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This is a rather lovely video roundup of the 2011 Maxxis British Drift Championship by film-maker Stephen Brooks. But, curiously, at the start of the video he cribbed this quote from the legendary Ayrton Senna:
"If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."
Interesting choice, Brooks. But it begs the question - is drifting real racing? It's certainly motorsport - what with the motors and the sport and all - but does the big-skids-to-please-a-panel-of-judges element dilute the wheel-to-wheel competition?
None of us are clever enough to answer this question - over to you, TopGear.communists.
Now watch. It's good. Once you've digested its slidey, sideways imagery, click the link below for 2011 UK drift champion Matt Carter and his award-winning teammate Paul Cheshire's guide to the best drift cars.
Gallery: UK drift champs give tell us their top ten drift cars
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
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CobraAce_04 commented on this article
at 02:07 pm on 24 November 2011
No, it's not racing, but it is the pinnacle of car control (along with possibly ice racing) and drifters have proven to be excellent racers when they left for other competitions while the opposite isnt always true (Tanner Foust dominated Global RallyX, Rhys Millen also proving ability on both fronts)
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AClarke commented on this article
at 02:17 pm on 24 November 2011
Didn't see any of it last year but will certainly look out for it again in the future. Having watched a few of the D1GP events in the USA, i have decided that this isn't a sport. It is just a spectacle. A great day out but no sporting element at all. The winner is decided via a 1v1 knockout competition. Each round is judged on various aspects and the winner is obviously who gets the highest score. Having watched the D1GP as a neutral i've decided that the judging doesn't all seem fair. Fan favourites and flamboyant American types often get the nod over silent Japanese guys and those with less sponsorship, regardless of who i think was the better drifter. It would certainly appeal to me much more if there was a quantifiable winner. Drifting is like letting Cristiano Ronaldo win the 0-0 football match just because he has more step overs than john terry.
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minigearhead commented on this article
at 02:47 pm on 24 November 2011
it's not racing but it sure is alot more fun to watch..
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Enzo3185 commented on this article
at 03:24 pm on 24 November 2011
it's not racing, but it's quite impressive and it needs high skills to perform it porperly, so it needs some kind of Ayrton Senna's thinking
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InnerGearHead commented on this article
at 04:07 pm on 24 November 2011
"but it is the pinnacle of car control"... really? I would have thought getting a high performance car around a track as fast as possible WITHOUT loosing grip would be the the pinnacle of car control...
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