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HOW DRIFTING STARTED
Keiichi Tsuchiya began racing at a young age
as most great drivers do. As he was learning
to drive he began experimenting with the side-brake
or E-brake lever. Sliding the rear end of
the car out and counter-steering was fun and
taught him the basis of car control. Unlike
many great race car drivers he did not go
to a racing school or have a rich family that
was into racing scene that would nurture his
racing talents. He just had a racing passion
to drive. Driving through local mountain roads
he began to build a sense of where the car
needs to be at each turn to achieve maximum
speed through a corner. This not being a smart
way of learning to race, nevertheless he learned
much from running (Touge) mountain pass roads.
From time to time, he found himself off a
cliff with his KPGC10 Skyline or against the
side of a wall. Having snow in the wintertime
trained him to drive well on loose surface
conditions enhancing again his car control
skill. The more he drove on these roads and
conditions of various road surfaces he began
to get comfortable with sliding his car through
a corner. He started to drift not because
it was a quicker way around a corner but it
was the most exciting way.
Enter the Drift King
Drifting a car through a corner is not the
fastest way around most of the turns, any
racecar driver will tell you straight out.
This is where Keiichi Tsuchiya was crowned
the Dori Kin or Drift King. In Option drift
contests; style and technique are evaluated
for exhibition values. Lately, contests have
been judged on racing lines and setup for
multiple-corner drifting, this is more difficult.
Back in 1977 Keiichi began his racing career
driving many different cars in amateur racing
series events. Racing these underpowered cars
was difficult but again a great learning experience.
Later, Keiichi was picked up to drive the
ADVAN sponsored AE86/ 1984 Corolla GTS. During
many races on a downhill corner, he would
drift the car and carry a better corner speed
than his competitors. This technique is what
made him the Drift King not as most believe
that he was first in the drift scene. As he
proved his style of driving his reputation
grew.
He is a racecar driver now and still takes
to the mountains for illegal racing this also
made his reputation grow. After videos featuring
him and his persistent mountain running/drifting,
his driver’s license was suspended!
For a professional racecar driver this was
embarrassing. Unknowingly this worked to his
advantage, his fan base and frame began to
expand. You could say that he is a rebel of
some sort or because he was just a person
who went from nowhere to success out of determination
with no racing background. He is still a bond
for an old car that he grew up racing, drifting,
and winning with, the Toyota AE86. Toyota
itself also felt that he is the person to
represent the car most and presented him a
restored AE86 through TRD.
WHO CAN JOIN?
Drivers who are holders of a Philippine driver’s
license, an international license or a racing
license are eligible to compete.
Minors should have written permission from
parents or guardians to participate in the
competition.
WHAT CARS CAN COMPETE?
-Cars must be constructed and released for
sale to the public from an automobile maker.
-Only FR, MR, or FF drive-trains are allowed.
-Vehicles constructed by an automobile maker
solely for the purpose of racing are prohibited
from participating.
RECOMMENDED CARS:
TOYOTA COROLLA (DX, AE86, STARLET, LIFTBACK),
ISUZU GEMINI, OPEL (RECORD, MANTA) LANCER
(BOX TYPE, L TYPE) MAZDA (MIATA, RX7), NISSAN
(CEFIRO, 180SX , 200 SX, 240 SX, 350 Z) AND
SO ON... |
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