Drift Fest Manila 2012

After a successful Drift Fest in Clark earlier this year, Car Porn Racing brought drifting closer to participants and fans alike. Held last June at the King's Playground at the FTI Complex in Taguig, the event attracted hundreds of car fans to experience and learn how drifting is more than just cars running around in circles.

The objective of the organizers was to keep drifting fun for both competitors and spectators alike. It's hard to enjoy something you don't understand. The energetic Issa Litton guided fans through the different aspects of drifting and scoring for them to better understand and enjoy what they're watching throughout the day. New competitors got to improve their driving with the short yet technical track as they were carefully observed by three judges in the criterias of: Speed, Line, Angle and Overall Impression.

The basic rules were based of the judging criteria of Formula Drift with some local rule addendums. But the basic four criterias were used as the basis of judging. The judges for the day were veteran drifter Kevin Tayao, professional race driver and instructor Georges Ramirez, and myself.

Speed - a combination of the entry speed on the first corner, as well as the amount of speed the driver carries through the entire course while drifting.

Line – the ideal path a driver must take marked by clipping points and transition zones. Clipping points being reference points where a vehicles bumper comes as close as possible, front or rear depending on orientation (inner or outer, respectively). Transition zones refer to areas where the direction of the line changes, drivers should also change the direction of their drift accordingly.

Angle – the amount of countersteer and relative rear slip angle a driver uses to tackle the course.

Overall Impression – is the general feel of a run, it is a combination of the first three criteria and the “wow” factor given by the driver.

A total of 25 competitors joined the competition for both Novice and Pro categories to show off their drifting skills to the hundreds of fans on the bleachers. A ceremonial drift train was done to officially open the competition and signify the fun part of Drift Fest led by Car Porn Racing's Kim Garcia and Struan Wallace. Fans also got to experience the feeling of drifting through the shotgun rides on Car Porn Racing's Nissan Cefiro demo car.

There were some unforunate ones who were not able to make it past practice due to mechanical and suspension failures. Ralph Tan dropped out due to a mechanical problem in his Toyota AE86, Team AutoIndustriya.com-Kumho Tires drivers Jason Choachuy and Ric Wee were also sidelined when their Nissan Cefiro suffered a broken rear knuckle.

As the competition progressed, the more informed crowd participated and cheered for their favorite drivers and were chanting “one more times” when a close tandem battle was held. Emerging as victors for the Novice category were Jesus Romero Salas aboard his Nissan Cefiro who took first place, Radrich Albano, also in a Nissan Cefiro took second, while Tin Tin David rounded up the top three, in another Nissan Cefiro. In the Pro category, it was a hard fought and competitive victory for Raymond Ronquillo aboard his R33 Nissan Skyline as he went up against talented drivers like Alvin Dayrit (Nissan Cefiro) and Boodie Dabasol (Nissan Silvia), who took second and third places, respectively.