- 1,000-HP Formula Drift Cars
- A Beginner’s First Go
- The Art Of… Understeer?
- Serving Donuts – Competition Time
- So, Can I Drift Now?
Toyota stuck us in its GR cars with pro drifters to learn some sideways skills.
When Toyota invited us to its Learn to Drift event at the Irwindale Speedway in California for some tuition by Toyota's professional Formula Drift drivers Fredric Aasbo and Ryan Tuerck, it was a no-brainer to say yes. We were promised wheel time with the GR Corolla, the GR Supra, and GR 86 with guidance from the pros, then a ride-along in the Supra and Corolla Formula Drift race cars. Most compellingly, Toyota also offered free coffee and edible donuts, and we're journalists, so we were there.
The day started with car control exercises, working our way through Toyota's performance trinity with the aim of, at the very least, competency in controlling and working understeer, controlling the chassis through a cone slalom, then invoking oversteer and then keeping it going under control. Officially, it was a Car Control Course. Unofficially, it was Donuts 101.
1,000-HP Formula Drift Cars
The first things we were introduced to were the Formula Drift cars, better thought of as guided missiles that you don't want to crash into anything. Stephen Papadakis, former racer and current builder of some of the best drift cars in the world, gave us the overview of the competition-prepped Supra (driven by Fredric Aasbo) and Corolla (driven by Ryan Tuerck).
In a follow-up piece, we'll get into the details of the two cars and the ride-along, but the important points are: They are modified cars within the Formula D; they're not race cars built from the ground up and then given bodywork as a facsimile of the model. The Supra uses the factory B58 straight-six engine tuned to 1,200 horsepower – which Papadakis proved was possible when others said it wasn't – while the Corolla uses the three-cylinder tuned to 1,000 hp, which means it's on the knife edge of reliability. When they start and idle, they sound like they were built in hell and are straining to break out of the gates.
A Beginner’s First Go
We would get to experience laps in the passenger seats of the Formula Drift cars, but first, we were to improve our own driving. Some of the people at the event were already experienced in the art of sliding, whereas this writer had never deliberately provoked a drift with the aim of holding onto it for a complete circle. Controlling the rear end when it steps out? sure. But the aim there is to get the car straight again and not waste momentum, and there's a big difference between catching a slide and keeping one going.
But Toyota had a three-step process designed to teach the control needed.
While the GR Corolla can drift, that wasn't why it was there. We were put in the GR Corolla so the instructors could understand our current skill levels with car control on a slalom course with a turnaround. Quickly, it became apparent everyone could navigate the course while maintaining speed, and the turnaround became a piece of concrete coated in warm rubber.
The Art Of… Understeer?
Before oversteering, the first thing we were thrown into was understeer, which is much more in this writer's wheelhouse. Growing up in hot hatches teaches you a thing or two about understeer. However, like oversteer, provoking it, then holding it on the throttle for an extended period, and going in circles around and out of cones isn't as easy as it looks. Picking it up quickly gave me some confidence, though. It didn't hurt to have two-time and current Formula Drift Champion Fredric Aasbo handing out the pointers.
The real challenge started around the ring of cones in the GR86, equipped with the manual option specifically for drifting. The 86 is on thinner tires and built with a balanced chassis for enthusiasts, so invoking and controlling oversteer is well within reach. The art is in holding onto the oversteer by balancing the front wheel angle and the throttle input.
Aasbo quickly pointed out that I was using too much steering and not enough throttle to control my drift angle. That took me from brief sideways action to holding the angle for almost half a circle. Things were on the up, and I was on the verge of completing a full circle when we were told to climb out of the GR86 and into the more powerful Supra.
That didn't go so well. Contrary to some beliefs, drift cars aren't set up to to have less grip. They are set up to have more so they can lap fast and give the driver more control when the car does get loose.
The Supra is more powerful and has more grip than the the 86, so in theory, it should be easier to get the Supra sideways and keep it there. However, repeatedly spinning out showed that my throttle modulation needed more finetuning. After some patient tuition, we got a full circle in before lunch.
Serving Donuts – Competition Time
Before getting ride-alongs with pros, Toyota thought it would be fun to have a donut competition between the media attendees, judged by the drift team. That's instant pressure, right there, and it was compounded by the fact that our media contingent had some experienced drifters among them, including a member of the Hoonigan team.
Still, I'm not afraid of failure and chose to roll out in the GR86 rather than the Supra along with the other less experienced drifters. I have to admit; I buckled under what was, in reality, self-imposed pressure as everyone in the group wanted everyone to succeed and improve. I had improved but managed to spin out early twice on my run. There were a couple of signed prizes for the competition winners, but there wasn't one for “Politest Round Of Applause.”
So, Can I Drift Now?
While I'm used to cars being on the edge of grip and sliding around, including off-road, steering into a slide and deliberately exacerbating it, then holding a steep angle is more complex than it looks. Some experienced and pro drifters made it look easy, but even one or two experienced guys struggled a little with unmodified cars.
I can't quite call myself somebody that can drift now. I could pull out the excuses (the sun was in my eyes, the tires were cold and too worn, I drank to much coffee before driving…), but it feels like I took the first step to learning. It was more of a primer than an in-depth class – we didn't have time to get into transitioning and stuff like that, and the pros were getting ready for the Formula Drift season opener event in Long Beach.
It was a lot of fun, though, and now the temptation is sign up for a full class with one of the schools run by pros and ex-pros. If you are tempted to do get into drifting, you can borrow my rationalization for spending money learning to go sideways: “It will improve my car control and, by extension, make me safer on the road.”
At the end of the day, we can confidently say a good driver doesn't make a good drifter, but a good drifter is a much better driver – that's for certain.
Keyword: We Went To Drift School With Toyota's Formula Drift Superstars