Formula D - Heading the Wrong Way?

[Weapon X]

Originally posted by R1chard
Maybe the majority of people want to see all these things at Formula Drift and you're just one of the few that is bothered by this. Or maybe, you're too stupid to know what you want to see so that's why they are telling you what you want to see.

The people on this online community don't represent the majority of the people who attend such events as Formula Drift or D1. Most of you guys are hardcore drifting dorks with no lives and nothing better to do than to sit there and complain about how nothing is good enough for you guys.

A lot of people who attend these events aren't hardcore drift fans. They are also people who are interested in the sport, but dont know much about it, or even people who aren't even into motorsports at all. The other elements of the event such as the car show and celebrities are just something to add to the event just in case those non-hardcore drift fans get bored during the downtime and want to see something else. Of course you dorks don't care about that because you guys know nothing else but drifting, but maybe those other people at the event do. Those elements don't hurt the event so why do you care? How do you expect the drifting culture/scene to progress and make advancements when narrow-minded people like you don't understand that you cant just keep doing the same thing and expect to keep moving up.

You registered just to say that? I call BS you troll. I thought we were gonna keep this professional, but you retards keep going back to personal attacks because the cr@p you say loses it's fire otherwise. If you get bored during a drift event, pick your @ss up and get the fucc out. It's about drifting you piece of $hit, plain and simple. The MOTORSPORT. I know nothing else but drifitng? Let me tell you something you juvenile prick, I've been into the DJ/Hip Hop/Electronic music scene for several years. I can also tell you that lineup of DJs at Formula D also suck royal c0ck, but you seem like one of those types doesnt care 'cause they have tits and *Censored**Censored**Censored*. I'm just using that to illustrate a point that I'm not only about the drifting, you dont know me so shut your god damn trap. Drifting is my life sure, but so is music. If that makes me a dork, then I'm a grade a specimen. Calling me narrow minded is ignorant, if you knew me that would be last on the list of names you'd call me. Who says you cant keep doing the same thing and expect to keep moving up? It's a tried formula, it works. You're just an Audiboy reject, probably a friend of his or something. Get the hell out of my house.

Edit: If the majority of the users that took the time to post in this thread are any indication, it sure looks like I'm the only one that doesnt want to see this kind of stuff at a drift event This has been posted on other forums too, and nearly everyone agrees this has gone too far.

[Thai Juku]

Last response in this thread...

OWNED!

[nasty nate 7]

i would have to agree strongly on feint and weapon x points. not to get off subject. but take this example into consideration please. when i go to a basketball game or hockey or whatever, i buy my ticket with my hard earned money to see basketball or hockey. thats it, i dont go there to see if theres models or celebs there or what kinda ride you drive and how you fixed it up. our main focus and point is "drifting" i want to see competition, skill and how others drive. show cars should be separate from drift events, you wanna see show cars? go to a car meet or car SHOW thats what they are for. thats what we are trying to explain here. we dont want the young/new people to get the wrong impression, especially when we're new to this motorsport. they dont have shows at nascar, F1, le mans, wrc, or even drag racing etc. because they dont need it. people who attend are people who appreciate the beauty of the sport. this is just my opinion and how other people feel. am i wrong?

[mikespeed95]

Originally posted by ALI
Hey guys, Ali here, I've competed in the past two events in Houston, and Sonoma. I don't post here very often, but I feel like sharing on this topic. I'm pretty sad to see all the negative comments about Slipstream and the efforts that they are putting in to bringing professional drifting to the United States.

By all means, I am a pure enthusiast and enjoy nothing more than driving (drifting) every second I can, and I've never really understood the whole show car thing, but I greatly respect the effort that people put into their cars, because even though it's not what most of us here do, they love their cars just as much as us. Formula Drift / Slipstream are bringing people together so everyone can understand what drifting is all about, because that’s what this sport needs in it’s infancy stages. What do you think the car show people are saying on their forums right now?

"Ahhh, why do we have to watch stupid drifting, we should only have show cars at HIN"
OR
"Wow, how cool is that?!?!? We get to watch drifting, AND see a big car show in one event! I’m there!!!"

