The Drift 101 and 102 instructors from left to right: Taka Aono, Yoshie Shuyama, Hiro Sumi
You also need to have the proper instructors-after all, a student is only as good as his teachers. Drift 101's team of Mark Adalba and J.P. Mendoza were nothing short of spectacular in terms of relaying information and providing feedback. Unlike performance driving schools where classroom theory is fundamental, learning to drift is all about practice and repetition. You drive, they watch, ride along and then critique. Drift 101 throws you into the driver seat, and you'll get more than enough practice time to master the basics.
At the request of Naoki, I won't be getting into the specifics of the actual curriculum (hey, they've got to keep their secrets), but true to its name, Drift 101 taught me the fundamental techniques of getting a car sideways, holding a drift and transitioning from side to side. A lot of what Jay Chen will talk about in Drift 102-throttle input, vision, car control and so on-were touched on in the 101 course, but the maneuvers were more basic.
I came away from Drift 101 with a sense of confidence that I now possess the skills needed to start drifting. I'm a very long ways from being the next Chris Forsberg, but I've got a solid foundation and skill set to build upon. Even better, I didn't start off on the street where there was no one to correct my mistakes and help me improve. I can't wait to further improve my skills at the Drift 102 level. -Peter Tarach
The Drift 101 rental car was a lightly tuned Nissan S13 240SX. Aside from the KAAZ two-way
Drift 102
The secondary course starts where 101 leaves off and picks up the pace while introducing more complex maneuvers that require more pedal and hand work.
Unfortunately, my good friend Naoki mistakenly assumed my driving and drifting abilities were at pretty high levels (not actually the case). While it has been a few years since I've put a car into the wall, I wasn't quite ready to jump right into Drift 102, which was designed for students with the prerequisite 101 instruction. As a compromise, it was decided that I was better off learning in Yoshie's torquey KA-powered S14 instruction car-set up with XXR wheels, 205-width Nexen Tires, a KAAZ LSD and Megan Racing coilovers-instead of my own ill-equipped S14. With instructors Yoshie and Taka taking turns in the car with me and Hiro spotting outside, we headed off onto the Orange Showground infield to begin my exclusive all-star, tag-team instruction.
Even though I've been well versed in speaking drift lingo and understand the concepts and mechanics of how to balance a car and initiate a drift, actually doing the deed was something quite different. Each lesson is a natural extension of the previous one and the instructors adapt and work at a pace you're comfortable with.
In Drift 102, we started with warm-ups and went over some basic exercises. The instructors stressed the importance of warming up the car as well as the driver just like any good road racer would. Since the cars are built to be predictable and easy to initiate into a slide, finding the car's balance and grip limits comes almost instinctively as the tires start talking and breaking away. All this time, each instructor carefully and quietly watched my reactions, hand motions, where I'm looking and comfort level. Unlike many road race instructors, there's very little mid-drive instruction, screaming, grabbing the steering wheel or yanking of the helmet as I'm driving. Every time after a successful pass, we stop and discuss what was done right and what could be improved. Oftentimes after a spinout, there's no need for discussion and we continue trying until it feels more comfortable. The process is only as painful as you make it on yourself, but the support is always there.