Don't let this series drift away

Rob Daly

- ROB DALY, Sun photos

Things are coming together for Andrew Moschuk and the group of friends developing Alberta’s first-ever drifting event series. Moschuk is the director of operations for D-Sport Canada - a locally-based group dedicated to bringing drifting in from the outer edges of public awareness, while keeping the motorsport true to its rebel roots.

"No one was promoting it here, and I thought, why not get in on the ground floor?" he said, as drivers prepared for the first practice of the year at Castrol Raceway. "We want this to not be just a cult phenomenon like ice racing or autocross. When you go to those events you basically see friends and friends of friends watching. We’re hoping these events will draw a huge crowd full of racing guys, car buffs and gearheads. We’re promoting this as a professional event.

"This is a registered motorsport, not just a bunch of kids fooling around."

D-Sport will host three major events this year, starting with Round 1, June 3 at Stratotech Park. In the meantime, the newly-renamed motorsports park formerly known as Budweiser Motorsports Park hosts D-Sport practice evenings in the staging area south of the main drag strip.

"We set it up to be as close to a road course as possible," he explains. "Drifting originated on the mountain roads of Japan. "You follow the same race lines you would in a regular road event, but the bigger the angle you can get your car gets you style points. But speed is still a factor in the scoring."
Conroy Ganson is a seasoned motorsports fan who has participated in several types of racing. His day job with 4kruzn.com — an import auto sales company specializing in Japanese sports cars — fits well with the drifting scene.

"I’ve looked into things like rally racing, but the costs of being competitive can be huge," he said. "There are some parts that inevitably need replacement in this sport, but you don’t need to blow wads of money to get into it."

As an example, Ganson unloaded an older model RX7 that, had until a few days before practice, been "a bunch of parts in buckets." The relatively stock drivetrain still managed to get sideways and stay there on the track, despite the fact that the car’s power output was likely well under 200 hp.

"It’s all about balance," said Ganson. "This car may be a little underpowered, but it’s got near-perfect weight distribution. With a little tweaking and upgrading, this could be a competitive car.

"It really comes down to how well the driver drives it."

Moschuk agrees.

"There are some monster cars out there that put out 600, 700, 800 hp. But it’s not all about power."

He says setting up a competitive car depends on the indivual’s driving style, but most look for a car that’s got good balance, with a few additional basics:

—You can never go wrong spending money on your suspension — the better it is, the better you’ll be able to control your car. It needs to be stiff and adjustable.

Low profile tires and good wheels, to get as much rubber on the road as possible. "One of the rules is no racing slicks. The tire must be a production tire — something you could buy off the shelf."

— A limited slip differential is a must, allowing you to get both rear tires spinning together.

"It’s up to you on how you initiate and maintain the drift; the more radical the drift and the higher the speeds, the better."

Many of the cars arriving at Castrol Raceway for practice sported steering wheels on the right hand side of the car. These imported Japanese rides, predominantly Nissan Skylines, reflect the initial fan base of hard core drift fans who follow D1 Grand Prix events online from Japan, where drifting events regularly draw over 10,000 spectators. Moschuk is excited about the potential impact of a drifting demonstration by top-ranked American drifter Tony Angelo at the 2006 Grand Prix of Edmonton.

"That’s going to be huge. You’ll see some unbelievable driving."

D-Sport plans to offer a unique experience to fans and potential competitors at each event this year. For the cost of a $10 donation to a local children’s literacy program, adventurous fans can ride along with local professional drivers for a hot lap of the road course. A similar program will auction off rides at the Grand Prix event.

"It’s a great program," said Ganson. "You don’t get that kind of fear for $10 anywhere else."