Kru Jones, thank you very much. The transition from play time to game time is still a little difficult for me. It is more drifting with others to learn their style then anything when tadem insues. You can be the best solo drifter, but having little knowledge of your competitor can leave you knocked out very early. Keep in mind your competitor and study their line, angle and speed. There will be a lot of adjustment on your part as the follower due to the fact that every driver, let alone drifter, have different driving/drifting styles. Once you have understood their line of attck and follow thru you will be able to make your adjustments before they do in order to keep your proxemity close and your mirror image closer. If you have the ability to be a great follow drifter the advantage will fall on you in most instances. As the lead drifter you just have to run your fastest line with great angle and style. To achieve great style you must have you transitions smooth yet snappy, wheels angled at all time, hitting your apexis on the mark, staying within the course (sometimes more difficult than what it seems), good proximity to walls and using the whole course to its full extent. Watching from the sidelines and studying is the easy part. Having all this information going threw your head and still being able to have the car under your complete control will make you a very fierce competitor. To be a decent or even a good competitor you must have a good understanding of all of these fields.
Cost of these events all depends on where you are located and how far you are willing to travel. With drift season around the corner for me, I have took all the schedules that are out for the circuits in my surrounding area and mapped out the best plan for my funding, travel time, seat time, and potential for growth, not only for myself but, for our team and everyone involved. In your situation I would look to where your closest events are and plan your time accordingly. Request your time off of work, have everything ready a few days in advance, have a backup plan in case you destroy your car, take it easy, have fun, ask the hard questions, ask the easy questions for that matter, keep you mind focused and body fluid. Hitting grassroot parking lot events is the cheapest it will ever be. Even saving up if you have to for just the one or two a year you may be able to hit is still worth the time because, drifting can give you a lot of defencive driving to boot. That will translate into avoiding a potential wreck that can safe a lot more then anyone can afford.
DOSE ROCKS, sorry for your loss with VW, I know the feeling. Glad to hear the car was the only loss. Being in a ride along is great fun and it seems that you have already started to get involved with drifting. By being apart of your friends and their trials you are already there. Thank you for your support!
SlimyTurt1e, thank you for your kind words.
xI Berserker lx, Formula D ATL is the only FD event that is close enough for my friends and I to attend. It is an awesome spectical to see and be a part of. We have been down there 3 out of the last 4 years and are gearing up for this year. If you see us come over and say, “HEY!” or not it’s ok. Thank you, 2014 will be another great year!
B66ST, there where a lot of times I wished that I could have given and there were a few times were I asked one of my friends to do the work for me as I was not having any success with that particular issue. The thrill of the chase for the passion of racing keeps a strong hold of me and that is what I think keeps me in the game. There are times when I think I not doing good, but I get a little insight on where I need to do better and most of the time it works. If you see something your bother could do better let him know. He could go from “not actually drifting” to beast mode in a few events. On another note those are some nice cars to play with. I know a few people would drool over the chance to drive a Starion.
