CHRIS RADO Spotted Drift Testing

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Chris Rado ready to leave the sinking ship - Spotted Drift Testing
October 24th, 2008
http://wreckedmagazine.com/blog/2008...drift-testing/


CHRIS RADO POST on DRIFTING.com
"Drifting's Easy According To Christian Rado"
http://www.drifting.com/forums/gener...mpact-car.html

[gigglesnirt]

anyone else thinking "not again"

[Bebop]

This coward again!!!

[deadpirate]

he wont last long if he gets a license

[MonkeySlide]

Just cause the dude talked some trash (which really wasn't all that bad...blown outta porportion in my opinion) doesn't mean he should be underestimated.

Steph came from drag racing and even though he wasn't great..he didn't suck so bad either..he even saw a top 16 battle or two.

As always I withhold judgement until more is revealed...

[J.Herron]

We'll see what happens.

But, because of this, he now has some pretty big shoes to fill for himself.

[Bebop]

Just cause the dude talked some trash (which really wasn't all that bad...blown outta porportion in my opinion) doesn't mean he should be underestimated.

Steph came from drag racing and even though he wasn't great..he didn't suck so bad either..he even saw a top 16 battle or two.

As always I withhold judgement until more is revealed...

Steph has always been a nice dude to the drifters, and imo the best outsider in the sport. He sucks, but he is always out there with his team shaking hands smiling and talking to his fans.

Rock on steph

Rado.... his words weren't blown out of proportion,he totally bashed the sport in its infancy.

Now he wants a part of it?

This is one dude I look forward to booing. Nasty attitude with nasty skills.

[MonkeySlide]

Rado.... his words weren't blown out of proportion,he totally bashed the sport in its infancy.

Lets look at what he said again..

There's no mystery to drifting,just solid techiniques;basiclly what I've been doing since high-school to showoff

While I can't really speak to the "high-school" part of his comment...hes right. There is no mystery to drifting...it IS about solid technique...in addition to style and a healthy dose of testicular fortitude.

Often when enthusiasts become enthralled into something they romantisize it as something more than what it really is. Drifting is awesome, amazing but its not some mystical thing that only the chosen can do or something.

Its a motorsport...a unique motorsport but a motorsport nonetheless. As with all motorsports in order to accel at it one must master the proper techniques..as well as execersise informed judgement..and demonstrate some bravery.

A lot of cars looked pretty ghetto in D1,they were beat up and looked it

To understand this quote you gotta understand Rado. He tends to use the word "ghetto" a lot..even when it comes to his own cars. Thats just what he does.

Beyond that...to the uninitated D1 cars DO look beat up...heck most of them are beat up! If someone who isn't used to being around drift cars goes to an event and sees body pannels being held on by zip ties, torn up fiberglass body kits, and strobe lights they're gonna think the cars are "beat up" and "ghetto"

And lets be real for a second..some of the things that the Japanese dudes do with their cars are the same thing we clown other people about on the street.

If you see a kid with a civic who has underbody neon and strobes then hes touted as a "ricer fast and furious wannabe poser"

But when Taniguchi does it, its suddenly cool again?

Way too many of the guys at D1 seemed surly to the fans;like they'd rather slump over in a lawn chair and inhale Marlboro Reds than shake hands,sign autographs,or even listen to questions

Wow.I understand that a lot of guys there didn't speak english,but that's no excuse for not representing yourself, your team,and your sponsors well

I'm not really sure who he was referring to when he said this but I'm going to chalk this up to cultural ignorance.

I'm not going to really expect a guy from Pennsylvania to readily know too much about the Japanese culture or how someone from Japan may react to hordes of kids who speak a language they dont understand approaching them with questions.

I'd say do some research there Rado...talk to some more people and get some more personal experience before you mouth off like that.

But some of the things he said like the "high-school" crack isn't any different than what opponents of drifting have been saying from the begining.

"Oh thats just like what I did in the parking lot of my high school haw haw haw"

And we were used to that crap...but all of a sudden when Rado (known for his boisterous personality) does it everyone is up in arms and wants to call him out?

Anyway when you look over everything he said back then it was more directed towards D1 than the sport of drifting itself.

