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Source: RDP Motorsport

As a part of Chrysler’s restructuring plan it has announced that Mopar will cease its sponsorship of the NuFormz Racing team and driver Samuel Hübinette.

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time now as Chrysler has been seeking every area where it can cut costs. Additionally, a strong sign was when Hübinette took to the track during the first round of the Formula D series in Long Beach in a Dodge Viper – and not the Challenger (pictured above) that Mopar debuted at the 2008 SEMA Show.

As a part of Chrysler’s comprehensive restructuring plan to revitalize our business and succeed as a stronger car company, we’re rigorously reviewing all expenditures and making tough business decisions, said Mike Accavitti, Director of Brand Marketing and Strategy at Chrysler. The decision to end Team Mopar’s sponsorship of NuFormz Racing was difficult because of our long-term relationship with the ream and all of the success we’ve enjoyed competing in Formula Drift.

Driving for Mopar, Hübinette won the first ever Formula D contest and holds the title of the most outright victories. He won the championship in 2004 and 2006 and was a runner up in ‘05 and ‘08.

I had a great eight-year run as a member of the Team Mopar family and want to thank the company for all the great memories I’m taking away, said NuFormz Racing team owner Shaun Carlson. It’s a tough decision, but given the current economic environment inside and outside of racing, I certainly understand it.

The sponsorship contract will be terminated after the next event in New Jersey on June 5/6.

More: Mopar Drops Drifting Sponsorship on AutoGuide.com

* Braking drift – This drift is performed by trail braking into a corner so that the car can “set” or shift weight to cause the rear wheels to lose traction, then controlling the drift with proper steering and gas inputs. Having brake bias can be beneficial to the drift depending on the driving style. Usually having bias on rear brakes helps to brake drift.

* Power Over Drift – This drift performed when entering a corner at full throttle to produce heavy oversteer through the turn. It is the most typical drifting technique for AWD cars (predominantly RWD). Keiichi Tsuchiya has been regarded as saying he used this technique when he was too scared to drift at certain corners when he was younger. However the chance of this technique leading to a burn-out instead of a drift is possible if executed at a bad angle.

* Inertia (Feint) Drift – This is done by rocking the car towards the outside of a turn and then using the inertia of the car to swing it back to the desired drifting line. By going away from the corner, and turning back in hard, you are coming from a much sharper angle. Somtimes the brake will be applied while rocking the car towards the outside to give a better weight transfer; hence creating an even sharper turn. It has been said by many pro-drifters that this is one of the hardest techniques to master as has a high spin-out factor.

* Lift Off – At very high speeds, by letting your foot off of the accelerator while cornering, certain cars with very neutral handling, such as the MX-5 or S14, will begin to slide, simply from the drop in torque and engine braking. The drift is controlled afterwards by steering inputs from the driver and light pedal work.

* Handbrake/ebrake Drift – This technique is pretty straightforward; pull the handbrake to induce rear traction loss and balance drift through steering and throttle play. Some people debate the fact that if using the handbrake creates an actual drift, or just a power slide, but ultimately, using the e-brake is no different than any other technique for starting drifts. This is generally the main technique to perform a controlled drift in a FWD vehicle. This is one the first techniques beginners will use as their cars are not powerful enough to lose traction using other techniques. Also this technique is used heavily in drift competitions to drift big corners.

* Dirt Drop Drift – This is done by dropping the rear tires off the road into the dirt to maintain or gain drift angle without losing power or speed and to set up for the next turn. Only permissible on roads without barriers and lined with dirt or other materials which to lose traction. This is commonly done in WRC rallying.

* Clutch Kick – This is done by “kicking” the clutch (pushing in, then out, usually more than one time in a drift for adjustment in a very fast manner) to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car’s balance. It causes the rear wheels to slip and enables the driver to induce oversteer.

* Choku Dori – This is used while drifting on straightaways. The driver of the car sways the car side to side while the car is in a drift, which looks impressive. It can be initiated through all the above techniques.

* Changing Side Swing – This technique is used extensively in the Japanese D1 competition and is very similar to inertia (Feint) drift. It is often done on the first entry drift corner, which is often a long double apex turn just before a very fast straight-way. If the straight-way before that double apex is of a downhill orientation, the driver keeps driving on side of the track that is close test to the corner. Then with correct timing in mind, the driver abruptly changes the car onto the other side. This movement has the car momentum to be altered causing the rear wheels to lose traction. The car is in a drift motion right now. Then the drift is carried over into the corner and through it.

* Dynamic Drift – This technique is similar to the Choku Dori. It employs all forms of the above techniques – and not restricted to only one – in combinations to accomplish the desired drift movement.

Drifting

Drifting is a driving style distinguished by oversteering into and completely through the corners. This is usually done with FR layout vehicles, as the power and weight distibution characteristics on these cars are ideal for the maneuver. Drifting may be done informally for fun, in a formal setting where the goal is a mix of fun and building skills for improved car control, or in competitive motorsports. Competitive drifting is a motorsport rated on style, rather than speed around a track or position in a group of cars. Overall performance is judged on four factors: cornering angle, line, speed and excitement/style (tire smoke is one way of judging style).

Drifting is not the fastest way around a racetrack. Drifting is useful in rallying because it is a quick way to point the car in the direction it will be facing at the end of the corner, but in circuit racing is slower than conventional techniques. The only time drifting is faster in non-rally settings is in a situation often found in gymkhana. This is where the corners are so tight, it is actually faster to slide around them than drive conventionally.

