Drift Australia

[bubba]

and has the same social standing too i guess you will venture. remember, guns and cars kill people...

Muchly so, public perception is somewhat disappointing. I recently played in a round of the largest national tournament series in Australia and while I had an awesome time, there were maybe 20 spectators over the whole weekend We did however come 3rd out the 10 teams in the Am division.. not bad for our first tournament

Seriously though, drifting is a fledgling sport much like paintball is. It is going to be a long, hard road to achieve the same sort of recognition that some of the more established sports possess. Being that our sports are of an *alternative* or *extreme* nature certainly doesn't help public opinion.

[Taxi33]

When the first full lock event was held at calder park a few years ago

there was d1 drifters that came down and drove around a bit, it was so damn

exciting !

I wish they really would have some round in Australia hehe. I guess the whole fact

of.. we have no tracks! kind of sucks.

But then again, apparently something is happening around the cranbourne area?

[m3gtr]

Don't kid yourself, no motor sport comes close to the popularity of AFL and rugby (and soccer in all those more educated countries than our simple own).

steve what are you on about? you seem to forget F1 is one of, if not almost , THE biggest and richest sport in the world.

last time i checked F1 was motorsport... AFL is a drop in the ocean compared to it.

Drift in australia cannot grow if it keeps up with the bullshit arrogant attitudes i always see and whoever made the comment about presentation was spot on and that the majority of drivers and cars look like someone dragged them from the shed out back after years of neglect and decided to see if the stuff still fit.

Drivers should wear proper racing suits and full face helmets. seeing them in a polo and a stack hat was insulting. No ones going to take the sport seriously, rather laugh at it when it tries to act tough.

Taking your analogy one or perhaps 20 steps further Steve, this bumbling, pant crapping ankle biter actually told me to "fork orf or ill cave your ed' in!"

i was "this" close to backhanding the runt across the room but thought better of it because his beer guzzling, V8 loving, wife beater of a father was within spitting distance. And all the dirty bastard did was lift his tinnie at the boy and say "chip off the ol' block arent ya, mate?"

i promptly left the room and the country, in fact, in total disgust...

[ish]

First you need some champions , then you need followers , then you need people with vision and money, then u need Tv to make money out of it so it can perpetuate it's self .

Australia is screwed on population and venues in Drift for a start because we are dont have the spoondoolies or the numbers to create extra viable Comps/seasons outside what 7, 9 and 10 use to make advertising dollars with.

I believe Baby boomers control most of what is allowed to come to fruition on these level's Eg. V8 supa car,afl, Nrl, tennis,cricket swimming because they control the corperate $$$ and media while most other sports are fairly sectioned of to the followers (underground you might say)

If your drifting sport was good enuff to draw the small amount of people in this country that we have away from there V8 supa car , tennis etc then it may take off.

Bottom line ...drifting although spectacular cant develope the money because not enuff people are into it and the magority(being the cashed up people) in this country dont want to see it.

Japan and the US have massive populations which can carry many sports because of the money it can generate from so many more fans .

its a shame really that we are still so small ....

I dont have any answers for the pekers trying it on the street in dangerous situations..... i bet even with a scene you would still have these people trying to show off.

[GTS4WD]

m3gtr - Its a fantastic outspeak on something so accepted within our growing community and a great comment on the population at large.

But.. I think what you have failed to see is that, in Japan, Drifting has been around since the late 70's and early 80's. Here its pucked up since the very late 90's. We are still many years behinde the Japanese in so many respects to drifting.

I love the notion of a few mates gathering together, and driving up to the local mountain pass/industrial area etc. to enhance their skills, share experiences and knowledge etc. on this strange motorsport. I beleive it is this key area that Australia has skipped out on. It is due to these very small groups of grass root drifters that involve their friends and family in drifting that make high class drifters so ideolised.

I feel that because Australia has skipped this essential step we loose much of what drifting is all about. Going through Beer Barrons photo's of his trip to Japan i notice thats its this shared passion of motorsport and modification that brings people together. It is this notion of an "underground" society sheded in darkness in quiet areas of the city that make drifting what it is.

Australia has taken very well to drifting. Going on 10 years now, many of us have taken it to heart. We have even put our own spin on it with ever increasing numbers of "traditional" aussie cars such as commies becoming involved in the drift events. But thats where it stops. The events. At times there is more emphasis made on sponsors, products, show girls and advertisement. Dont get me wrong, sponsorship is what elevates a sport to a large level. But thats not what we need, we missed that oh so essential "underground sport" phase that has made difting what it is.

This notion of "underground sport" appeals to every single revv head imaginable. I think what the sport, spectators and entrants need to do is to simplify the sport to this minimalistic level so as to truely admire what the sport is about.

