Drifting, A Brief History

Drifting, the driving style, spawned from other motorsports such as rallying and dirt track racing in which oversteer was used around turns. Modern drifting started out as a popular racing technique in the All Japan Tounring Car Championship. One of the foremost creators of this technique in the 1970's was Kunimitsu Takahashi. Fans of the sport quickly became interested in this style. The smoking tires and high cornering speeds led others to try and imitate the style. Street racers began to setup their cars so that they could duplicate drift technique on the street and thus, street drifting was created.

The winding mountain roads of Japan became the site for many amatuers in the sport to practice their techniques and prove themselves to fellow drifters. One of these racers was named Keiichi Tsuchiya. He became one of the most well known and respected drivers amongst the drifting crowd. In 1977 several tuning garages and magazines agreed to make a video showcasing his skills. This video inspired many of today's professional drifters. In 1988 he helped to organize one of the first drift competitions.

Drifting was officially introduced to the U.S. in 1996 at an event hosted by Option Magazine at Willow Springs race track in California. Drifting quickly spread worldwide as other countries started to hold drift competitions. Now, there is a professional drift ciruit in the U.S. known as Formula D. Although Drifting is still not recognized as an official motorsport, it has certainly gained the popularity to make it a major attraction in the racing world.