Drifting as Motorsports: A Way Forward towards Institutionalization - Research Paper Example

Drifting as Motorsports: A way Forward towards alization s Drifting is one of the most risky yet anticipated motorsports which has recently been institutionalized to a great extent. A few of the commentators on the motorsports being referred here are of the view that Drifting is more of an informal sports which isn`t being taken seriously for the most part. However, research in the area provides evidence which indicates that the motorsports, i.e. Drifting Cars is in the transition mode where it is on the road to transformation where serious efforts are being made to institutionalize it. For this reason, the paper takes one of the competitions which is held at a huge pace every year in North America, i.e. the Formula Drift, as a case study. The case study intends of explaining how parameters are set up by the judges and the format is seriously followed which clearly indicates that the sports is being institutionalized pointing to the fact that there would be further maturity in the area in the future. Various variables have been taken in the study to relate Drifting with institutionalizing which includes the seriousness of parameters, the techniques used by expert drifters along with the other similar patterns. After a thorough study and literature review, it can evidently be stated that Drifting is taking a serious shape where efforts are being made to institutionalize the sports which is otherwise considered as too risky and too hazy to be taken seriously. Introduction Drifting is a kind of motorsports where the driver is expected to over-steer, rather intentionally or even unintentionally. This over-steering makes the driver lose traction in the rear wheel or sometimes even in all of the tires at the same time maintaining some level of control over entry to the exit of one of the corners. It may looks like the car is drifting exactly when the rear slip angle is higher than the slip angle at the front. That too, to such an extent that the front wheels are directly pointing towards the direction opposite to the turn, for instance while a car may be turning left while wheels are pointing towards the right (the technique popularly referred to as the opposite lock). (Bryant 2004) Being one of the most enthusiastic forms of motorsports, nowadays a lot of drifting competitions are being held at various levels, some even at the most advanced levels where professionals have also been participating. Also, the competitions are nowadays mature enough since they are judged discreetly by standards of precision and competition in speed, showmanship, angle and even the line taken via set of corners as well, a perspective which will further be addressed in the study. To further go deeper into other aspects of the study, it is crucial to discuss the origins of the sports so as to understand the patterns of transition for this particular sport. Though the genesis of the sports is originally unknown and no authentic sources indicate or comment on where it originated from. Yet, the sources point out to the fact that Japan may be one of the birthplaces of this motorsports. It started becoming popular amongst the mainstream writings when the All Japan Touring Car Championship racing competition (Bryant 2004) got popularized. Also, sources further suggest that the motorcycling sports legend, i.e. Kunimitsu Takashi was one of the founding fathers of various techniques back in 1970`s. He acquired a huge fan based due to his varied skills in motor drifting, also he won various championships in his era (Wan 2004). Furthermore, the introduction of the ‘bias ply tire’ specifically being used for racing during the 1960`s to the 1980`s leads towards the high slip angled driving styles. The trend was also unusually popular during the era amongst the street racers and motorsports enthusiasts. Later the Drift King i.e. Keiichi Tsuchiya began to practice his skills on the Takahashi style drifting. This is a particular style of drifting which is essentially practiced over mountains, and thus he started drifting on mountainous roads situated in Japan. Later in the 1980`s there was a transformation in this trend. This was the era when video recordings started being produced of the Tsuchiya`s varied and highly risky drifting styles. One particular video, i.e. ‘the Pluspy’ must be referred in this context as that spurred enthusiasm in the fans and was a big hit, also ought to inspire and motivated other motor sports enthusiasts to take up drifting as a profession (O`Mara 2011). Also, during the same time media became involved, where the Option Magazine was one of the pioneers who helped in organizing the first ever D1 Grand Prix event in Japan, which further boosted the reputation of the sports. Eventually the motor drifting sports gained immense popularity, especially during the 1996 when the drifting events started being held outside of Japan as well. One of these events which gained momentum was held at the Willow Springs Raceway at California which was hosted by yet another Japanese magazine. The drifting demonstrations were made using Nisaan 18-SX, a vehicle which the magazine had arranged all the way from Japan to be showcased at the event (Rc Drift car 2010). Also, authenticity was added to the event by arranging for authentic participants to the event, i.e. Rhys Millen and Bryan Norris who had gained immense popularity already. Since then, drifting became more of a trend which exploded further towards Australia, Europe and even Asia. Furthermore, ever since, the techniques used in drifting have also undergone immense transformation (Han 2011). Evolution in trends and techniques also added to the competition in the sports since more and more people started taking it as a profession. Drivers were as experimental so as to compete via rear wheel cars to earn extra points from the judges. Formula D and D1 Grand Pix holds to be the most advanced and high level competitions, the former takes place in US while the latter in Japan (Olsen 2013). Formula Drift Asia and King of Europe and British Drift Championships have also gained immense popularity and authenticity over the time. Method The method employed for the study is the qualitative analysis of archival data to see evolutionary trends over time. Data has been gathered from various sources, both print and online sources, to see where the sports of drifting originated from. Furthermore, triangulation of data has been done via other sources to track transitions which have been observed over time. After the literature review, once the variables were identified to relate to seriousness and institutionalization of the motor sports being studied here, a case study was adopted to see if the variable fit into the model. The next section will categorically shed light on the results, yet it may be stated here that Formula Drift has been taken as a case study for this purpose. This event started taking placed from 2003 onwards in the USA which was hosted by one of the most prestigious marketing companies i.e. the Slipstream Global Marketing where only