It will take many years from now for the larger mass to accept this sport, but there is hope, and its very strong too. Similar to drifting, drag racing started out the same, at a grass rrots, underground level. Now look at it! Australia is a country full of petrol heads! Look at the V8's. One of the biggest days on the whole calendar is Bathurst. Everyone loves it. It is this already embedded passion australians have that will drive drfting to the same level as these other sports.

Thats just my 2cs on it.

I hope it acctually explores something truthful in this post.

[Trust33]

well i have never seen any underground drifting.nor have i heard of any.the masses of drifters do it at the track in australia and thats for real.sure we have all had a thrash on the street.though,we dont really congregate as a drifting community out side of the track to participate in drfiting like japan does like you say in the mountains on the sweeping passes,or really the industrial areas of sydney.unless,we have a freind or friends that are into drifting that we know.it is hard to find in syd.

though take a look at drag racing on the street in syd and the story is allot different too drifting.there are lots of meetups and it happens allmost every weekend.but there are allso allot of the street racers who dont take it to the track have,only been once and never been again.

i have a laugh at the street racer who have never been to see a top fuel meeting.it is a sight to behold.they think they have the best car out there.

well back to the topic of drifting.----------------------->>>>

[Rabid]

Any sport IMO that is based around a judges decision is highly overated.

There are tons of judged sports out there that are highly popular. I'm sure you have all heard of the X-Games. Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Skiing, Dirt Bike stunts etc.

In order to get any bigger in Australia IMO you've got to appeal to the V8 brigade more... ALOT more.

In Formula D (US drift) there are plenty of V8's and bigger. In fact, I don't think a Japanese car has won a championship yet. We have GTO's, Vipers, Mustangs, even an old El Camino. It makes for a lot more competition. Some of the top Japanese drivers are also joining in the mix now as well.

[Rezz]

We have GTO's, Vipers, Mustangs, even an old El Camino. It makes for a lot more competition. Some of the top Japanese drivers are also joining in the mix now as well.

El Camino? Thats what I'm talking about

In the US you've got so many more cars which appeal to the mainstream. While we in AU can get Mustangs, Vipers etc via low volume import, I can't say anyone would go to the trouble of preparing one for drift competition... I may be wrong though! Alot of guys seem to put Chevy badges on their Commodores/Monaros (even though the latter is badged as a Pontiac in the US) so the support fot the 'parent company' is there, but I can't say many people would prefer to see a Viper or Mustang win a Drift Australia round over a Commodore or Falcon.

I remember the first time I saw that Falken sponsored Mustang drift car and though "the V8 crowd in Australia would pay to see that drift". But I've mentioned it twice already, the drift purists who are diehard supporters of traditional drift in Japan would probably commit suicide before selling out and letting the V8 'cavemen' take over and run the show...

[m3gtr]

But I've mentioned it twice already, the drift purists who are diehard supporters of traditional drift in Japan would probably commit suicide before selling out and letting the V8 'cavemen' take over and run the show...

Why yes...Hari Kiri all the way..

i wonder. Why is it that Japanese D1 drivers dont use v8's? its not like they cant make a more than decent donk...i know Orido uses a 6 in the supra ofcourse as do many others in other cars but not an 8...

I also wonder what kind of reception a V8 powered soarer would get in DA...

i honestly think aussies would go as far as to say " thats not a V8..its japanese. Its not a REAL V8."

ffs...and anyway, Drift isnt about the size of the package in japan and it never has been. Just look how the Hachi Roku decimates everyone in the right hands..

Its a shame that australian idealisms dictate that the bigger the better and will pay according to who has the bigger donk..which is utter horse-crunch if you ask me.

[Trust33]

i like v8's and think that thery are great in australian motorsport in general.the pureists can eat a fat one.give me an 8 gie me a 6 or 4 turbo supercharge them do what ever to make the power and at the end of the day all it really comes down to is car setup and driver combo....

look at it this way....if i drove a v8 soarer and you drove a hachi roku.and i destroy you at an event.are you really goping to hate that much as to create bad fanfare towards the driver his car his crew and all the same the sport of drifting...

you have got to get it thru that we are australia,not japan.what cars do we have a majoritory of?i thought so..

[STATUS]

There are tons of judged sports out there that are highly popular. I'm sure you have all heard of the X-Games. Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Skiing, Dirt Bike stunts etc.

