It’s becoming harder and harder to think of a time where drifting wasn’t on our radar. For most of us, we’ve been aware of the art of gracefully sliding a car for the last ten years or so, give or take anyway. With the novelty having now worn off, I think we’re long overdue a rational discussion on what drifting means to each of us, and where we think it should go in the future…
From a personal point of view, I owe quite a lot to drifting. It’s because of the hard work of the Irish Drifting Championship that I find myself working with Speedhunters today. I’ve been lucky enough to travel far and wide to witness drivers destroy rubber and I’ve met some of my best friends because of it. But over the last couple of years I’ve become disillusioned by it. I’ve lost interest in competition drifting as I’ve become bored of the never-ending saga of controversial decisions. It’s an inherent flaw in the sport that every run is judged subjectively, but it’s something that we either need to a) get over or b) find an alternative non-subjective way of judging a run.
In saying that, I can’t remember anything in quite some time that put as big a smile on my face as watching Aasbø and Tuerck run the pit wall at Gatebil earlier this year. Even watching Mad Mike do his thing at Mantorp Park, enjoying his drifting outside the pressure of competition was a pleasure to watch. As a spectator you really sense when the guys are enjoying themselves without worrying about qualifying or advancing to the next bracket. I guess for me, that’s what the real spirit of drifting is about. Pushing yourself and your car to the limits in the company of good friends.
So what does drifting mean to you?
Paddy McGrath
Twitter: @PaddyMcGrathSH
Instagram: speedhunters_paddy
paddy@speedhunters.com