift car.

Ideally, the car should have manual gears for the driver to exploit its full potential. The only way to do this is by having complete control of both gears and the clutch.

Professional drift cars usually rely on a special differential that distributes and balances the power between the front and rear axles. In addition, drivers have no driving aids such as ABS (anti-lock braking system) or TCS (traction control) in order to maintain full control of their cars at all times.

Which tyres are best for drifting?

Drifting requires more than just a few sets of tyres, as the technique quickly wears the rubber down. To get started with drifting, you can buy relatively cheap, run-in rear tyres and invest a bit more in the front tyres, as they are crucial for grip, traction and control in corners.

For the front tyres, professionals usually use ones with good grip or even slicks – tyres that have no profile. In addition, the tyre pressure has a big impact and greatly depends on the specific vehicle, as well as personal preferences.

Drifting can be traced back to the 1980s. However, it's been known as a driving technique used in other motorsports since the 1950s. Drifting as a unique racing discipline started in Japan with Kunimitsu Takahashi, who is widely considered the 'father of drifting'. Takahashi, a former motorcycle racer who even competed in Formula 1 in 1977, made a name for himself in Japanese touring car racing, where he became known for his distinctive driving style.

At a time when most racing drivers feared severe oversteer in their cars, Takahashi took advantage of his car's behaviour to drift through corners at a high speed, earning him a number of titles along the way.

However, drifting is mostly associated with the name Keiichi Tsuchiya, also known as the 'Drift King', who adopted the style from his role model in the Japanese Touring Car Championship. First and foremost, to inspire the audience. He became known through the 'Plupsy' videos published in 1987, in which he used his Toyota Corolla Levin to drift on public roads, thereby causing serious hype in Japan.

It took a while before the wave of drift enthusiasm moved from the east to the west. It wasn't until the mid-1990s, 1996 to be precise, that the first drift event outside of Japan took place at Willow Springs Raceway in California, USA.

The first world championship in drifting was the RedBull Drifting World Championship, held in 2008. It took place in Long Beach, California, and found its first champion in New Zealand's Rhys Millen.

In contrast to classic circuit races, where the tracks are several kilometres long, the distances for drift tracks are much shorter. Usually only a few hundred meters long, the drift race track consists of as many curves as possible lined up next to each other.

The straight sections in between allow the cars to pick up speed in order to slide through the upcoming corners at the highest possible speed and with a high drift angle.

Unlike other motorsport disciplines, neither lap, stage times nor placement on the track plays a role in the overall score. But how do you even go about rating a car that is drifting sideways through corners?

For this particular purpose, the so-called judges are used when drifting. You will typically find three of them present at an event. They evaluate both the qualifying and final runs of a drift event based on four core criteria:

• The speed and fluidity: the faster and more fluid a drift runs, the more points you get.

• The drift angle: the larger the angle, the more points there are. A good instinct is required here because there are hardly any points if the angle is too low. If the angle is too high, the car may slow down.

• The line: Before any event, the judges inform the drivers about the ideal line. Certain points have to be approached on the track, sometimes with the front, sometimes with the rear. The more precisely you are able to stick to this line, the higher the score.

• The style: The most important criteria when drifting. How precisely is the drift initiated? Do you have to make corrections often? Do you drive a lot at full throttle? All of this goes into the fourth score.

In the so-called twin battles, the supreme discipline of drift sports, two drivers are on the same track at the same time. Two laps are driven, in each of which one vehicle is in the lead (leader) and the other one behind (chaser).

In twin battles, the evaluation is based on the four criteria mentioned above, in which the leader should score as many points as possible. An additional proximity rating is added for the pursuer. Here the judges make sure that you stay as close as possible to the person in front without touching them.

Watch a special kind of twin below battle when renowned drifter Abdo Feghali took on freerunner Mohammad Al Attar.

No. Drifting on public roads is illegal and can result in hefty fines or even jail. As a sport, drifting belongs on the race track.

Yes. In numerous countries, you will find dedicated tracks for drifting. Here you can familiarise yourself with the basics or level up if you already have the fundamentals in place.

Discussing what makes a good drift racer, veteran racer Johannes Hountondji says: "Good coordination helps, as does a certain level of basic fitness and a healthy level of responsiveness. You can train all of that."

Besides the real-life race tracks, there are also virtual drifting games that present a realistic simulation of what it feels like to drive a drift car. "In order to initiate a drift, you have to go just over the limits of the car. You have to get used to that - simulations help with that," reveals Johannes Hountondji.

Excellent options include games such as DRIFT21, Assetto Corsa, GRID Legends or CarX Drift Racing Online.