I agree that this sport should be treated as a pure motorsport like any other form of professional racing, but you also have to consider that the audience for drifting right now is young, as is the sport here itself. As the sport matures in this country, so too will the audience and fan base. From a driver’s perspective, I greatly appreciate Formula Drift doing everything they can to keep the series alive, growing, and healthy. Coming from a road racing background where every series is struggling for fans, Slipstream has a VERY difficult job to do, and I think we all need to be a little more patient with what the sport has in store for us. I'm sure we will all be very pleased with the outcome. It's just going to take a little time, as these things don't happen overnight.

I couldnt agree with Ali more, and chris has good points as well.

What is some of you peoples problems? sorry, this isnt japan, americans work totally different tahn japanese. Americans dont knwo what drifting is. I help dailydrifter , texas's drift day equivalant. i tell people i drift they are like wtf is drift. drifting is still extremely new to america, some of you have got to step out of our motorsports filled lives and look at the average joe. He doesnt know what drifting is, you tell him that you think max papis is cool he will be like "who?" . most america doesnt know what drifting is, and in order to get the word out your gonna have to use some existing american interests to build off of to increase the drifting stuff. you should have been at FD houston, there were sooo many people there who had never seen drifting, it was awesome! it was like watchign little kids see someone do a burnout for the 1st time in their life! would they have come if we didnt have one of the best car shows in the state setup , and models and tons and tons of promo? NO. besides the >500 motorheads in houston who knew what REAL drifting was there wouldnt have been anyone there. I know Cali is totally different but youve gotta realize, if you walked up to 90% of america and told them you were a fan of drifting, they would probably 1) look at you funny or 2) call the red cross and try to get you a place to stay.

Whether some yall like it or not, the car shows, california rice (texas had none the crap i saw at cali, which was disgusting, no offense , to each his own, but the billet grills faux fmic's i saw crossed the line) get n00bs to drifting into the event, and create a fanbase, which creates money flow, and sponsorship interesteand that is gonan be the money that makes bigger better drifting events possible in america.

Now correct me if i am wrong, but some you people seem like youd be happier with one D1 event per year , at irwindale, and other than that drifting in america is nothing more than an udnerground sensation. Id like to see it get big, id liek to see auto-x have more interest, id liek more racectracks in america. but that takes money. and right now, whether you liek it or not, FD is creating the fanbase and cash base to make our events possible.

[_PG_]

BUt if i go to X-Games to see my friend rollerblade, i don't mind watching some push-wooders and BMX guys ride too....

What i think is funny is that a lot of the promoters think that what they are orginizing is "drifting lifestyle type shows". Hah. That show would actually consist of a bunch of us sitting on a couch watching videos. Then either getting soem Gin and Tonics or deciding to go get frisky with a mountain road. Theres no house music and naked chicks humping each other. Well, not EVERY night.

Anyways, i think what I am trying to say is that you can go to a WRC event to watch Petter Solberg drive his WRX but you also have the opportunity (take it or not) to see a couple of other classes of cars run (like the 1.6L FWD class, etc...) You don't get taken away form any drifting at these events, if you don't want to. Just don't pay attention to the ugly Import hos and ugly show cars.

Unfortunately drifters barely have money to buy a new set of ES100s, let alone support all the companies sponsoring these events. To get THEM money, they need people a. with money, b. who can be convinced to spend it, and c. who might not DRIFT even if they do liek to watch it. Whatever, it is what it is. There are other events around. Plenty of them. Like I said before though, not many people show up to watch those. But it is what you are describing in this thread.

[_PG_]

that takes money. and right now, whether you liek it or not, FD is creating the fanbase and cash base to make our events possible.

Yup. Quoted for truth. Drifting needs to be exposed to the people who own the tracks for them to let us drift at them.

Liek everything though exposure is a double edged sword. We went from what... 1 event every couple months to almost 1 a week during peak season. But Insurance companies see all of drifting as Dai and Calvin at D1. They think that every time there is an event someone is going to total their car at mach 10 and sue them. In reality, its the way the courses were setup and the run off (oh thats right... LACK OF IT) which causes bad accidents. How many people die drifting? How many kids die or get inhured each year in H.S. football? (couple injuries per game!) But drifting is still more dangerous of course!

