So we previewed a shot of the drift event we went to on Sunday. We signed on to cover the SODA Intermediate Drift Program organized by the awesome people at Drift Garage. It was still dark when I roused from bed (with difficulty) and made my way to pick Ryan. We headed onto the expressway towards Tuas, and waited the arrival of the other drifters.
The Drift Garage guys were already there waiting. Once we were there they gave us a welcome reception and were totally friendly to us. We bought some supplies and made final preparations before heading across the border.
A short 20 minute drive later, we reached the Nusajaya Air Park, a vast expanse of paved paradise. A bumpy semi-gravel runway leads onto a sandy concrete surface, perfect for cars to lose grip on in controlled conditions.
Drift cars were aplenty. From the contemporary to the classic, the variety of cars there was immense, and their beauty more so. A classic panda-schemed AE86 Trueno was around, rolling on stretched Watanabes and classic Recaros inside. SO PERIOD CORRECT, I loved it!
Ariff Johanis and his wife Jane, both competitive drifters on the Formula Drift Asia Circuit were instructors for the day. Seeing these drift celebrities up close was an exciting experience (the closest I got was being an FD marshall haha), but more than that, their experience would be extremely valuable to the learner drifters at hand. They went around giving advice on setting up the cars for the day and offering tips and quick tricks to get proper air pressure and camber setups on the cars.
And then it was time to go! This was an intermediate drifting course, so the usual second gear drifts weren’t what the instructors were looking for. Competitive drifting involves adapting to a course and going as close to clipping points and walls. To do this, a variety of techniques has to be learnt, perfected and applied, sometimes simulateously.
The first task of the day was to hang onto clipping points. Drifters were taught to look at the cones so they would drift closely to them.
Drivers were clutch kicking away and trying to get as close to the cones as possible. Several of the drivers stood out from the start, including this AE86: NA, without power steering and still kicking the tail out like that! SWEET!
Watch out for more coming up!
- Brendan
