Professional flamboyance

Back in the days when I was still relying on a PC, the local vendor bundled mine with a copy of Need for Speed: Underground. I had a choice of Japanese makes and models to choose from, ranging from “rice rockets” like the Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza to bona fide sports cars like the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, and Honda S2000. The format of the game had you competing against the computer in a series of races, upgrading your car as you went along until you finished the game with a mega-horsepower car and more money in the bank than you could burn.

One of my favorite “races” was the drift challenge. Whatever car I had, I was given several laps to go through a tight course, the objective being to throw the car around, drifting from corner to corner, and earning more points with every lurid slide. A lot of fun, and something I wouldn’t do with a real car, at least one that I owned.

But this guy does the real thing: David Feliciano of the DMF Drift Team. By the time this comes out in print, he will have completed the first leg of the Formula Drift 2009 series in Thailand. Formula Drift is recognized as the first official North American professional championship drifting series. In this series, rear-wheel drive cars are judged based on style and execution through a course as opposed to the fastest course completion time.

Drifting began as an underground sport in Japan a decade ago, but now it enjoys a strong following around the world. Professional and amateur drifting events take place in Europe, Australia, and in the US. In Asia it is recognized as the fastest growing motorsport in the region.

So how did David end up going sideways? A self-taught mechanic who learned to drive at the age of 11, David opened his first garage in 1993, specializing in race-prepped cars. Starting out with slalom, autocross, rally, and “Run what you Brung” events, David found his calling in drifting when he built his first-ever drift car in 2004: a Toyota Levin AE86. Today his company DMF Motorsports focuses on Nissan Cefiros, Sylvias, and Skylines; high-performance, rear-wheel drive cars with pumped-up motors to break the rear tires loose and suspensions carefully tuned to keep the tail drift-happy.

What makes him special is that, from a talented driver of a form of motorsport with a sort-of cult following, he has finally gotten the support of a corporate entity: Goodyear Philippines. This is important, because a drift car goes through its tires at a rate of 40 units in a weekend of competition. Even though a drift car looks like it is out of control, the reality is that the driver is balancing the car on the threshold between grip and slamming into the barriers. So, what you need is a tire that can let go when you want it to, then hook up again when it’s time to change direction. I’m told that for their Thailand adventure, the team will be using Goodyear’s best products: the Eagle Revspec RS-02, Eagle RS Sport, and the Eagle F1 Assymetric. Do the math and you know that Goodyear is not handing out peanuts.

Now, depending on your preferences, drifting is either the best thing to happen to motorsport since those 80s and 90s weekend slalom events, or it’s a profligate waste of resources. Here we have a sport that has very little practical application to real world driving. You rev the engine, pop the clutch, and away you go. You get no points for finishing a course in the fastest time possible. You get the most points for performing the most flamboyant drifts from corner to corner, which means you are really working that car into the ground. To my knowledge, no “serious” racer – F1, NASCAR, World Rally, Touring Car – has ever won by driving the car sideways all of the time. It’s just more time-consuming. But here’s the thing: it’s a lot of fun to watch. If your idea of aural excitement is the constant howling of tires in symphony with the revving of an engine, then drifting is your kind of spectator sport. If you like to see a car going down a straight lane at an angle that defies logic, then drifting is for you.

As I’ve recently found out, there are many ways to induce a drift aside from using power oversteer. There is the “Kansei Drift”, the “Braking Drift”, the “Faint Drift”, the “Jump Drift”, and the “Swaying Drift”, among others. There is apparently a science to all this style, and it takes a certain kind of driver to get his car to do all sorts of insane things that would race eyebrows at the Skip Barber Racing School (where they teach traditional forms of motorsport). A drifter is not born overnight. Just as with any sport, it takes practice, practice, and more practice, which means the backing of a corporate sponsor is crucial to providing a team the means with which to hone their craft.

Thailand will have been David’s first venture into the world of professional motorsport, and competition included leading drift racers such as New Zealand’s “Mad Mike”, 2004 D1 Grand Prix champion Ryuji Miki, and Thailand’s own Jatuphon Manpatarapong and Nakorn Cotravivat. After Thailand, David heads off to Malaysia for the next leg this December.

Can a Filipino succeed in a sport where teams with the biggest budgets normally rule? Goodyear’s support is a start, and if all goes well we may have a Filipino making waves in international motorsport while going sideways.

Here are some of your Backseat Driver reactions to last week’s “Told You So” by Lester Dizon…

Ever wondered why Congress has not acted on wanton violations of traffic laws? It’s because they are some of the biggest violators of traffic laws. Sa kalsada eh parang sila lang ang anak ng Diyos at pag aari nila ito. Every time I see those government officials arrogantly weaving in and out of traffic with wang wangs and all, I always hope and pray na mas lalo sila maipit sa traffic or madisgrasya sila ng grabe pero wala madamay na ibang motorista.       – lubin502

I agree with your post, lubin502. Ang mga tao sa gobyerno lalo na yung mga nasa taas sila ang nagpapakita ng masamang example kaya sumusunod din ibang mga government agency sa ginagawa nila. Hindi nila iniisip paano makapagsilbi sa mga bumoto sa kanila kundi paano sila aangat sa dapat pagsilbihan nila.   – colossus

We should be vigilant against the violators of one way streets, no parking zone, counter flowing cars. Do what I do, I throw coins at these cars that do counter flow, scratch the cars that are parked illegally or blocking the road. Teach them a lesson that they will never forget. Believe me, there will be less of them.       – bebesy

Ever since the MMDA including the LGUs took over the management and enforcement of traffic, it has become anarchy and a free for all out there. The traffic enforcers of the MMDA and LGUs are useless, inept and inutile in their job and just a waste of taxpayers’ money. The PNP particularly the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), the NCRPO-TEG and other PNP Traffic Bureaus/Departments/Units should be re-deputized and be in charge of enforcing all laws including misdemeanor ones.     – dodgie_crim

I’ll just repeat my previous comment months ago that if words can kill I would have killed so many reckless drivers especially those behind the wheels of PUB, PUJ and tricycles who don’t give a damn if they are endangering other people’s lives for their recklessness and disregard for traffic rules and regulations. My wife often gets nervous whenever she sees me agitated and ready to explode at any moment whenever I encounter these reckless drivers.        – wildreader26