_we have our society and country to thank for that._

[nasty nate 7]

thats like saying, "why dont we hold drift events at rodeo cowboy events, or lets hold drift events at a NFL football games. maybe the people over there dont know about drifting so lets promote it there and put on a SHOW rather than a competition". believe or not, i would get a lot of hate mail and negative remarks about how stupid my idea is. this is how we see it. And im not putting down people that dont know about drifting. the competitors do it for the sport, not to be a show F@G

[mikespeed95]

Originally posted by nasty nate 7
i would have to agree strongly on feint and weapon x points. not to get off subject. but take this example into consideration please. when i go to a basketball game or hockey or whatever, i buy my ticket with my hard earned money to see basketball or hockey. thats it, i dont go there to see if theres models or celebs there or what kinda ride you drive and how you fixed it up. our main focus and point is "drifting" i want to see competition, skill and how others drive. show cars should be separate from drift events, you wanna see show cars? go to a car meet or car SHOW thats what they are for. thats what we are trying to explain here. we dont want the young/new people to get the wrong impression, especially when we're new to this motorsport. they dont have shows at nascar, F1, le mans, wrc, or even drag racing etc. because they dont need it. people who attend are people who appreciate the beauty of the sport. this is just my opinion and how other people feel. am i wrong?

you have a great point, but heres why its not valid.

take 10 random people off a street. RANDOM people.

hand them each a 50 dollar bill

now tell them for 10 dollars an event they can go to one of the following, which are all described by name on a yellow ticket, no otehr details mentioned.

1. nba game
2. nfl game
3. nhl game
4. nascar event
5. wimbledon
6. x games
7. d1gp
8. whatever hip hop person is cool this week's concert
9. whatever movie is cool this week
10. prca rodeo


look across that list, now pretend your a normal american. you are not gonna know wtf d1gp is. and unless they are 2% of america that knows what it is , they arent gonna take it. im willing to bet more rodeo tickets are gone. why ? its been around, people know what it is. some people liek it ( yes im from texas, no im not one of them)

now think of it this way, all have flyers and extra stuff

1. pistons vs lakers, with lakergirls on it
2. superbowl, cheerleaders, 1/2time show feat celebs
3. nhl game ( they dont have much mre than the game)
4. DAYTONA 500!! watch dale die!!!, redneck country singer sings anthem!
5. Wimbledon, feat, anna kournikova
6. X games, everyone knows what that is and its very spectator freindly with lots of celebs
7. D1gp, with promises of a huge carshow, models , some celebs
8. concert, 1 celeb, no models
9. movie, lame.
10. rodeo, watch people get thrown off cows, possibly die due to massive impact from hooves, see hot chicks with ropes!

now the tables have turned, why? different interests are sparked.

models attract people, are they drift fans? no. will they throw money at our sport and possibly come back for more? maybe

car shows attract people, are they drift fans ? no. will they throw money and possibly become interested in drifting? maybe

now combine the sports, you get even more interest sparked. how many x games fans are there out there? I think its good for drifting the x games guy will be there, i hope he can drift. Id honestly like to see drifting at the x games, i think it woudl fit in well there.

Will ryan dunn attract non drifting crowd, possibly sparking interest? yes. will they cause problems? probably. will slipstream have to pay for those problems caused by wanna be jackass fans? they are running the event , not you so probably.



again, welcome to america yall. this isnt japan, no matter how much you want it to be. people here are different, they pay to ahve their oil changed, they hate thier boss with a passion, they hate the govorment. respect? what is taht? In most america you are lucky to have a paved racetrack that has a right turn that is within 350 miles of where you live, this is america. not japan. california is a slight exception on the racing part.

also we have local drift events in texas, go to www.dailydrifter.com , did fd houston have a huge turnout? heck yah. drift showoff? yah. dailydrifter events? NO . why dont people show up? because there arent flyers every wher eyou go advertising it. flyers cost a lot of money, getting them spread out can cost money.

I am and will continue to be a racing enthusiast until i am buried 6 feet under, after that ill be hanging with Jesus and could care less, but until i die i will always be supporting racing, however i can. but one thing ive learned helping with events is that it takes money to make these things happen, and that includes entrants. thanks to FD we have some more n00bs coming to our events wanting to learn how to drift. and im sure you hardcore enthusiasts wouldnt want the noobs so you didnt have to pay for an event you worked at out of your pocket, not to mention you dont want to meet new people and help them progress to be a better driver. again, if you dont like what FD is doing dont go to the events, but stop the freaking whining. do you not want drifting to get big?

id also like to add i dont know yall, and i believe %100 in leaving the iternet crap on the internet. I will be coming to roudn 4 at irwindale and hope to see some yall there.

also this is the internet , and i am not a professional writer. some things i might have said may have been poorly worded or not clear. if so please ask. this is a forum, this is a discussion.

