GCRC DRIFT "THE COMP" Part #2 - BATTLES A.

With lots of track time to "practice battle"... it was soon time to get on it!

Now... you may remember I am not a huge fan of drift competition, but it does have a place in drift.

What I dislike is... as you progress, your opponents sit out or you may sit out from a small mistake. I always feel that everyone should battle everyone but of course there can only be one winner.

So you just drive and see how far you can go. 

The battles were good to watch. sometimes a small mistake was the only decider. 

Judging a battle is a tough dicipline. You need to know what the judges are looking for and our judge with drift experience knew what to look for.

Emulating the lead line was the key. 

Sometimes, the cars were aside, sometimes proximity was opened up.

A little pressure is good for everyone!

sometimes the proximity wasn't there, so that means the line is important.

And the pressure to catch up brings mistakes also.

Hard to pick a winner though from wide proximity though.

Competition is a test for your heartbeat and your reflexes.

You can't just cruise around.

You have to hook in!

Hammer down!

and try to pull away.

If you are called for one more time. You simply do it all again.

A gap might open.

and finish with a rear entry!

close battles on paper or close battles from practice can't determine the outcome.

all it took here was a small tap on the wall to cause a small spin and then you have to rely on the other persons big error.

Shooting through the trees is fun!.

But it all starts from the line. The 35 taking the victory over the 34.

This one we knew would be tight. It proved to be true. 

almost 30 years difference in driver age and very little gap on track.

lead or trail. This is how we usually run lap after lap. 

it looked like the guys were having fun rather than that super competitive battle.

But the attacks were definitely ON!

The next one was ON too.

GCRC Staff and GCRC Owner on track... Who should win? the boss or employee? 

Well this is what happens when the cars are tuned by the same person. similar CS, handling, angle, etc etc 

Both trying hard to beat each other.

Take it on.

 hook it in.

Switch it back.

dive in

and follow through for the win in to the semi final.

On the other side of the draw I was proceeding, but without images to go with the story... that's pretty boring. There will be another post with those images from a friends camera.

So... semis.

A little narrow from lots of pressure, may have been all that decided the battle.

but the bigger fatter, less shiney S13 took the win into the final.

But there's an extra battle for 3rd.

and in this case the fight was close again. My black RX7 had managed to just squeeze past the blue R35 into the final, so these two had to fight for the 3rd place podium.. 

A small gap decided the position.

Stay tuned for the final in photos and video.