Drifting
Discover the Japanese origins of drifting
See a photo story through the history of drift racing.
By professional motorsport standards, drifting is a relatively new category; but like stock car and drag racing, the sideways driving art form first came about as an illegal activity performed on public roads.
NASCAR’s roots can be traced back to the antics of moonshine runners during the United States’ Prohibition period throughout the 1920s and early ‘30s, while the hot rod movement post WW2 saw many of America’s two-lane blacktop backroads play host to impromptu quarter-mile showdowns.
It wasn’t until the late 1980s that drifting got its start though, and by the early ‘90s its popularity really began to take hold; winding mountain roads outside of Japan’s biggest cities turning into late-night playgrounds for hundreds of young drivers searching for oversteer thrills.
Hachiroku Hero
© Brad Lord
Built for Drift
© Brad Lord
Legitimising the Sport
© Brad Lord
Privateer Affair
© Brad Lord