eight out of the total of forty competitors qualify to further compete for the most advanced D1 circuit (Olsen 2013). The event is held at Southern California, whereby the location is referred to as the House of Drift, given the level and standard of the event which holds a sound standing not just in the US but also in the entire world. The seriousness of the event can be recorded not from the fact that which drivers tends to demonstrate the highest speed. Instead, the participant is judged on the basis of the driver`s skill set, machines setup, proximity to other cars and other relevant factors. The analysis of the case study reflects on the transitions which the sports have undertaken, also how there are efforts towards institutionalization of the sports. Results: As discussed above, while drifting, the driver over-steers intentionally which causes a drastic loss in traction over the rear wheels, also maintaining some level of control over the length of the curve which is the sole trick used by the drifters. Thus, resultantly, the rear slip angle tends to be higher than the front slip angle which makes the car run in opposite direction. In this context, the Formula D drifting competition judges the driver`s skills in doing so, speed, proximity to other cars, the car control along with other similar factors. Furthermore, over-time the judges have made it a point to determine the driver with the highest speed along with the highest angle to the extent that it is manageable. The competition event takes place around two days, and each day is dedicated to one championship round. The drivers are required to demonstrate skills on an individual level first after which they are expected to take head-to-head matches. During these matches, they are judged based on various pre-determined criteria where marks and points are allocated. Tandem rounds are elimination rounds where there are two runs in the head-to-head format where the competitors are paired up. One of the drivers takes up the lead car which drifts using line, angle, style and speed and the main focus is to hit all clipping points with the maximum speed and angle possible. The second driver takes up the chase car, which acts as a moving clipping one and has to demonstrate more angle also style during the chase. According to the rules, the chase car can have speed high enough to be as close as possible to the lead car, yet it`s front wheels must not exceed the front wheels of the lead car. It may, however, be door-to-door with the lead car. The chase car is required to be consistent and maintain a larger angle while being in close proximity to the cars. Thus, in such a case, the variables over which the judges can judge the drivers can also be treated as variables to observe the seriousness of the sports in context of its institutionalization. Four such variables include speed, angle, line and style. Speed is just a part of the game, unlike other sports where there would be only particular areas of the competition where they would matter. Furthermore, a maximum of the drift angle is a must to maintain while controlling the vehicle at the same time. Similarly, the drift line is also pre-determined during the course of the competition which is contextualized via the inner clipping points along with the outer clipping points, both of which are very important for the drifters. Lastly, style is one of the most subjective area of judging yet with time it has been determined that the driver must exhibit aggressive flicks, extremely high angle, closeness to the wall and also the proximity to the lead vehicle. Thus, the impact of these variables indicate how there are efforts being made towards institutionalization of the sports, and unlike popular opinion, drifting has now transformed to be quite a serious sports. Discussion Drifting is one of the most risky yet anticipated motorsports which has recently been institutionalized to a great extent. A few of the commentators on the motorsports being referred here are of the view that Drifting is more of an informal sports which isn`t being taken seriously for the most part. However, research in the area provides evidence which indicates that the motorsports, i.e. Drifting Cars is in the transition mode where it is on the road to transformation where serious efforts are being made to institutionalize it. For this reason, the paper takes one of the competitions which is held at a huge pace every year in North America, i.e. the Formula Drift, as a case study. The case study intends of explaining how parameters are set up by the judges and the format is seriously followed which clearly indicates that the sports is being institutionalized pointing to the fact that there would be further maturity in the area in the future. Various variables have been taken in the study to relate Drifting with institutionalizing which includes the seriousness of parameters, the techniques used by expert drifters along with the other similar patterns. After a thorough study and literature review, it can evidently be stated that Drifting is taking a serious shape where efforts are being made to institutionalize the sports which is otherwise considered as too risky and too hazy to be taken seriously. Further adding to the discussion, apparently with an exception to a few, most of the motorsports seem too vague and most people naturally take it that people just pursue these sports as a hobby or as a trend. Drifting is one of the few such sports which people fail to take seriously as a profession. However, this study indicates that a closer analysis of the situation, the historical context of the study reflect that this isn`t merely limited to trend or a hobby. In fact, people are now putting in efforts, resources and even intellectual focus to make it more of serious sports where those who are interested in taking in as a profession are welcomed. This is due to the efforts of media houses, magazine, significant marketing conglomerates who have taken this sports seriously, and given a platform to those interested to take it up as a profession. The way forward indicates that with the pace that the transition is taking place, it is possible that in the near future, the sports will take up an even mature and sophisticated shape people would want to take it to the next level. Works Cited: Bryant, Thos L. "On the Road: Fun, Friends and Fast Cars - Road & Tracks Second Annual Sports Car Invitational Offered Drifting, Yes, but Also Lots of Good Ol Wheel-to-Wheel Competition in Porsches, Vintage Stock Cars, Miatas and Much More." Road and Track. (2004): 11. Print. Han, Heng. "University Graduates from the Countryside Drifting in the City." Chinese Sociology & Anthropology. 43.1 (2010): 42-65. Print. OMara, Ben. "The Drifters." Meanjin. 70.1 (2011): 55-65. Print. Olsen Linda, Rally Cross 360, Formula Drift, September 17, 2013, (http://rallycross360.com/other-races/formula-drift) Rc Drift Car: Practical Upgrade Strategies for Beginners and Intermediate Racers. Hong Kong: R.C. Press, 2010. Print. Wan, Calvin. Calvin Wans Drifting Performance Handbook. St. Paul, MN: MBI Pub. Co, 2007. Print. Read More