History

Many attribute the return of drifting as a competitive sport to mountain-road racers of rural Japan. Informal challenges on back mountain roads (called Touge pronounced “Toh-gey”) eventually evolved into a heavily funded and advertised competitive events, sanctioned by organizations and held on private tracks. Drifting began in the United States in 1996 with an event at Willow Springs racetrack in California hosted by the magazine Option, but it did not become popular until around 2002, and has since exploded into a massively popular form of motorsport. Japanese drifters are still considered to be at the cutting edge of technique and car development, but their American counterparts are quickly catching up.

As rumor has it, Keiichi Tsuchiya was in a car race, and was dead last. He decided to swing the car around the corners, shocking and amazing the crowd. When accessed later for comment, Tsuchiya called it “drifting.” While this is not the origin, it is probably where it obtained its name and introduction. 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 Toyota AE86/Sprinter Trueno (JDM Corolla GT-S). 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.

Many of the techniques used today in drifting were developed by rally drivers competing on dirt, gravel and snow. On such surfaces, the fastest way to take a corner is generally by sliding.

Today

Nowadays, drifting has evolved into a competitive sport where drivers compete in rear-wheel drive cars to keep their cars sideways as long as possible. At the top levels of competition, especially the D1 Grand Prix in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, drivers are able to keep their cars sliding for extended periods of time, often through several turns. Drifting competitions are judged based not on the time it takes to complete a course, but on line, angle, speed, and show factor. Line involves taking the correct line, which is usually announced by judges. Angle is the angle of a car in a drift, the more the better. Speed is the speed entering a turn, the speed through a turn, and the speed exiting the turn; faster is better. The show factor is based on multiple things, such as the amount of smoke, how close the car is from the wall, and falling aero. It’s based on how “cool” everything looks. Final rounds of competition often include tandem drift runs nicknamed “tsuiso” (chase-run) in Japanese, where one car follows another through the course, attempting to keep up with or even pass the car in front. In the tsuiso rounds, it doesn’t matter if the racing line is wrong; it matters who has the most exciting drift. Normally, the leading car usually produces a max-angle, but still close off the inside a little to prevent passing. The chasing car usually drifts with less angle, but very close to the lead car. But a car does not even have to keep up, and in fact in some cases a car that was left behind on the straight produces a beautiful drift, winning him that round. A spin, understeer, or collision results in a disqualification of the offending party.

To make judging less ambiguous, the DriftBox has been introduced, which uses GPS to measure the angle, speed and g-force during a run. This takes out the guessing element when it comes to judging the angle and speed of the drift.

Cars

Any rear-wheel-drive car can be drifted (with those having a limited-slip differential preferred), and some all-wheel-drive cars can also drift, often with less angle, but higher speed. Popular competition cars in the US include the Nissan 240SX (the U.S. and Canada version of the Japanese Nissan Silvia/180SX), Nissan 350Z, Toyota Corolla GT-S, Mazda RX-7 and Honda S2000. Recently domestic favorites have also been thrown into the mix, such as the Ford Mustang, Pontiac GTO and Dodge Viper. In Japan, the top drift machines are the S13, S14, and S15 generations of the Nissan Silvia/180SX, Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin, Nissan Skyline (RWD versions, the ER34 4-door sedan and the previous generation of HCR32), Mazda RX-7 FC and FD, Toyota Altezza, Toyota Aristo, Nissan Z33, Fairlady Z(350Z), Nissan Cefiro, Nissan Laurel, Toyota Soarer, and the aforementioned vehicles.

There is some debate over whether or not front-wheel-drive (FWD) vehicles can drift. By the technical definition (rear wheels slipping at a greater angle than front wheels), they are indeed able to drift. However, many consider FWD vehicles a poor choice for drifting, as the frequent use of the emergency brake (necessary to drift FWD cars) slows them down and makes them harder to control. Also since they use their front tires for both steering and power, the car loses control after a single slide, while RWD cars can drift through consecutive corners. In this way, the definition of drifting is frequently challenged to say that FWD cars cannot drift, only powerslide. However, some drifters such as Kyle Arai or Keisuke Haketeyama use EF Civics to drift, and succeed in doing so, sometimes besting out their RWD opponents.

AWD vehicles, such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drift at a much different angle and are usually induced by power-over. As the front wheels are also driven on an AWD vehicle there is a noticeable lack of counter steer. D1 and other professional competitions do not allow AWD vehicles. However vehicles like the Impreza and the Lancer are being converted to only use the rear wheels so as to become a RWD car that can compete in drift competitions that prohibit AWD cars.

Sport

Many parts are available from aftermarket manufacturers that are specifically designed to modify a car for drifting. Almost all competitors take advantage of these products to enhance the suspension, driveline, chassis and body of their cars.

The most important drifting competition in the world is the Autobacs D1 Grand Prix, which originated in the Japan Ebisu South Circuit. Once confined to Japan, the D1 Grand Prix now holds one points match and one Japan vs USA exhibition match at Irwindale Speedway in California, and an exhibition event at Silverstone Circuit, and plans to enter other markets including other parts of Asia. The magazine Option and its video department V-Option decided to create the D1 Grand Prix to catch and expand the drifting craze. Led by CEO Daijiro Inada (稲田大二郎), they strive for performance. In 2006, the D1 Corporation will bring out a national series in the United Kingdom, with the chance to bring out the top five drivers to compete in either the United States or Japan.

In the United States, the best known league is Formula D.

The top drifting drivers include (first name, last name, nickname, Japanese name, team & car):

nb, for a list D1 Grand Prix and Formula D drivers and championship winners, see separate entry Keiichi Tsuchiya, a legend in the drifting world, is considered the father of drifting. Known popularly as the “Drift King” (Dorikin), he is the official chief judge in the D1 Grand Prix Series. Manabu Suzuki “Mana P” (鈴木 学) assists in announcing. Suzuki is well known for working with Option and in car design, even working on the paint scheme and decals for Monkichi’s RS-R Supra.