In Formula D (US drift) there are plenty of V8's and bigger. In fact, I don't think a Japanese car has won a championship yet. We have GTO's, Vipers, Mustangs, even an old El Camino. It makes for a lot more competition. Some of the top Japanese drivers are also joining in the mix now as well.

but you guys get youre ass kicked by the d1 boys repeatedly v8 or not. We may be aussied out next year we will see which manufacturer package best suits us... ford six i reckon..... as the eight is super fragile (damn 80 foot timing chains) and the GTO thtas available will take to much to get competitive and will be lhd.

[Iron Chef]

m3gtr, my brain hurts...so what are you actually suggesting? Are you proposing any concrete solutions to this current crisis, or are you merely venting your frustrations?

[markimak]

i say we should get more places liek driftland and archerfield.. and not charge ppl 100 to practice.

[markimak]

doin so will promote it better.. im all good to join a local club to fang around a track once a forthnight bring 2 sets of tyres a jack and tools and spend $30 to use the track and have a hoot.. then go to the local after for a social one..

[Rabid]

but you guys get youre ass kicked by the d1 boys repeatedly v8 or not.

Rhys Millen has won 2 Formula D championships in a GTO. Sam Hubinette won another in a Viper. So it seems that we hold up pretty well against the D1 drivers/cars. Even though Rhys is from NZ and Sam is from Sweden, they are still listed as American drivers, since I think both currently live in the US. Tanner Foust (another American driver) is in the points lead this year, but last I knew he was driving a 240sx (180sx) or a 350Z. I'm not really a big fan of anything bigger than a 4 banger, but I cant deny the v8's and v10's are doing well here. Since theres plenty of v8's to chose from in Australia, maybe you guys will follow suit.

The big problem that the American drift circuit had when it first started was that a lot of the cars trying to compete looked like garbage. When your trying to promote a new motorsport, you don't want people coming to see a bunch of derby cars drifting the track, you want them to see something nice. I personally would enjoy the sport either way, but the majority of people out there wanna see nice cars driving around the track, not shitters. One of the things that really helped move the sport along was that a few drivers got factory sponsorships. Also the Formula Drift competitors wear full leathers and full face helmets. I know thats been one of the big complaints about Drift Australia. I guess its just a bit more polished here, even though its only been around for 4 years now.

El Camino? Thats what I'm talking about

Yeh, they call him Bubba Drift (real name is Mike Peters). He's hella popular. It's a 450hp+ v8 automatic El Camino. Very fun to watch.

Edited June 15, 2007 by Rabid

[m3gtr]

i like v8's and think that thery are great in australian motorsport in general.the pureists can eat a fat one.give me an 8 gie me a 6 or 4 turbo supercharge them do what ever to make the power and at the end of the day all it really comes down to is car setup and driver combo....

look at it this way....if i drove a v8 soarer and you drove a hachi roku.and i destroy you at an event.are you really goping to hate that much as to create bad fanfare towards the driver his car his crew and all the same the sport of drifting...

you have got to get it thru that we are australia,not japan.what cars do we have a majoritory of?i thought so..

I think V8s are great too. Its just that i dont like the stigma attached to them in australia. too much pride and not enough acceptance.

I dont care what people compete in or drive on a daily basis for that matter but i will say i have my preferences! im not bigoted, discriminatory or prejudiced in any way..

Whether your soarer would be better than my 86 is a matter of skill and the cars abilities. Power is hardly ever a factor and especially so in the wet..personally the soarer's wheelbase is too long for drift but they still use them over here.. and only with moderate success, at best...dont go writing off my 86 just yet!

Its the ATTITUDE im talking about or haven't you gathered that since i started this thread?? I will go back to my original points i mentioned at the start. Do yourself a favor and watch a round...any round, of DA and then pop in a D1 disc. watch that and ask yourself how many areas of the sport you think YOU could improve.

If you cant come up with a list of at least a dozen your watching with you eyes closed.

Iron chef imports, this next part will answer your question..

Follow me for a moment..

If you went to a Job interview dressed in a polo and jeans and the guy next to you was dressed in his finest pinstripe do you think you would stand a chance of getting the job?.... I highly doubt it

and if for one of the strangest reasons i can think of, did, would that make you feel like you were actually the "right" man for the position? It probably would...or at least you would fool yourself into thinking that. Its very likely you werent.

lets say, for entertainments sake, you get the job. you settle in to your nice chair and have a job to do. you get paid enough and have a great time doing what you enjoy doing, because after all, this is what you have always wanted to do. people start asking you questions. They want to know whats going on because you have such an important position. They think its so great to be in that kind of position and you're lucky enough to be there through whatever reason be it money, support, luck or just pure fluke.

When people ask you what you do, things start to go awry. Instead of being humble about it and knowingly pass it off as something unimportant, you instead spout off about all the great things you are bringing the company and how without you it wouldnt be the same. Instead of being humble, your being downright arrogant and pigheaded. People dont really want to talk to you about it after that and wonder why they asked in the first place. Its starting to look like its gone to your head.

