Editor's Note: Drift mania. Are you down with the sickness? Can you feel it? Do you think you know, but have no idea? Is it JDM-approved or any other played-out isms that escape us right now? The drifting phenomena has set upon us and taken over in the same way the coalition forces hammered into Baghdad.
Right now, drifting is hotter than JDM, J-Spec, Street Racing Tokyo, or any other tired catchphrase the U.S. media is trying to spoon-feed you, and the only question that remains is: How quickly will we wear out this fad? Drifting is exciting, there's no doubt about that. And it will still be exciting years down the road. But can this underground cult favorite support the unrelenting media onslaught and the subsequent opportunistic attempts attached to shameless financial schemes? Then again, ours is not to question why, but rather, why not? With that in mind, we bring you yet another story about drifting. Is our jaded apathy apparent?
Only one month after Mainstream Productions brought the Drift Showoff to Southern California's Irwindale Speedway, Club4AG collaborated with the Showoff team to bring drifting back to Irwindale with the RS-R Drift Festival USA. Club4AG is not that downtown hipster hangout without outside signage and a bunch of Gap Kids wannabes inside. Instead, 4A-G is a code for a series of engines found in select early- to mid-'80s Toyotas, and the members of the Club4AG Justice League are the defenders of all things Corolla.
Another blast from the past came in the form of presenting sponsor RS-R-a.k.a. Racing Studio Type-R. After a two year absence, the Japanese tuner is back, and this time with an official North American branch. RS-R brought a pair of demo cars-a Supra and a 350Z. These rides were straight outta Locash (or maybe the JDM) with the steering wheels on the right side, the tight side. Even better than the cars were the drivers, namely Manabu Orido and Kazu Hayashida, who dazzled the crowds with frequent drift demos. You might know Orido as he mans the helm of the RS-R N1 Altezza, the Denso Sard GT 500 Supra, and the JUN Super Lemon GDB time attack car as seen on TV and our April '03 cover.
Representing the Western contingent was Rhys Millen. In his day job as an SCCA Pro Rally driver, Rhys is quite adept at going every which way but straight. He managed to fling a rally-spec Evo VII around the drift course in a tire-smoking show of force. This is not an easy task given that the AWD Mitsu is designed to virtually eliminate wheel slip of any kind.
With each passing U.S. drift event, it seems that the skills of stateside drifters are growing at an exponential rate, much like our reading proficiency after we listened to those Hooked on Phonics tapes. In addition to the pro drifting demos and drift competition, there was a relatively modest car show at the base of the grandstands. For the most part, though, everyone came to see the drifters in action. It was really exciting to watch the pros let it all hang out. It makes us wonder if this drift thing will actually catch on.