[mikespeed95]

Originally posted by nasty nate 7
thats like saying, "why dont we hold drift events at rodeo cowboy events, or lets hold drift events at a NFL football games. maybe the people over there dont know about drifting so lets promote it there and put on a SHOW rather than a competition". believe or not, i would get a lot of hate mail and negative remarks about how stupid my idea is. this is how we see it. And im not putting down people that dont know about drifting. the competitors do it for the sport, not to be a show F@G

haha, did you read my post why i was typing it?

[mikespeed95]

Originally posted by _PG_
[B]BUt if i go to X-Games to see my friend rollerblade, i don't mind watching some push-wooders and BMX guys ride too....

What i think is funny is that a lot of the promoters think that what they are orginizing is "drifting lifestyle type shows". Hah. That show would actually consist of a bunch of us sitting on a couch watching videos. Then either getting soem Gin and Tonics or deciding to go get frisky with a mountain road. Theres no house music and naked chicks humping each other. Well, not EVERY night.

Anyways, i think what I am trying to say is that you can go to a WRC event to watch Petter Solberg drive his WRX but you also have the opportunity (take it or not) to see a couple of other classes of cars run (like the 1.6L FWD class, etc...) You don't get taken away form any drifting at these events, if you don't want to. Just don't pay attention to the ugly Import hos and ugly show cars.

I am not for the "drifting lifestyle" i agree, it includes sitting on a couch / computer / under a car with a wrench / at your job making money / going to college and would bore the regular public. but i am not for all the stuff at the events, howeveer i understands it attracts n00b fans that will help fund local events later on.


but i am also a fan of rallye. which isnt big over here, but you say rallye and people will go " OH MAN! WRC!!" before they go "OH MAN !! D1GP!!"

[nasty nate 7]

i actually was typing it when it it was posted so i couldnt see it in time lol

[GoukiS14]

phew finally read though all the posts.... ok so here's what I think
Japan also has some sell out events which are pretty cool everybody remembers the Big X event they had where they had stunt bikes, and motoX, and drifting.... well I guess this is sorta like it (even though I don't agree w/ having all the excess stuff at Formula D). I don't mind the car show so much because it still deals w/ cars, now w/ Ryan Dun and Bucky L I dunno that shouldn't be in there that's more of a "why....? (while scratching your head)" It just so many bells and whistles that it's almost overwhelming, sorta like the old days of raving (even though I hate raves) where all these dj's and groups are the main headliners. Too much stuff you don't know where to look. So it might even take away from the focus of drifting. If you're gonna have a drift event make it a drift event and revelant to drifting. On the subject of Chris, I respect you as a drifter, but those responses were not cool, it doesn't make fans look up to you.

Oh and um who ever that guy was to just make a account so that he could respond to this thread that was very retarded. I'm not a "drifting dork" I like drifting but I do other things. I'm excited to see girls as the next guy. My friend "Sunisa" even models for Yokohama and is one of the Formula D girls. So you can't even say that all dorks want to see is just drifting. We want breaks in the action also that is what the "Pit Walk" is for.

So to sum things up Formula D is very money oriented. I've seen it before in martial arts all of a sudden everbody wants to be a UFC fighter rather than practicing "pure" arts, but that's another arguement. I always thought Formula D had promise and could have been something good, but honestly in the back of my mind I saw a potentially bad thing that grew into something possibly evil. Sorta like Darth Vader, maybe it'll turn to the good just as Darth Vader did in Return of the Jedi

[Feint]

I know America isn't Japan,but it seems lie the point I was trying to get across is being evaded.My point is,Japan was here 18 years ago.That means they've been through this.Wouldn't common sense tell you to follow their winning formula? They did not do what Formula D is doing,yet they are turning out even larger crowds,and generating more "money",along with more respect (something you guys could careless about).D1 isn't perfect,but it puts on a better show that's more oriented towards drifters,while still drawing in more crowds and money than you,and you have to try and mix it with HIN,actors,and pop icons,which you still won't be able to top D1 with.

