The Formula Drift Championship Explained
Entering its second season, Formula Drift Championship, produced and owned by Irvine, Calif.-based Formula Drift, Inc., continues to expand into new markets as the first and only sanctioned and recognized North American professional drifting championship series (sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing). This high-skilled, high-powered motor sport where drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into well executed, controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, has more than 30 professional drivers competing in all six competitions this year. A well established sport in Japan for more than a decade, Formula Drift, Inc. and its sister company Slipstream Global Marketing, Inc. had the vision and were instrumental in bringing the first official competition to the United States in 2003 at Irwindale Speedway. The unanticipated fan interest led to the rapid formation of the first ever, sanctioned and recognized drifting circuit, Formula Drift, which had its roots firmly grounded in Southern California, a hotbed for incoming Japanese-influence automotive trends. An important part of the program involves community outreach. Drivers and Formula D serve as the ambassador for the sport of drifting bringing exhibitions to traditional or mainstream motor sports events across the country which have included: Bridgestone Monterey Grand Prix/Champ Car Race, USAC, NASCAR Busch North & Featherlite Southwest and the SPEED World Challenge, among others.
In addition another 100-200 local team drivers will join in local markets to test their skills and techniques with the pros. Judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, Drifting is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and is often compared to the freestyle nature of skateboarding and motocross.
Drivers and Formula Drift also serves as ambassadors for the sport of drifting bringing exhibitions to traditional or mainstream motor sports events across the country which have included: Bridgestone Monterey Grand Prix/Champ Car Race, USAC, NASCAR Busch North & Featherlite Southwest and the SPEED World Challenge, among others.
More Formula Drift Fast Facts
Formula D has the largest number of tire manufactures involved that any other motorsport series in the world. First drifting championship to be featured in a major video game with title sponsor EA Games First drifting championships to be sponsored by non-endemic companies including EA Games and Circuit City First drifting championship to have works teams (auto maker supported).
Drifting is the latest import from Japan, but it’s not a car or a truck. Drifting is a type of motorsport, and it’s arguably the most exciting form of motorsports around.
Ford Racing Performance Parts continues to be in on the action, entering its second season in drifting competition with driver Ken Gushi behind the wheel of a 2006 Mustang GT. And with the recent opening of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" in theaters across the country, the sport is poised to explode in popularity. So what is drifting all about?
The name comes from the actual technique that is employed to make a car "drift" around the racecourse. To observers, drifting appears as if the rear end of the car is trying to swap ends with the front. The goal is for the driver to balance steering and throttle to control the car’s drift and direction in a four-wheeled slide.
Although racing drivers have been using controlled drifts as a technique since the 1930s, drifting as its own form of motorsport began in Japan more than 20 years ago. Drifting in the United States officially began in 1996 in California and has become extremely popular with younger fans here and in Europe and Australia.
Today, drifting is an organized competition, with drivers piloting rear-wheel-drive cars to see who can keep sliding sideways the longest. Winners in drifting competitions are judged on the angle, line, speed and show factor of the drift.
"Angle" is the angle the car takes around the track; the more the rear end hangs out, the better. "Line" refers to taking the correct line around the track and is usually determined beforehand by the judges. "Speed" consists of the car’s speed entering, going through and exiting a turn. "Show factor" actually is judged by a variety of factors, such as the amount of tire smoke, closeness of the car to the wall and reaction of the crowd.
Gushi’s Ford Racing Mustang, sponsored by Toyo Tires and the Gushi Auto team, competes in the Need for Speed Formula D (for "drift") Championship, and looks to improve on the driver’s third-place finish in 2005. The 2006 Mustang GT Toyo Tires/Ford Racing drift car is powered by a 600-horsepower, supercharged, 4.6-liter V-8 from the Ford Racing Performance Parts crate-engine catalog. The engine teams up with a T-56 six-speed transmission, which is also available in the catalog.
"Rear-wheel drive and a powerful V-8 make the Mustang a great car for competing in drifting events," says Andy Slankard, engineering supervisor, Ford Racing.
At the most recent Formula D competition — June 10 at Soldier Field in Chicago — Gushi drove the 2006 Mustang GT drift car to a sixth-place finish.
"There are four more events, and we are still in a position to do well," says Slankard. "We continue to dial in the car, and we are confident we’ll be on the podium at the finals in Irwindale, California, in October."