Which is funny because in current context a lot of people here think D1 is almost a complete joke now. Go figure...

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I love being a turtle...er wait no...I mean I'm going to reserve judgement.

[TyCooley]

Hey Guys!
My name is Ty Cooley. Im the crew chief of Rado's NOS Energy Drink Time Attack SCION tC & race tech on the PRO FWD SCION tC. I know this has been a huge discussion amongst a lot of drifting forums. Chris is open to talk to anyone about this subject. Yes we have been out testing @ Willow Springs on the balcony with Tony Angelo's Silver S13. Here is a little video I put together after our second day of chris out at Willow Springs. Please feel free to contact me on here or via email with any questions. tcooley@world-racing.com

MonkeySlide: Thank you for taking a more mature look at all of Christian's words from the SCC article from 4 years ago. I believe if more people on all of these forums actually meet Chris they would think totally different of him. Text can be interpreted in anyway you want as seen in that article. "GHETTO" lol if you know Rado every single racecar he has ever owned is labelled as "Ghetto Glider 1, Ghetto Glidder 2, ect.)

Anyways here is a short video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUPsUJjPVbk

Thanks Guys!

Ty Cooley
WORLD Racing
Time Attack Crew Chief
e- tcooley@world-racing.com
c- (610)-301-6813
www.world-racing.com
www.world-motorsports.com
www.myspace.com/worldracing

[Brian]

I'm sure he will do fine.

Drifting is pretty easy to be honest.

I bet he has the time and resources to practice and drive a good car, so he'll do fine.

[Brian]

I wish Lindsay never would have sold that car.

I miss it.

I was there from day one when it was a dark blue stock s13.
I worked on that thing MANY a coldass night.

Anyways, Did you guys buy it from Tony or what?

[TyCooley]

We are renting it and Tony has been helping Chris get a grasp of it real quick. we are going to be going out again sometime this upcoming week.

[Bebop]

Alright lets cut the crap here. And get down to the nasty buisnes.

About drivers being rude and driving ghetto cars:

Lets remember that this was in 04, this was when the sport was still new. A Lot of the Japanese drivers were out here for the first time, a lot of fans didn't know who they were and some of which still probably had the mindset of a privateer. What do we do at track days when were re not running at that moment, kick back and maybe take a smoke break.

On the contrary, I was like 14 back in 03 at irwindale and shook a lot of Japanese drivers hand including Ueo, Ueno,and Taniguchi.

And anyone would just a little bit of motorsports knowledge who has seen this sport for the first time will quickly realize that breaking traction at 50+ mph with walls around you will probably lead to a beat up car. And even for the best most financially back teams cant go back and repaint a car and get the body panels perfect for the sake of sponsors and fans who like shiny cool cars. Tape, zipties, and keep pounding the pavement.

BTW, D1 USA as a company sucks... but they always have had exciting events. And D1 JP is out of this world in person, almost all the courses these days have 100+ mph entry speeds. You haven't seen drifting until you seen D1 in japan (sorry FD, just not on that level....yet).

About Drivers crossing over from other motorsports to drifting:

The proof is in the pudding guys... The best drivers come from a background in dirt!! Either Rally driving, dirt bike riding or both.

-Tanner: Rally
-Hampsha: MX
-Dai: motorcycles
-Fors: tractors (lol)
-JR: motorcycles
-Sam: ice
-Rhys: Rally and MX
-Kumakubo: his parents own a all around motorsports park for christ sake!!!!

IMO, every human being with 2 arms and 2 legs and a good set of eyes can be a driver. But drifting this is a young sport, and it has so much personality I feel that no one can be a successful drifter as a student of the sport. You just gotta go out and do it, you gotta have some sort of love for breaking traction, sliding and gliding. You gotta really catch the concept, and drag racing professionally for years... its plain to see you can teach a old dog new tricks but they wont be able to do it as well as the others.

Why we are so frustrated?

Because instead of skimming his way into a licence like every other highly funded yet inexperienced driver has done. Rado can take his good name and sponsors and back a driver who actually knows how to drift on the top level. Like stephan, he doesn't really need to drive his S2k, he probably makes plenty of money with Tanners success. Bergenholtz dudes didn't need to jump behind the wheel, they just got a ex D1 champion. And Gardella got probably the sickest young gun in the series.

