I think I have found the reason for Drifting

Sorry man but I can't read all of it due to time constraints. I skimmed it though, and I will comment on the point you/your nephew made about drifting being a response to modern cars "not being fun to drive" which I personally think is BS. Thing is, most people who are into drifting drive old ****box nissans and mazdas. How would they know how a modern Ferrari or other performance car feels like? Porsche,BMW, Lotus etc. You ever been to a drift event? All you see are guys who show up in their 20 year old RX7 or fossil Nissan 240sx or old Supra. This sport attracts people with lower income, compared to higher motorsports. People drift because it's fun. They can take their ancient rwd Corolla or whatever and toss in an LSD and have some oversteery fun. It's not some socio political movement against modern cars or something.

 

Drifting is something you do in the Spring, on a Sunday, and you are on the beach here in south Florida, and you suddenly find yourself feeling sleepy, and you "drift away".

There is no purpose to ripping up rubber in a car and call it drifiting. That is really, well, stupid. :}

 

If you're telling me you'd fall asleep driving an F430, 911 GT3, Z06,M5,RS4 etc. especially at the track, then I think you're ****ing crazy.

 

So what can your average teenager do? they CAN'T afford F430's or 911GT3's..etc...

 

That's kind of what my first post addressed. He said that the point of drifting was because "modern cars aren't fun to drive", I then asked how they would know that if most of them drive cars that are 10-20 years old. The whole point of drifting is that it's cheap fun. Well let me rephrase that, cheap compared to most other motorsports.

 

Good to see you back on the site Pete.. Btw my 1750 is nearly complete...

But i tend to agree with you here. Driving the GTV around a track teaches me alot about Racecraft than a 360 does. How cars react to varying surfaces, and tire temps, ambient temps, Different fuels and additives and alot of other variables that exist that are "absorbed" by more modern cars..

But..
Drifting has been around since the late 60's in Regional Japan, and i really think its only come to light since the invention of the Internet and the media that floats around with these japanese guys drifting like nuts everywhere. Also with Cartoons like Initial D and various other Movies and Books.

Drifting really is nothing new over there. But i dont think it was never judged in terms of your drifting ability on those mountain roads. But more of the actual time it took for you to clear the "course". And with how those roads are built, generally the fastest time involved quite alot of drifting.

Overall, i really think Drifting is fun and more fun to watch. But gimme proper "Grip" type racing anyday of the week.

 

Yeah its called "Touge" racing..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touge

Interesting reading uner the Misconceptions area. Might answer a few questions.

 

Personally I have a strong dislike for any "sport" that is judged. It just always seems way to subjective, the controversies and drama……any event that involves judging is for girls or girly men

 

Drifting looks like a fun game for the getto/boombox crowd.

 

Drifting like every other activity has its appeal coming across to those who enjoy it in many ways. To sum it up as "Ha! That's the reason "is near sighted and slightly ridiculous.

And of course people on this forum will trash drifting as a kids way of not being accountable for being slow on a track or for being childish for sliding cars around. While the same people track cars and show up every few weeks for "meets" and "cruises" which can be viewed as equally childish when using the same logic.

Everyone has an opinion but the people on this forum are all right all of the time, so it's no use explaining this to them.

 

I thought it was a grass-roots protest against the curse of front wheel drive.

 

If you think street racing is not about money and being the fastest, you are wrong.

They all race to be the fastest ( 1/4 mile or so..) and they all spend all their money on it.

 

Street racing is not the same as drifting.

 

The idea that track racing is clear cut and gives no excuses for the losers is as far removed from the truth as anything else. Race car drivers always have excuses why they don't win and it's rarely their own ability they question. They will always blame the car or the team or the circumstances or other drivers. Just look at Alonso (sorry, couldn't resist).

 

Hear, hear, racing should be all about precision, which car sets the fastest lap times, which car generates the largest amount of downforce or grip, and which car gets through corners with the least oversteer/understeer while at the same time generating respectable straight line speeds, and by that definition drifting is the most inneficient way to get around a race track that I can think of.

 

The problem with discussing this here is that, honestly, many people on Ferrarichat are old fogies who are unwilling to accept something new and different from the racing that they grew up with before motors were invented .

But really.

 

There ya go.

You see it in business, too: It's about the "process", not the results.

The more I see of the modern world, the more respect I have for "primitive" cultures that had the "right of passage" or "novice time": Forcing a kid to go off to face and overcome a challenge (to build self confidence / self reliance) before declaring him an "adult".

Today's kids have never had to prove to themselves that they're capable of producing results, so the "process" is about not be blamed for the (lack of) results if you check off all the boxes.

 

I saw drifting for the first time at the Long Beach GP and really found it entertaining. Wasn't boring as hell like the Cart race !

 

To nail it down to a singular reason is foolish. To dismiss at something as a result of not wanting to beat is also foolish. The modern take on drifting gets taken from Japan where there are always very real winners and losers in drifting and the Japanese culture is one of extreme conflict, testing, proving and competition in almost all respects. Its born out of that, not out of the feel good 'everybody wins and we don't keep score' culture that your generation is raising.* Drifting is most definitely about competition, producing results and being better than the next person as much as it is about have fun. In the same kind of manner that competitive dancing, ice skating and gymnastics is about being a better performer than the next person. How its rated is less concrete, yet that doesn't stop it from being about being the best.

*Yeah, your generation. Kids born in the past 20 years all have you guys as their parents, teachers, instructors, coaches etc... You want to blame someone for the modern bull****, blame yourselves thanks.**

** Yeah for generalizing \o/