And indeed it actually has. Unfortunately, great skill in the hands of a fool is like putting a loaded weapon into the hands of a monkey as you demonstrate week in week out. You have what you have but your projecting an image that cant walk the walk and talk the talk although you think your abilities magically speak for themselves and solve all the other problems.

people think your delusional.

If youre at this point, take Dr. M3's advice.

1st. Take a chill pill and sit the $%#& down.

2nd. It isnt about what the sport can do for you, its about what you can do for the sport.

3rd Leave your $%&'#ing ego in the helmet bag.

4th If provoked, cajoled, insulted, heckled, abused then act like you heard your favorite track. Its only fuel for the fire when the shit hits the fan..and trust me if you can control that aggression the track is your punching bag.

5th WEAR APPROPRIATE RACE WEAR YOU SLOUCH! no one will take a racer in a t shirt, jeans and a bloody stackhat for crying out loud, seriously ANYWHERE. present yourself well and you will be well received. its a golden rule that must never be broken.

6th Live your life on track JUST THE SAME WAY you live your life off it...if you can control it. This is the most important step as whatever you do OFF the track will affect how people see you ON it. so if your drifiting the rings out of the beast on sunday and then get busted monday speeding what do you think thats going to do to the sports reputation?????? and the way people see you and the way they receive you?! You tell me.

NO ONE is going to blame you if you are upright and blameless. If youre not a bloody hypocrite and keep to what you say and do..let your words follow your actions and your actions follow your words then no one can $%#& with you. Remember that. Not even the most dimwitted of people will do it to you. They will see your deeds on track and your deeds off it and know your alright and someone who can be trusted.

I have yet to meet anyone who is like that in DA. All i have seen are classic cases of serial dellusionment bordering on the extremities of totalitarianism fostered by the media, actually encouraged by the media.

Not just DA but Australian motorsport in general. Look around you fellow aussies..how much respect do you see in motorsport in other parts of the globe?? Do i need to metion, YET again, the Jerry springer fest that is V8 superstars??? I think they are all a bunch of arrogant cops.

I live in tokyo but i love motor racing and i see a whole lot of love, comraderie and mutual respect as well as those many people that take the responsibility when they have the chance to.

DA needs..NEEDS to think the same way and not just locally , but globally.

Edited June 15, 2007 by m3gtr

[1400r]

lots of bla bla bla there

not sure anyone cares what you guys think seeing as it seems like none of you have been to a drift event recently anyway

me Im like the other guy I like were drift is at the moment

if you dont sux to be you and I'll just enjoy doing it

I mean thats the main aim of the sport in Japan, America or were ever D1 and DA are only a very small part of the "sport"

dont get caught up in the hype as nothing else matters but having a good time

Edited June 15, 2007 by 1400r

[DRF13]

I don't come on here very often [the proof of this is my old account being deleted since last time lol]

but I just wanted to say

It seems people don't think Drift is popular? On the tracks we run on, it's their 2nd biggest yearly event, beaten only by the V8's. People don't think its family orientated? I can tell you it is, kids love it! They are always coming up in the pits and getting posters, wanting pics, checking out the cars. At Drift Australia events there is hardly any drunkenly and/or anti social behavior.

I run a 3 car team in the Drift Australia series, and I can tell you that our sponsors are more than happy with the exposure that we give them and look forward to bigger and better things next year. The other exciting thing is Drifts growth overseas, not just Japan and the US, but in Europe as well. I see so many pics from Drift events these days where most of the cars are BMW's and other Euro cars, its awesome! More events pop up all the time. Darren McNamara is I beleive, one of the top drivers in the world, and he is from Ireland. He is now doing really well in the US Formula D series. People from all countries can compete in Drift.

I'm also not sure about the comments on Drifters not wearing race suits etc, perhaps people haven't ventured out to a Drift Austalia event for a while? My team strives to be as competitive and professional as we possibly can be, and its my job to make that happen.

We have TV coverage for the Drift Australia series on Channel 9, SBS, and Fox, and my team has also featured on Channel 7 and Channel 10 in 2007.

I am more than happy with where the sport is going.

One of my drivers, Leighton Fine signs a poster for a young fan VVVVVVVVVV

Edited June 16, 2007 by DRF13

[MANG]

i was SMSing like crazy to win that lap in your car daz, ah well. was a great day and ill be there at easton creek for the next drift event

[DRF13]

i was SMSing like crazy to win that lap in your car daz, ah well. was a great day and ill be there at easton creek for the next drift event

Thanks Simon, see you there Hopefully they will have another SMS competition.