Drifting

Drifting started in the 1990s when a few Japanese race car drivers experimented with doing power slides going down a hill outside Tokyo. This style of driving caught on and was made even more popular with the Japanese manga Initial D. Drifting is often considered grass root motorsport since all you need is a rear wheel drive car and a LSD. Peoples started buying old cars and modified the suspension to learn how to drift. This sport has now grown to the global level where drifters from across the world compete in international competitions for recognition, bragging rights and reputation.

What was once considered a cheap motorsport to get into has now progressed to a relatively expensive sport like any other motorsport. Old rear wheel drive models that were once considered old and out of date with little residual value became popular and the prices started going up. The best example was the Toyota Levin AE-86 and the Nissan Silvia S13, 14 and 15. These cars had the right platform for drifting but needed some modifications to the suspension and a LSD. As the sport grew the cars became more powerful, more sophisticated and had more modifications. Drifting exploded globally when drifting started in the US and the sport was commercialized. The Formula Drift races are televised creating the necessary exposure for the sport.

Driver skill and car setup were the most critical factors in drifting. It is not uncommon to see drifters and newbie drifters practicing their skills in empty car parks and empty streets. The secret to drifting is the ability to balance and control the car when it is going side ways. It is not as simple as merely pulling the park brake after turning the steering wheel. It takes skill, feel and courage to make a car go fast side ways. Drifting is like losing control of the car while still in control. Too much throttle input will cause the car to spin, too little throttle input the car will not drift, too much steering input the car will spin, too little steering input may also cause the car to spin.. there are many factors to consider and all this happen in a split second.

I personally have seen several people try to practice their drifting after rain at the Securities Commission car park. I have also seen drifter who practiced at the wrong place and ended up driving their car into ditches or large drains.
Malaysia despite being a small country has some of the best drifters in the region. Malaysian drifters have regularly finished in the top 4 in region competitions and some have even made it to the top 16 in US competitions.

These days drifting can be divided into various categories. Tandem drifting competitions where two cars will drift side by side. Long drift where car and drivers compete to see who can hold the longest drift.
Drifting is now the fastest growing motorsport in the world and it is open to men and women. It is also one of the best spectator sport in the motorsport world.