Editorial. Although this is only a two day event, I
got personally involved by having my friend and Formula Drift 2010
World Champion, Vaughn Giddin Jr., come on to our
Live Radio Show on Garage71 May 5th. This apparently kicked
off a wave of excitement with our listeners and they showed up in
droves. I saw so many faces that I know from the area who came to
this drift event for the first time. The volume of activity on our
website of photo and video postings shattered the previous record.
I think Professional Drifting is reaching the main stream, the
heart pounding excitement of door handle to door handle competition
and the non stop action of the rounds with long intermission breaks
to permit a lunch break or go into the hot pits to see the drivers
and teams up close, I think this is going to get bigger. The
lead article from Stephanie Gullion is a fresh look from some one
that had never been to a drift event before.
Photo by Jason Cole Story by Stephanie
Gullion.
Showing up at Road Atlanta’s
Formula Drift 2011 around noon on Saturday,
I had no idea what to expect.
Most tuners would roll their eyes when I reveal that
the only drift knowledge I came with on Saturday was from…yes,
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. And I had just enough
common sense to know that there would be no parking decks to tear
through and no mountainside showdowns to decide who would leave
town, so that wasn’t going to be much help. But by race’s end at
9:30 that night, thanks to the help of my motor mentor, Miguel, and
some new friends from the crowd, I not only understood drifting,
but couldn’t wait to see more!
My
afternoon at Road Atlanta’s Formula Drift began with a tour
of the pits with racing veteran, Miguel Caparros. For any newcomer
to the sport, I strongly recommend you get to the track early to
check out the cars (and get a bunch of free merchandise, take a
passenger seat drift ride, and enjoy photo ops with the sponsors’
lovely ladies). Drifting is nothing like your average car
event—cars go through the track in tandem, and being first to the
finish line is not the objective, that’s why getting an up-close
look at the inside of the cars goes a long way to understanding
what’s important on the track. How many other racing styles involve
applying the hand brake and body kits that are designed to fall off
the car on impact? The sponsors’ spokesmen are always nearby eager
to answer questions (and plug their products of course).
Although
the professionals weren’t set to face-off until 4 o’clock, the
practice (beginning at 2) was nearly as exciting as the main event.
It is clear that the drivers love what they do, and aren’t going to
miss any chance to show off their skills and get the crowd pumped
up. By the time practice got started, the track was already packed
and the scene was one giant party—with tents, grilling, and
drinking.
Unlike
other racing styles and events with long-standing traditions and
unspoken etiquette, newcomers to Road Atlanta’s Formula
Drift were enthusiastically welcomed by the crowd and the
announcer clearly explained the rules and judging decisions
throughout the event so that no one was left to guess what was
going on. With only a 12-year history in the United States (the
8th year at Road Atlanta), everyone involved is eager to
help the drift following grow to keep events like this coming back
and bring more to the area.
As for
the heats themselves, well you just had to be there or watch the
videos on South East Wheels Events . Suffice it to say,
they didn’t disappoint! Ranging from over-eager drivers skidding
straight into the “kitty-litter” on the first turn, to perfectly
synchronized runs, to mechanical failure and even a fiery wreck,
Formula Drift at Road Atlanta, literally had it
all.
While I
don’t feel that my day-long immersion into drift car racing
qualifies me to go into the subtleties of the sport, if you’re
interested in finding out more, I encourage you to check out
Formula Drift’s website (http://www.formulad.com/) and
www.drifting.com to learn
more and catch a live streaming of Formula Drift events.
Hope to see you next year for Road Atlanta’s Formula Drift
2012!
Here is
the perspective from our Photographer and accomplished drag racer
Jason Cole
The south
gets....Smokey!
That's right , if you
noticed the haze in the sky around Atlanta this weekend don't
worry...we was all up in smoke after a few of the 800+ Hp beast at
Road Atlanta roasted their tires ! May 6th & 7th Road Atlanta
hosted round 2 of Formula Drift , a 7 round drifting competition
that started April 8th in Long Beach California and will end in
Irwindale ,California Oct. 8th . This makes the 8th year Road
Atlanta has hosted the Formula Drift event and word from the web is
they have
confirmed a 3 year extension for this completely
intense show of driving skill ! Friday started off with Pro/Am
practice and qualifying ,which is held in the turn 10 complex of
the track. A cool bit of info I heard announced is that 8 years ago
the horseshoe ( 10b) was created just for this event ! A starting
line that's a straight shot downhill where the goal (points wise)
is to hit 80mph before the left-hand turn,and if you mess up just a
little...you end up in the gravel ,which is nickThat'snamed "Kitty
litter" and a few found it on both days ! The right-hand to
left-hand turn into the horseshoe is uphill until the exit which
made for some of the best full throttle high rpm drifts , the smoke
clouds would sometimes hide spectators on the other side of the
track...it was just too cool ! Another little extra Friday was
seeing F2000 series race, it went down during the break in drifting
action. Saturday , well... was PACKED out. I thought by getting
there early I would find a good parking spot , haha never mind the
spot I had a hard time with the crowds of fans along the road.
Making my way to the pit's to cover that scene I noticed the
diverse fan base, young to old , mostly all carrying or wearing
Nitto,Hankook,Falken etc. gear. Trying to capture the scene and get
good pic's in this highly crowded area I used my wide angle lens
& my height to my advantage lol . Most of the drivers &
crew could be met down there..just hanging out tweaking on the
cars, prepping for the big day. The Formula Drift scene knows how
to show their fan's a good time, I was even able to meet many of
the drivers, not to mention Vaughn Gitten Jr (2010 FD Champ) , you
know I got a pic with him ! This event makes you feel so apart of
the sport (minus the driving haha) that you just stay entertained
all day. When it came time for the main competition of a field of
32 the bleachers were packed , and you could feel the excitement
all around. The sun was setting creating a warm glow on the track
and when the cars put up all that smoke and made the turn out of
the horseshoe their headlights would barley creep through the cloud
, just making for such a cool sight to see & hear ! If anyone
gets a chance to go to a Formula Drift event (or any drift event)
don't miss out, it's a cool motor sport that's fun to watch ...and
to be apart of !
If you want to see more of Jason's Photos Click
Here!
