Formula D Judging...

[RobbyStyle]

So....having a more powerful engine makes you a better driver. Got it.

not what i was getting at. but i believe we can all agree that the more powerful the car, the harder it is to control. everything in FD compared to the grassroots scene is on a bigger scale. the cars are more powerful, the tires are wider, and the tracks are bigger.

i dont in any way believe a driver should be given the advantage in tandem only if he makes more smoke. but, as an example, Round 2 FD in Atlanta, Forsberg v Millen. when leading AND giving chase, Millen had substantially less angle, and hardly any smoke. the physics of the Solstice are obvious, its light, quick, nimble, and has tons of grip. this is why the majority of Millen's wins this season made me wonder how he won. alot of times, that car would just rocket around the course almost like time attack, and in doing so create a massive gap between the chasing car while Rhys lead. the reason for him being victorious was that gap. when giving chase, he'd stick right on the rear bumper to the lead car but hardly initiate drift. same with Tyler McQuarries Porsche in Jersey, but not as shallow. that cars just stupid fast. both of those cars are exeptional, and im aware that it was their first season driving them, but their victories were just too questionable to me.

truth be told, if smoke were that big of judging point, i could see the speeds decreasing drastically because its easier to maintain a slide with bookoos of wheelspin and angle, but to see gobbs of smoke pooring out after a 70 or 80mph entry, dude, thats just cool. and it adds to the overall impact.

thats what brings me to my amateur event comparo. the tracks are smaller, tires arent nearly as wide, and cars arent as powerful. and theres usually not as much smoke which is why, to me, that its good that the amount of smoke is not a judging point, but when its there, it makes for a better show.

smoke is, just as you said earlier, a byproduct. and it seems that the more speed and angle the driver carries into a slide, the more the smoke. the better the look. and i love drivers that have that sorta style.

[Slapshotnerd]

[Mike Peters]

dont insult the judges here, anyone who actually has drifted on decent tires knows that different tires make different smoke, the driver has a huge part too, but honestly judging on smoke is as assinine as judging on decibels produced, it has too much to do with things out of hte driver's control sometimes.

i dont know anyone buying tires thats at the top in FD, but the sport isnt at a level to judge on smoke yet imo, due to the fact that there will always be one tire that outsmokes them all while still providing grip.

when it gets to a spec tire and everyone has the same thing then sure, but i think judging on throttle commitment like they've been doing is the right thing to do.

[cfrost]

since we're talking about what we think is cool

i think it's cool to see a super fast drift

[akuma S14]

I think having a name like Frost is cool!

[brainfood]

^ you know its not his real name right? Its just his stage name.

Pizza tonight by autobacs if you want to come Terry.

[AlexPfeiffer]

Damn, i just typed out this nice long post about stuff and then lost it. Anyway I'll just hit the points.


We look for throtle commitment. Smoke is just whats left of the tires. Jrod does talk about smoke sometimes but he is not a judge.

Speed and angle are a compromise. In the drivers meeting we talk about what areas of the track are more important for speed or angle. Once they go into tandom things get more complicated. Im sure if your driving with someone behind you your not going to be thinking "hey, maybe i should add more angle" but we do expect the drivers to be with in 90% of thier qualifying run.

We ask the drivers to match the lead car's angle. Its hard to do because you cannot predict what the lead car will do, running less angle gives you a safety margin that allows you to make a correction without ether spinning or hitting the lead car.

Not all cars drift with the same angle, you cant expect a porsche to drift like an S chassis. There are alot of different cars in FD and you wont see them drift the same.

[hachiroku-fc3s]

Very well explained Robbystyle. And yes, you will always see more smoke at a pro event than an amateur even due to exactly the reasons you mentioned. Thanks for providing good examples to support your argument.

And thanks again for your input Alex.

To end, thanks for the great debate. This is what we are here for, to talk things out until we come to conclusions that make us all happy. Still, personally I look for line, angle, and speed. I'm into driving talent as opposed to showmanship, though there are places for both, and to each his own.

[RobbyStyle]

all agreed.

with that said, im eager to see how 2008 goes. not that i expect the judging to change, but im anxious to see how the cars i questioned turn out.

forsberg, for example again, brought out the titan z in 06, didnt do as well as he wanted. this year, he ripped. he was on fire. now rhys and sam, two of FD's hardest hitters, came out with their new cars and neither were in the battle for this season's title.

not to mention the the stars on the rise like wild bill sherman, chris cook, ryan tuerck with his new sponsorship, and can someone back me up when i say that tony brakohiapa has some killer potential.

i think the bar has been raised considerably and 2008 should bring some pretty epic battles.

[P.Haire]

not to be off topic but who are you? there is like a handfull of people in the nashville area that really into drifting and i thought i knew them all. are you on any local forums?

[RobbyStyle]

haha, the real names swann, last name. as far as local stuff goes, ive gone to a few traction optional events and all but one of the drift events at the nashville super speedway.

im on tractionoptional.com, but none really other than that. not tneespeed or anything. i have an account w the s2000 owners board, but i rarely get on there and i only have that acct because i used to own an s2k.

www.myspace.com/robby_style

[P.Haire]

ahh so you don't drive. it's cool to know that there are people in nashville that are into drifting. maybe some more people will get into it so we can have a decent "scene". 1 or 2 local events a year are not enough. memphis motorsports park is ballin' though. it's way better than driving to ATL all the time. i wish they would let us use more of the track though.

uhh back on topic i guess.
i think in case of a tie there should be a towel fight.

[RobbyStyle]

no, i havent gotten to drive at any events. its been a year since ive owned my own car to really have fun with. but sliding is pretty much my life so im involved in every way except driving right now, which i know will sound like a poser to a lot of people. oh well. we need to round the nashville area people up, or hell, even just the south/southeast people on here and some other forums and get something together, or just go out downtown and kick it.

and as far as staying on topic... what do you guys think we can expect from 08???

[DriftRPS13]

we can expect you still will be a poser.

[RobbyStyle]

nice.

not really relevant to the 2008 formula d season or really even an accurate prediction but if thats as far as you can go with it, cool.

any intelligent predictions from any remotely level headed people that arent over flowing with ignorance that actually care to chime in without making themselves look like complete forum flamers tryin to sound like badasses from behind their computer?