Rado...if your listening out there, its going to take many of years to be a top level driver in a pro drifting series. Lets face the facts here, if a fresh mind like hogan couldn't do it...what makes middle age man with tendencies and habits any different?

Lets leave the drifting to the drifters, ex rally and mx riders.

[akuma S14]

I can say this..... Rado came out to a Drift Buffet Private day with JR in 2007 and he was a pretty cool guy. In some ways he is a little like me - loud, brash, outspoken, and he has his opinions. At least he is not a JDM parrot. The whole day though he was really thankful to be out there and just having some fun. That is what drifting is all about. I don't think he'll be the next JR but he might just have some fun and make some new friends.

Give a guy a break.

[MonkeySlide]

About Drivers crossing over from other motorsports to drifting:

The proof is in the pudding guys... The best drivers come from a background in dirt!! Either Rally driving, dirt bike riding or both.

-Tanner: Rally
-Hampsha: MX
-Dai: motorcycles
-Fors: tractors (lol)
-JR: motorcycles
-Sam: ice
-Rhys: Rally and MX
-Kumakubo: his parents own a all around motorsports park for christ sake!!!!

IMO, every human being with 2 arms and 2 legs and a good set of eyes can be a driver. But drifting this is a young sport, and it has so much personality I feel that no one can be a successful drifter as a student of the sport. You just gotta go out and do it, you gotta have some sort of love for breaking traction, sliding and gliding. You gotta really catch the concept, and drag racing professionally for years... its plain to see you can teach a old dog new tricks but they wont be able to do it as well as the others.

Why we are so frustrated?

Because instead of skimming his way into a licence like every other highly funded yet inexperienced driver has done. Rado can take his good name and sponsors and back a driver who actually knows how to drift on the top level. Like stephan, he doesn't really need to drive his S2k, he probably makes plenty of money with Tanners success. Bergenholtz dudes didn't need to jump behind the wheel, they just got a ex D1 champion. And Gardella got probably the sickest young gun in the series.

Rado...if your listening out there, its going to take many of years to be a top level driver in a pro drifting series. Lets face the facts here, if a fresh mind like hogan couldn't do it...what makes middle age man with tendencies and habits any different?

Lets leave the drifting to the drifters, ex rally and mx riders.

Yeah...you have one MAJOR flaw in your logic and its name is Chris Forsberg...

He was a championship contender in 07, won the tripple crown, and was I believe the first American driver to take on Taniguchi...

What is is background? DA STREETZ SON!

Are you really going to atribute what hes done to driving tractors? Come on dude...

Do you really think there is some magical thing that happens when someone touches dirt that makes them good at drifting?

What makes someone good at motorsports besides any talent that they might already be born with is seat time and practice. There isn't any reason why Rado couldn't possibly be a top contender if he puts the time into it...which hes already starting to do.

Now I'm not saying that hes automatically going to be the best...but I'm not going to write him off either. Especially not just because hes never raced on dirt.

Oh by the way...anyone with a little bit of motorsports knowledge knows that sliding on asphalt is completely different than sliding on dirt.

Saying that he'll never be as good as the other guys because he has a background in drag racing doesn't make much sense.

And even if you want to hold to that theory you forget that he has a healthy amount of Road Course and karting experience.

Also saying that someone can't make it in drifting as a "student" of the sport?

Do you not realize that with the exception of Ryuji Miki, Takatori, and Dai that everyone in Formula D has only competed in drifting as a sport only as long as Formula D has been around? I mean yeah a few D1 events before Formula D started but for the most part most drivers drifting "sport" experience is only as old as the series itself.

That includes Sam, Rhys, and Tanner. Sure they all knew how to slide cars but to do that over a set course and connect clipping points while someone was judging them and having to pay attention to entry speeds and how close they could get to a wall or another driver? Before D1 came around I think its safe to say that none of them had to do anything like that.

They might have already had the skill set but they still had things to learn.

If Rado can catch up to their level of experience remains to be seen but I choose to not write the guy off until I see how things go down once he actually tries.