Formula Drag

Ah, Formula D. A series that offers the same soundtrack as a NASCAR event. A series that claims "it isn't a race" but awards drivers for putting bus lengths on the chase car from the starting line. A series whose parking lots and stands are filled with Hoonigan everything and so much vape smoke, you can't even see the track in front of you. A series which seems unable to maintain a roster of 32 drivers to compete.

Formula D has received more than its fair share of criticism over the years from many people, myself included. There are those who seem to really enjoy it and what it has to offer, while there are those who are less than enthusiastic about what the series prioritizes.

From an engineering standpoint, I think it's absolutely insane what these cars are capable of. 150mph+ wheel speed with over 60 degrees of steering lock while being within inches of another vehicle at speeds at nearly triple digits. These cars can accelerate faster at lock faster than what many of our personal cars can do in a straight line. When you actually stop and objectively think about it, it's really impressive. I suppose the question comes down to whether or not that is better compared to the earlier days when cars were more simplistic. This is where the debate comes in.

At the end of the day, it's entirely subjective. I respect and commend those who have chosen to pursue their dreams of drifting at a professional level. It's not easy, and it certainly isn't cheap. However, I have to wonder what the series itself is ultimately trying to acomplish. On one end, they go on about how the event is supposed to be a show and that drifting isn't racing. Yet, if you've ever watched or been to an event, you'll quickly realize that after every 30 second run, there's nearly 5 minutes of down time with nothing happening before the cars set off again.

To put it into perspective, an FD event takes roughly two 8 hour days. Roughly 30 drivers with qualifying runs and tandem runs lasting 30 seconds a piece. Do the math, and you'll realize that over the course of 2 days/16 hours, there's actually less than 50 minutes of driving taking place. Seriously. That isn't including OMT battles, but 2 qual runs per driver and Top 32 down to the finals equates to less than an hour of action taking place.

Furthermore, their judging criteria is set up in such a way that you actually do benefit from "racing" to the finish line.

All of these cars have thousands of dollars poured into suspension and steering angle, but how often do you really see it being fully utilized at events? It really isn't often, aside from a select few drivers. Truth be told, a lot of events are filled with cars completing runs at angles not much more than what a stock S chassis can achieve. The angle seems to not matter anyways, as I never heard any complaints about a "lack of angle" from the judges. All I heard was complaints about "lack of speed".

Compare D1GP at Irwindale back in 2005/2006 to Formula D of today and you'll quickly see the difference, or lack thereof..

Average speed coming off the bank in D1 over 10 years ago was 5-10mph less than that of what FD is doing today, with cars making 2-3x the power and substantially more grip. Direct your attention to the angle, and you'll see that a lot of current FD drivers really aren't running much more angle than the D1 drivers were running back then. What I do notice though is the difference in how close the tandem is. It seems as though FD has put so much emphasis on being able to gap the chase driver, that the excitement level has dropped. Personally, I'd rather see cars going 40mph and be inches from each other the whole time, than see cars going 80mph and be 3 car lengths apart.

This isn't to say that drifting was better back then or anything, as that argument has been beaten like a dead horse more times than I can count. I simply ask why? Why have the cars doubled in horsepower and become multiple six figure builds only to have gained a few MPH in speed and only a few degrees of steering angle in the actual runs?

A lot of people say that D1 is way better, but truth be told, it's almost exactly the same. The only difference is that FD does half it's tracks on a banked oval circuit, and D1 does half of there's in a parking lot with some chalk. The car are nearly just as ridiculous, though the tandem is typically much closer. However, their judging system makes no sense whatsoever. I can't even watch D1GP now either though. It seems like every event is almost exactly the same in the same location, and the runs last 10 seconds. It makes me miss courses like Nikko and Sugo or Ebisu, before they would shut the run down after 1 transition.

Progression of the sport is always good,  and it's great to see. 10 years ago, I would mention drifting to people at my school and would talk about how I wanted to get some 90s Japanese car, and they would look at me like I'm crazy because I didn't aspire to own some six figure supercar. Now, people know exactly drifting is and the cars involved. I just wish that the professional level hadn't become this never ending race for horsepower. Like I said, I'd rather see cars going half the speed they are now but always be extremely close to each other. Because of that, I actually always thought NJ was one of the best rounds of the series.

I say that because the run up is so short that it doesn't give the lead car a chance to completely run away from the chase car. Also, the speeds are pretty low and consistent, with the corners being fairly long in duration, meaning the chase car can transition and have plenty of time to tuck in to the lead car and stay there.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, you have courses like at Florida, where it's just a long bank with a gross transition over some motocross jumps and then a long, sweeping left. An extremely boring track filled with the lead car drag racing off the line to gain distance.

It's just a real shame to see these cars be built up to be so competitive, just to see them really just try to be as fast as possible with minimal angle. Notice how boring qualifying is? Because all of the drivers are running lackluster angle and not doing anything spectacular, aside from a select few. Yet, somehow the judges score massive "style" points to some of the drivers that aren't really doing anything that stands out. If I were a judge, I would legitimately be handing out 0s in the style department on some of the runs I had seen in the past during qualifying. It's reasons like that why it's a shame to see drivers lead and see the series bleed.

Drivers like Forrest Wang were a breath of fresh air from the rest of the series. The qualifying runs were cool to watch, the car looked great and sounded cool, and the driving in competition was insane. I honestly think Forrest, as a lead driver, was arguably one of the best in the series. Big angle, big smoke, consistent line. People would get choked up in the chase position simply because they couldn't see, or they'd set themselves up wrong because they couldn't adjust to the lead car running such big angle.

I'll admit that he had a few kinks in his armor, such as his driving in the chase position, where he seemed to struggle a bit to stay close. I would always say that if you want to win, you have to play the game. Run the big angle and lines in the lead, but make the sacrifice to stay close in the chase. But the car just wasn't set up that way, and I have to commend Forrest for sticking true to his roots. I think that if he was willing to make the sacrifice and change up the car setup and driving style, he could've easily be a top 3 finisher or even a serious champion contender. Anybody who has seen him drive or driven with him personally at grassroots events knows that he has no issue getting up to your door and staying there. Sad to see him go but he seems to be having more fun doing his own thing around the country, so all the power to him.

But I think that's a perfect example of the problem. The most stylish driver of the series wasn't competitive simply because of speed. It was never about line, or angle, or style. Sure, he made mistakes in matchups that caused him to lose, but 99% of the criticism he would receive from judges would be to the "lack of speed". But in reality, the speed difference was minimal. When I spotted for him back in 2013 at TX, his speed was only 3-4mph slower than the fastest guys, and then like 8mph slower than Daigo Saito, who was undeniably the fastest driver on the grid at the time. This was back when Forrest was running an R154 transmission and a 600hp engine setup. The car is definitely faster compared to back then, so I can't imagine the difference being any larger in his 2015 and 2016 seasons. Apparently though, that 5mph difference is all it takes to be considered a champion contender though in the world of Forumla Drift.

It's great to see the sport advance and see different takes on it around the world. If it was all the exact same everywhere, I think it'd be a little boring. Diversity is good. I just personally prefer the more simplistic side of drifting more. When the cars were attainable in terms of budget and were really just street cars that were super flashy.

To me, that's the best. Pro drifting is just expensive and stressful. Again, nothing but the upmost respect to those who pursue it and stay dedicated, but I just couldn't do it myself. To me, the best drifting are the simple events with you and your friends where you get max seat time and don't have to worry about the stress of placing high. Just go out and have a good time with the people in life that matter. Keep drifting fun, right?