Controlled chaos

Hold this for me," the driver said as he handed over his helmet while I reached for the seatbelt.

"Don’t worry, it’s safe," he added, discouraging the use of the seat belt.

No helmet, no harness. It made me wonder if this guy even knows what safe means, but I let the seat belt slip out of my hand anyway.

The world started to spin the moment he floored the accelerator. Images before my eyes started running like a slideshow in fast-forward mode.

I could imagine white smoke coming out of the tires as they screeched while the wheels slipped tightly over the track to make a 360-degree turn.

The power at which the car was going forced my back against the seat, veered slightly to the left as we went around in circles. The wind blasting in through the open windows blew my hair in all directions and pasted a petrified smile on my face.

After a few more turns around a makeshift marker, the driver paused just long enough to say, "That’s what you call a donut," before gearing up again for another series of sideway turns.

While most of us would have preferred our donuts honey-dipped, sugar-raised or cream-filled at around P30, drifters like Jose Daniel A. Javier would rather have it speedy sideways, garnished with smoke, with the aroma of burnt tires that can only be delivered by a car that has been modified for at least P250,000.

Aside from the car I was in, about three or four others were doing crazy turns on the temporary track after the third leg of the 2007 Lateral D Championship series at the parking area of the Baywalk Terminal at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex.

Drifting off

Drifting is a technique where the driver induces the loss of traction in the rear wheel so that the car moves from side to side at 80 to 100 kilo-meters per hour.

Drifting started off as a racing technique in Japan. According to Wikipedia.com, the practice was inspired by racing legend Kunimitsu Takahashi who was known for executing high-speed exits by turning closest to the apex of a curb.

The technique was made popular by street racer named Keiichi Tsuchiya who practiced his skills on winding mountain roads in the late 1970s.

One of the first recorded drifting events outside Japan took place in 1996 at the Willow Springs Racetrack in California. The sport has spread in the United States, Europe as well as Australia.

The Philippines is just starting to catch the drifting fever.

Around November 2005, racecar drivers Charlie A. Cruz, David M. Feliciano and Mon Rayos decided to try drifting but were faced with the unfortunate fact that there was no venue for the motorsport.

"Because we wanted to do it and nobody was doing it, we decided to organize it ourselves," Mr. Cruz said in an interview during the recent Lateral D championship.

Having experience in organizing rally races, the three arranged the first drifting event, called "Counter Steer," in January 2006 to promote a K-Lite radio show titled Counterflow. Its success was followed through with another drifting event in April of the same year.

"Drifting is something new. It’s fun, spectator-friendly, faster, and you can show off your car in a beautiful way. We felt that it was a better sport for us so we decided to pursue it," Mr. Feliciano said.

The organizers later established Lateral D Championships, which is now on its second season. Starting with just about 10 to 12 drifters, Lateral D now has over 30 participants joining the competitions.

"It’s not just about the number of participants. You can also see improvement in the quality of driving. The drivers also get better and better every time, and it gets harder and harder to judge," Mr. Rayos said after sitting as one of the judges in the recent competition.

Lateral D competitors are judged based on how fast they enter turns, the angle of attack and how far they can make their car go sideways, drifting execution, showmanship as seen by the amount of smoke they generate on the track, and precision based on how close they can get to designated clipping points.

The organizers said except for fender benders, no major accident has occured in the competition — but there is always an ambulance and a fire truck on standby during the event. Local drifters

There is quite a variety of personalities among the drifting population in the Philippines.

Mr. Javier, for instance, is a busy corporate man, being the vice-president and director of San Miguel Corp.’s international unit for non-alcoholic beverages.

He learned about drifting through the Internet five years ago and had his car modified by consulting Mr. Feliciano, who is one of Lateral D’s organizers.

Mr. Javier is a self-taught drifter who learned about techniques through surfing on the Internet and watching videos on YouTube. Since he is out of the country at least two weeks every month, Mr. Javier said he only gets to practice on the competition day itself.

"The first time was really humiliating. I just couldn’t drift. I knew how to do it in my mind but it takes a lot of seat time or practice. You really have to be in the driver’s seat to feel the car," he said.

A young participant who particularly impressed the crowd and the judges was 13-year-old Pocholo Hizon who was all-powerful on the track but painfully shy during an interview.

Drifting pioneer Alex Perez also wowed the crowd as he bagged another champion’s trophy after the competition.

Mr. Perez works with Mr. Feliciano at the DMF Motorsports Gallery. He also teaches at the DMF Drift School.

"I was the rally cross champion for four years. I also did slalom and motorcross. Drifting is the exact opposite of everything that’s supposed to be done because you’re making the car go out of control," Mr. Perez said.

The previous leg of Lateral D’s championship series turned into an international event with the participation of Japanese driver, Tai Tomyokuki.

Mr. Tomyokuki started drifting in Japan two years ago but he left his Toyota Supra when he moved to the Philippines last year. He can be seen with the cast of a local afternoon TV series Daisy Siete.

Using a rented DMF car, the actor made it to the quarter finals but lost in the cat-and-mouse chase when he was paired against Mr. Perez.

Drifting is also attracting female drivers to the track.

Michelle Yu, a Cebu-based RTW entrepreneur, flew to Manila two weeks prior to the competition to study drifting. She recently bought a Nissan Cefiro, which is now in Mr. Feliciano’s garage waiting for modifications that would make it suitable for the sport.

"It’s a different high that you get from it. It’s a natural high. I’m planning to come back every time they have practice because I really want to learn. Women are underestimated most of the time but you have to start somewhere," Ms. Yu said.

Drifters share the delight of having fun while managing to control the vehicle that they forced out of control to begin with.

"Drifting is basically fun. It’s exciting, going sideways all the time. It feels like letting out your aggression in a controlled manner," Mr. Cruz said.

While my drifting experience was confined to the passenger seat, it was enough to give me a taste of the rush that the actual drivers experience when they burn tires.

When Mr. Javier finally parked the car, I felt like an elated five-year-old kid who just got off an amusement ride that ended too soon.

(The final leg of the 2007 Lateral D Championship Series will be on Aug. 12. Check www.laterald.com for the venue announcement.)


	© 2009 BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.

Focus

Story tools

Focus

Controlled chaos