Budding drifters can hone their skills with the start of drift training courses in Mareeba next year.

Drifting is the cult Japanese driving discipline that has spawned movies, fashion, car culture and gone on to become the fastest growing motorsport in Australia. 

Soon North Queensland residents and tourists who want to experience the thrill of drifting can sign up for a motorsport training course using real drift cars.

The International Drift Training School plans to start courses at the Mako Trac in Mareeba in late January. Courses are limited to 12 drivers per five-hour class.

Doug Stuart, marketing director of Safe Drive Training (Australia), says the Mako Trac is the perfect venue as it offers five-star corporate facilities and already hosts go-kart racing, motorbike racing, defensive and advanced driver training and a Formula Vee Race Experience.

He said the unique advantage of this program is being able to access real drifting cars. 

These are a mixture of Nissan 180SX and Nissan S14 Sylvia models.

All have been set up for drifting with modified suspension, LSD systems, drift handbrakes and race harnesses.

If you just want a taste of the g-forces, dynamics and adrenalin rush of drifting, they will also be offering hot lap passenger rides where you can be strapped into a drift car and taken for an eight-lap ride on the skidpan circuit with a skilled drifter.

The Mako training course will be under the banner of The Physics in Motion Drift School, which already operates in Japan and in 2009 will also open operations in Sydney and Indonesia.

The chief instructor Joel Neilsen succeeded in placing second in the B1 class at the Drifting Speed and Soul event at the Kemayoran Circuit in Jakarta during 2006.

Mr Stuart said the theory session of the courses cover friction circle theory; vehicle dynamics of pitching, roll and yaw and the techniques of drifting.

During the practical drift sessions instructors will ride in-car to provide personalised one-on-one coaching and maximise the safety of participants.

The training session allows each driver to practice and refine the drift skills of cornering lines power over, sway drift handbrake drift and feint drifting linking slides.

The Mako Trac hosted a preview of the drift school on Friday for prospective sponsors and selling agents and plan to target inbound tourism and conference groups.

 

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