Posted Dec 16 2008, 09:45 AM by Rod Chong with 58 comment(s)

I'm not sure how many people are currently aware, the motorsport of drifting just took at step forward this past weekend. The reigning Formula Drift Champion, Tanner Foust represented the sport at the Race of Champions in Wembley Stadium and showed reasonably well for himself. The racing establishment is now aware there is something new on the horizon and it's called drifting. The future looks very bright for drifting: the motorsport.

This is of course very exciting for people like me who follow the ebbs and flows of international drifting quite closely, but at the same time I feel it is important that we never forget where drifting came from. Remember drifting is not only a motorsport, it is also an automotive culture. This film is my humble attempt to showcase the true essence of drift culture.

Drifting of course comes from the "street" so to speak. That is, it developed on it's own without the involvement external forces and is a strong participatory community.

If you ever get a chance to attend a MSC event in Japan you will see, hear and feel this culture. Street drift style is very much alive and well in Japan.

.... Some of us westerners can only hope to perhaps participate in the western equivalent of this culture, others will go and live the dream in Japan.... For the rest of us... well I present this film! Hope you like it.

Thanks to Hajime Mori and Kazuhiko Iwata for hosting us at MSC Honjo.

:Rod


Comments

kOOpA said:

can't wait to get home from work and watch this!

you guys need a dedicated MSC reporter. as i'm planning to move to yokohama next year, i'd be happy to volunteer \(^^ )

December 16, 2008 10:22 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

ryphlex said:

Shittt was dopeee. I wish there was more audio coming from the cars though.

December 16, 2008 11:01 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

hechtspeed said:

Dude!  Chills!  Amazing mix of music, vid and blowoff valve sounds.  More !   I think slowmo is a great way to capture drifting.  I got my drift on in my civic and ebrake in the snow this morning.  It is just so fun to drift.  ;)

December 16, 2008 11:02 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

J.Herron said:

Awesome video! I loved it. It's cut together very well.

December 16, 2008 11:03 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Andy Sapp said:

This video is  AWESOME.  The ending shot was AMAZING.

I wish the street style would rub off a bit more in America.  The streets are shunned like the plague over here, and because of that... I don't think the style has really developed here like it has in Japan.

December 16, 2008 11:03 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

friday said:

More of this. This is what you guys do best, no words or pictures, just sound and slow mo. Great stuff.

December 16, 2008 11:24 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

reuben said:

best vid ive seen all year, nice work!

December 16, 2008 11:31 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

jblaine said:

WTF is "street drift style"?

December 16, 2008 11:39 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Rod Chong said:

The style associated with street cars which drift... If you look closely at the video you'll see that the majority of these cars are street registered.

Put another way: grassroots drift cars which have style....

December 16, 2008 11:53 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

s0apgun said:

one of the most important things in street drift culture is style

you have to look good out there doing what you do

December 16, 2008 12:04 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Section09 said:

werd^

Street drift style is the best. Noobs here in the US dont know how to make it work tho. The Risky devil guys kill it and a few others as well. Thanks for this vid. +1 on the last shot, I like how you can see the speedhunters logo in the car, very nice small details!

December 16, 2008 12:31 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Bryn Alban said:

Awesome video Rod. I love these sort of stylistic vids. Really puts the scene in its place. Good work.

December 16, 2008 12:35 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Brian Harte said:

Very nice.

Much better than watching a Formula D video.

:)

December 16, 2008 12:51 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Stephane said:

Well, this one is a must see, No aggresive, i like it.

December 16, 2008 1:19 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Aviator said:

Love it, nice work the last logo, where the car is behind the car as it drifts by, little detail but nice!!

December 16, 2008 1:23 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

SiZZLe said:

I really, really, really appreciate this post

December 16, 2008 2:20 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

byron h. said:

very nice.

love the grassroot cars.

December 16, 2008 2:21 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Marlow said:

next time i wanna hear the blue laurel!

great video!

December 16, 2008 2:54 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Cameron said:

This is amazing, and i agree with andy, most of the kids in atlanta have the wrong idea of street style...

December 16, 2008 3:19 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

emperor77 said:

This is exactly how a video about driftculture has to be... It's perfect, I love it!!! Great work!

December 16, 2008 3:23 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

sileightysr20 said:

ooohh hit the lottery with that video yall.

5 star greatness for sure

December 16, 2008 3:29 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

REVGASM_Josh said:

Dreams.......

December 16, 2008 3:32 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Josh said:

That was an amazing vid, with plenty of great cinematography in there. I always love watching your guy's HD vids. What's the name of the song in the background ?

December 16, 2008 3:54 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

ernie manansala said:

fresh ... enough said

December 16, 2008 4:30 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

jblaine said:

Rod : Ah, I see.  I guess I'm confused then.  Isn't there plenty of street-style here in the US?  Isn't that what Drift Days and that sort of thing are about?  Or are you specifically talking about the lack of an amateur drifting class/league where one would see these cars come out?  There are Drift Day type of things (minus the instruction) at Ocala regularly.  I bet elsewhere, too.  Maybe you guys need to get out of Cali and find where it's going down ;)

I don't really follow drifting like most of the other readers probably do, so school me where I am wrong.

