Sunday January 1, 2006
Adrift in chills and spills
STORY AND photos
BY HONG BOON HOW
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An Orc Fairlady Z drift car burning its rear rubber as it takes a fast curve at the Nismo Festival in Fuji Speedway, Japan |
All of us, journalists from Russia, the United States, Britain and Malaysia, had our eyes on the sleek Orc Fairlady Z whose turbocharged engine pumps out a phenomenal 700bhp.
The Malaysian group was there at the invitation of of Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd.
My heart started racing when I was called to board the car.
“Very sorry. The Fairlady Z is already taken,” said a representative from Nismo's overseas sales department, our host, gesturing me instead to go inside a green Kei-Office Silvia S15.
Rotten luck. I said to myself. All the way from Malaysia just to ride in an old car with 450bhp instead of the latest rocket.
Anyway, I dragged myself to the Silvia and saw the driver waiting for his next passenger, or as I was to find out, his next victim.
For behind the wheel was no ordinary driver. This was the madman of drift himself, Yasuyuki Kazama, and incidentally the Drift One (D1) Grand Prix champion of 2005.
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2005 drift car champion Yasuyuki Kazama's Kei-Office Silvia (S15) drift car |
The 36-year-old from Nagano Prefecture started competing in D1 in 2001. He had his first win in the D1's US round in 2004, ranking fourth in the 2004 season.
As I got in, I could hardly see Kazama's face, only his eyes and the bridge of his nose, which had not been blocked out by his full-face crash helmet.
Kazama did not say anything but I could guess that he was grinning ear to ear at the prospect of scaring more journalists with his extreme drift style.
His drift car was a bit stuffy inside and mostly stripped to bare metal to make way for the six-point rollover cage.
It was definitely nothing like the usual production sports car brimming with leather seats, air-conditioning and luxury trimmings.
After strapping up a four-point safety harness, Kazama drove his Silvia slowly onto the drift track before flooring the accelerator into a deafening and rubber-burning take-off.
I could see the end of the track hurling towards me before Kazama turned the steering wheel wildly to throw the Silvia's tail out.
In a split second, he counter-steered while dropping a few gears and revving up the car's engine simultaneously to get the tyres to spin furiously.
The car snapped into a sideway drift instantly and its rear tyres were still smoking. In fact, the smell of burnt rubber was seeping into the car.
Although the bucket seat could keep the body firmly planted, it did not do much to prevent the violent G-forces from throwing my head and innards around.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Kazama turning his head briefly to see how I was coping with his little track mastery before we approached the next turn. He must be laughing inside, I thought.
As I was recomposing myself, Crazy Kazama spun his steering wheel again and quickly countersteered to enter another power slide.
Many people mistakenly believe that drift cars do not need good gripping tyres as such rubbers would hinder rear wheel spin.
But they are still essential for drifting to steer the car forward or sideways.
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2005 drift car champion Yasuyuki Kazama putting on the Incredible Hulk stance for the cameras with his Kei-Office Silvia (S15) after completing his drift routine at the Nismo Festival at the Fuji Speedway, Japan.
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For drift drivers, it means more smoke and more opportunity to display their best styles.
Anyway, having an amazing 700bhp engine may not guarantee championship wins as competitors are not judged purely on speed but on drifting style and execution.
As drifting is a specialised sport, drivers must understand physics, have super-quick reflexes, and of course, plenty of guts and insanity - precisely the areas where Kazama excels.
Although we went around the track at least four times at a flat-out pace, his Silvia did not exhibit much body roll nor did it ever hint of flipping over. That made me feel safe even when he was drifting around the track like crazy.
However, the ride was hard and very noisy. It was a good thing the crash helmet provided some sound insulation from the near deafening engine roar and tyre screeches.
After getting out of the car, the ground felt a bit wobbly. Kazama did not say anything as he alighted except to show the thumbs-up. When he took his helmet off, he was indeed sporting a wide grin.
In all, it was good fun to drift with the world champion at the steering wheel. I certainly wouldn't mind another ride if the opportunity comes again.
But I still wonder how Kazama would have fared if he was driving that Fairlady Z.
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