Thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean, an innovative form of motorsport was born called drifting. Unless you've been living in your mother's basement without access to the outside world, you can't have failed to notice how drifting has multiplied in popularity sparking new professional drift series. Drifting has also caught on at a local level, generating amateur drivers and low-budget drift cars across the states.
Unlike traditional racing, there's no timed element involved in drifting. The sport is more about style and no other drift series in North America brings heated competitiveness and action like Formula Drift.
In November '08, the inaugural Drifting World Championship presented by Red Bull was conceived. It was truly history in the making as every champion from a recognized international drifting organization was present. There were drivers from the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, UK and Canada. In total, 32 cars and drivers arrived at the Port of Long Beach, CA eager to win the inaugural World Championship.
Using a 90-acre lot of new asphalt, Formula D representatives claimed this would be the first and last time anything happens at the Port of Long Beach because the lot will be operating and unavailable for future use.
Surrounded by cranes and freighters, a 1200ft track was constructed. Six technically challenging turns would ensue, and the first turn set a record for highest trap speeds with drivers surpassing 100mph into the corner. The track proved to be challenging, with several cars sliding into the walls and barricades, while others were forced to slow to avoid catastrophe.
Drifting doesn't leave much room for error, and the format makes the event even more challenging. Teams go head-to-head in a bracket format to reach the next round. Starting with 32 cars, four rounds follow until there's one champion.
In the end, Rhys Millen won in his Red Bull-sponsored Pontiac Solstice. The ex-stunt driver from Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift also claimed the largest prize purse in drifting history of $25k.
We were pleasantly surprised to discover two BMW drift cars campaigned by drivers' Paul Vlasbom and Remmo Niezen. Although neither would finish on the podium, it was a pleasure to watch as the older Bimmers competed against more expensive Japanese vehicles.
Paul Vlasblom brought his '95 BMW E36 Touring from Holland. It was equipped with a 381hp 3.2 liter M3 motor, Schrick cams, Hamann intake, M5 diff and a drift-prepped chassis. He had conquered many drift competitions across Europe including France, Belgium, Hungary, Finland and even Dubai. We had high hopes for Paul after he finished third in the practice-qualifying round, but he was ousted from the first round by Mark Whiddet in a Mazda RX-7.
Remmo Niezen brought his heavily modified E30 M3 widebody from Holland. Not just any motor and drivetrain, it sported a bored 5.0 liter V8, 3.91:1 differential and six-speed tranny from an E39 BMW M5. The M3's suspension was engineered by KW and brakes outfitted by Movit.
With an impressive spec list, Remmo had the opportunity to finish in the points, especially after his '07 championship win in the German Drift Series. However, he met '07 Formula D champion Tanner Faust and his Nissan 350Z in the first round and failed to progress any further.
We were sad to see both BMWs fall in the first round, but they gave an impressive show, one that many North American spectators wouldn't have witnessed before.
Professional drifting is expected to gain even more popularity in years to come, so it's likely we'll see more RWD Euros step to the fore in this exciting sport.