December 16, 2008 5:12 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Jeroen Willemsen said:

You have really outdone yourself Rod, Amazing

December 16, 2008 5:55 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

F3INT said:

Great everything Rod but I think you give Tanner too much credit unfortunately for him.  Pastrana dropped out and Foust was to take his place; it was at this time that I commented on what a bad choice that was detailing the fact that he is too much of a media face to compete with the likes of Shumi, Button, Kristensen, etc.  It seemed my call was right as Tanner stalled his car in the race because he forgot to engage the LC or something to that effect; but I will give credit where it is due Tanner did do a good job repping the drift world by simply putting his face in front of those worldwide cameras, now everybody is going to think that drifters can't even leave the starting grid in a real race, so yea thanks a lot Tanner.

December 16, 2008 6:40 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Rod Chong said:

Ahh well Ekstrom also stalled the Focus... I think it was the run against Button that more cemented Tanner's showing at ROC... the Eurosport commentators also just seemed interested in "drifting".... they kept mentioning it during the broadcast :>

Jblaine there are some fantastic street drift cars in the US and elsewhere... I am more comparing all of these cars to the professional drift machines we often showcase on these pages. Nothing against those, but it's inspiring to showcase the culture under the motorsport if that makes sense...

December 16, 2008 7:35 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

SaNTi said:

Insane video!

December 16, 2008 8:10 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

C.James said:

WOW, killer video and the majician 110 so badass

December 16, 2008 8:33 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Geki said:

Very nice video, much better then the Ebisu one.

- Luke

December 16, 2008 8:47 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Chris said:

Where is the clapping hands emoticon? seriously, A+ one of the best drift short video's i've watched.

An inspiration. Moar plz

December 16, 2008 9:15 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Hugo said:

amazing video literally, you guys are picturing a culture to a point words can't describe except living it. for the Risky Devil comment, I think it would be cool if you guys could put up for sale Speedhunters stickers, I know many of my dudes would put em up, they like to read your posts just as much as I do. Happy Holidays to you guys!

December 17, 2008 12:41 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

luke fink said:

more more more more more more i want more man please do more vids of this calibre

December 17, 2008 1:18 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

P.J said:

Just loves what you doing, with this vids .. slow mo is sooo great. Just thinking of this episodes did came in long dvd types. Wow a think im stuck in my sofa for ever..

December 17, 2008 1:46 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

drelotter said:

looks good. I'm downloading the vid right now

December 17, 2008 3:31 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Rod Chong said:

Panasonice HVX

December 17, 2008 10:45 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Patrick Cecil said:

Does anyone know what this was shot on? thanks-----

December 17, 2008 1:39 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

spencer said:

Very very  nice!  the music flows so well with it.

December 17, 2008 2:31 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Edgar said:

I can only say... AMAZING.

December 17, 2008 5:16 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

streets said:

NO ONE DRIFTS ON THE STREETS HERE IN THE US ! The ones that DO ..dont shine themselves on the internet on forums and blogs!   Japan has STREET STYLE because they drift on the streets and drive there cars on the streets !   street style here is meant for track events and ASB ..I never see those guys drift streets and get caught by the police !!!

December 17, 2008 6:41 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

jblaine said:

December 18, 2008 6:05 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

worker bee said:

awesome vid keep up the good work

December 18, 2008 7:03 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

jayzedex100 said:

Good god I love Speedhunters, you guys always come up with the goods. This video ruled.

December 18, 2008 1:45 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Henry said:

Amazing

December 18, 2008 11:16 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

ridgezero said:

i praise u guys for putting together such a video, excellence.

December 19, 2008 3:26 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Insane said:

what the song in background?? :O

December 21, 2008 10:00 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Tommy said:

nice. i wana just keep watching the magician S14 over and over.

December 21, 2008 7:24 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Rod Chong said:

It's a custom score from the Need for Speed Undercover game

December 22, 2008 12:23 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

3L said:

like... whoa.

December 22, 2008 9:56 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Jason said:

Hi Rod,

First of all, awesome video, please make more of them! The cinematography along with mix of sounds/music was very well done! Looked awesome on my 60inch HD Plasma!

I must ask, what is the name of the song playing in the background for a majority of the song?

Cheers :)

December 23, 2008 2:08 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Dorifto180 said:

this is a very nice video! well done. LOVE the blue hachiroku <333

December 24, 2008 5:50 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

SrBluebird said:

POWERFUL, TO BAD MY 200 SR20DET BLUEBIRD CAN'T DO DRIFT!

December 31, 2008 9:25 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

davidko said:

no je to super stranka  " )

January 22, 2009 10:07 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

MassAmount_Toy03 said:

Pretty outstanding nissans!

So smooth....wish I had a RWD!

January 23, 2009 12:22 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Eric_23 said:

best edit ive seen for a drift video.

does anyone else have trouble saving it though? i keep getting error on page :( and i really want this video.

Thanks.

February 4, 2009 2:59 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Quail said:

Makes me want to move to Japan even more!

February 10, 2009 7:53 AM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters

Speedhunters said:

When we launched Speedhunters.com just over a year ago we had two types of videos in production: Slo

June 22, 2009 2:12 PM [flag as inappropriate] Speedhunters