Daniel Demaras has spent his racing career learning how to make a car go around a corner as fast as possible. On Friday, October 9, he’ll head to Shannonville Motorsports Park for the FDF Motorsports Drift School. This will be something completely different, where the goal is not simply speed, but controlling a car at and beyond the limits of grip.
Over the years, Daniel has competed in karting, open-wheel cars and sports cars, and one thing he has always enjoyed is learning a new driving discipline. Drifting takes that idea to an extreme. Of all the driving disciplines, deliberately throwing a car sideways, managing wheelspin and controlling a slide might make drifting the most outrageous.
The six-hour FDF Motorsports Drift School combines instruction with plenty of seat time. Their training fleet includes a rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G37, a Subaru BRZ, and a BMW 128i, similar to the car Daniel races in Enduro Elite. An experienced instructor will ride shotgun to teach the techniques needed to initiate, hold and transition a drift.
It should also be a reminder that experience in one kind of racing does not automatically make another easy. As Daniel learned at Drift Control last year, drifting asks drivers to unlearn some familiar habits and become comfortable doing things that initially feel completely wrong.
If Friday goes well, Daniel plans to return to Shannonville on Saturday and take part in the FDF Drift Weekend with experienced drifters like Drift Taxi driver Rolo from Can Jam Motorsports.
The idea is simple: spend one day learning the fundamentals, then put those new skills to the test in competition the very next day. What could possibly go wrong?