You can lay out the money this,infancy that speech all you want,but one thing is clear.Every goal,venture,and event need a sense of direction.Anyone care to argue with that? The whole point that is being evaded here is that Formula D is losing that sense of direction,and now really no has no sense of direction at all.It's all over the place,it;s coming off as disorganized and something that's trying to hard to be something it's not.

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mikespeed95
I couldnt agree with Ali more, and chris has good points as well.

What is some of you peoples problems? sorry, this isnt japan, americans work totally different tahn japanese. Americans dont knwo what drifting is. I help dailydrifter , texas's drift day equivalant. i tell people i drift they are like wtf is drift. drifting is still extremely new to america, some of you have got to step out of our motorsports filled lives and look at the average joe. He doesnt know what drifting is, you tell him that you think max papis is cool he will be like "who?" . most america doesnt know what drifting is, and in order to get the word out your gonna have to use some existing american interests to build off of to increase the drifting stuff. you should have been at FD houston, there were sooo many people there who had never seen drifting, it was awesome! it was like watchign little kids see someone do a burnout for the 1st time in their life! would they have come if we didnt have one of the best car shows in the state setup , and models and tons and tons of promo? NO. besides the >500 motorheads in houston who knew what REAL drifting was there wouldnt have been anyone there. I know Cali is totally different but youve gotta realize, if you walked up to 90% of america and told them you were a fan of drifting, they would probably 1) look at you funny or 2) call the red cross and try to get you a place to stay.

Whether some yall like it or not, the car shows, california rice (texas had none the crap i saw at cali, which was disgusting, no offense , to each his own, but the billet grills faux fmic's i saw crossed the line) get n00bs to drifting into the event, and create a fanbase, which creates money flow, and sponsorship interesteand that is gonan be the money that makes bigger better drifting events possible in america.

Now correct me if i am wrong, but some you people seem like youd be happier with one D1 event per year , at irwindale, and other than that drifting in america is nothing more than an udnerground sensation. Id like to see it get big, id liek to see auto-x have more interest, id liek more racectracks in america. but that takes money. and right now, whether you liek it or not, FD is creating the fanbase and cash base to make our events possible.

I am so sorry, But I cannot agree with you on this. If you want to let the "General Public" know what drifting is all about, then you have to show them what drifting really is. It's like sugar coating the truth. Now I know what you mean, that this type of amenities are there to attract more attention for the "FANBASE" and to the common joe. But adding features that thinks that this is a "Drift Life" is BS. Now think about it. If you didn't know what drifting is.. and you went to Formula D and saw all the cars there with glittered paint and just PARKED in a booth. What would the common joe thinks at first, I can say two things right now. 1st. They'll say, "This is a joke, there's no way this Drifting is a sport". 2nd.. "OooOoHh that's tight yo!, drifting is for me, because there's a lot of girls that are attracted to that kind of Sh1tz, Let me try it at a mountain, because touge is the shitz now... duh...." This is common, Now adding this elements and not educating the general publics equals "BAD PUBLICITY" deaths in the mountains and streets.

Now if you just put a DRIFT SESSION, a TRACK with all the PERFORMANCE BOOTH AROUND IT. with everybody participating, and sharing new ideas, new knowledge about the sport and sharing this passion of ours to the public, what would the general public would think? My opinion... They'll say.. "HEY they're reponsible group of guys and gals, Maybe i'll try it next week, because they're having another track day and it's cheaper + I could just stop by at the HKS booth, because they have one open after im done at the track".

If you keep putting unnecessary amenities to a drift event, the general joe would think it's a joke.

I know this might hurts some hard working Models, event coordinators but Im adding my opinion anyways.

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mikespeed95
howeveer i understands it attracts n00b fans that will help fund local events later on.

This has never happened. People that actually funds a local events are the people with the passion vs people with the $ (example? Drift Association "www.driftday.com, DriftSession www.dritsession.com). I have yet to see SLIPSTREAMS name on a DriftDay. I have yet to see HIN organizers names on a "JUST DRIFT" event. I would like to see their contribution to the local events, (If they are such "purist"). They actually take advantage of the local events, They think by covering the local events will make them look like more of an enthusiast, but how much did they fork in? $100.00 worth of entry fee? How about donating or help with the funding the event?