was advertised as the fastest track layout
but it was in fact the the slowest track layout
It was alright, but not amazing. My only other experiences with drifting in Canada was DX1 and DX2, so I will be comparing them to those events. The layout of the event was very simple, there was the show and shine, which seemed to have a lot of Honda’s, right near the gate you’d take to the oval. Nice location, But not many people seemed to have much interest in it. Much higher capacity for the show and shine than DX1 and 2 though. Between the oval and the pad was the vendor section which was really disappointing: it was pretty slim. Few major vendors were present, which was disappointing because I would have liked to see more major vendors in attendance, oferring and advertising new parts and perhaps DMCC sale pricing. For the most hyped-up DMCC event, this section was seriously lacking, and a complete let down. That area should be packed with quality vendors, contests, give sways, special pricing, new-to-next-year product advertising, advertising parts coming soon, etc. Any quality business tactics you’d see at any city fair seemed to be absent. The event sponsors should have been stepping it ip, because even street festivals do the aforementioned.
I was excited to see the “fastest drift track in DMCC”, the track so challenging only pro’s could run. And then when I saw the track, it was pretty much 2nd gear, with the fastest entry speeds being 95km (2nd gear). It was too overhyped, but that wouldn’t matter much if the drifting action was solid: it wasn’t. The first slew of drivers couldn’t hold their drifts. Donuts, donuts, donuts. Spin out? Do a burn out! Spin out again? Do a donut! This is exactly what Marko Santo’s was doing at DX1 seven years ago in his black 240 hatch. He couldn’t hold his drifts so he’d just do donuts and burn outs, while Kendrick was using technical finesse. It was like watching drifting seven years ago, except Marko was an amateur driver back then when there really wasn’t any Canadian drifting; these drivers at DMCC were pros. Only 10 out of 20 drivers qualified for the top 16, many pros registered double zeros because they couldn’t stay on track. I understand that these drivers were unfamiliar with the track; so was Landreville, Waldin, Cyr, and the other guys, and they managed to do some solid runs. So that isn’t a fair excuse. If anything, tossing a track like this in the mix really shows the skill level of the drivers, for better or worse, and on Sunday 10 drivers looked better for it, and 10 looked worse. Which really illustrated the gap in driving ability in Canadian drifting.
All of the drivers were good drifters, none were terrible, but watching qualifying I couldn’t help but feel that some of these drivers weren’t what I’d consider pro yet eitheir, especially when comparing them to other drift leagues. Quite a few DMCC pros wouldn’t survive in the pro-am league of Formula D, or even against a lot of the Ziptied guys, but are considered pro’s here. Then you have the other half of the pro’s that make the previously mentioned half look like amateurs. This shows to me that there’s a really big gap in skill in DMCC, and it’s taking away from the competitive level of the league. It’s called a top 16 for a reason, because 16 drivers should be able to qualify, not 10. That effects the credibility of the pro card IMO. If you tske a road racing pro, they will always put down a good lap on any track because they are a pro. Take a Formula D or D1 pro and they will be able to finish a run with points because they are a pro. You’re a professional because you don’t put on amateur performances. I was let down by the disparity in skill level after the organizers overhyped the shit out of this event, which to be honest, was also not fair to the drivers. I’ve been critical of the drivers, but the organizers deserve their fair share for setting a bar too high, that no driver could ever reach. That’s just not right.
With that said, there still is s lot more growth required for Canadian drifters. While guys like Cyr and Waldin put on solid performances, they still are a long ways away from the level of Kazuya Bai, Atsushi Kuroi, Tanaka Kazuhiro, and Nobushige Kumakobo were at in 2004. Nobody seemed to have come close to the wild high speed tandem drifts(especially Drift Xtremes) that went down at DX2. Understandly the course was much faster, but it was also much more challenging in the sense that it was fast like Irwindale, and had no barriers on the concede walls, no grass to spin out on, no room for error. These 4 guys ran balls-to-the-wall, I even have a picture of Kumakobo less than 1cm away from the wall. They did this right into the night, and only Kuroi crashed, writing the Drifter X car off at the end of the night. If our DMCC pros ran that track, only a handful would have a car left. So it shows that Canada still has a long way to go before it begins to reach par with the US, and then Japan.
My response to Feint & Pants
Regarding the comments of this being a slow track, the clocked entry speeds from this event, were the fastest we had ever seen in DMCC - Top speed for the day was 106 KM/H. Although when the course got more technical, most of the drivers had to resort to slowing down after their initial entry, some drivers were able to transition and maintain some pretty high speeds. Making for some very exciting tandem battles.
Sunday’s event was judged by Ryan Tuerck, Andy Yen, and Marcos Santos. Andy has been one of Formula D’s key judges for over 4 years, and collectively they made a decision that Instead of the original layout, where the drivers would be initiating earlier, and drifting through the initiation zone on that first sweeper, the judges decided to place the initiation zone, so the drivers would be forced to do a blind initiation, in turn making the course much more technically difficult well still generating some pretty high entry speeds. Let’s remember the judges have more experience with drifting than any of us. We consult with them to create the most challenging course for the drivers, and at the same time the most exciting layout for the fans. They understand this sport better than anyone, there word should be taken as gospel. We stand by their decision, and WE LOVE THIS LAYOUT!
IMO, Our DMCC drivers showed more skill yesterday in Sunday’s event, than any other event in DMCC history, its hard to comprehend how difficult this course really is from a technical stand point, unless you have driven it. Sunday’s event gave fans not only the fastest entry speeds ever seen in DMCC history, but it also brought the most technically difficult course our drivers have ever run. To continue to elevate our drivers skill level, we need to present them with challenges that will force them to go to the next level. This was exactly what we were looking for, and we found it at Mosport.
I don’t understand how any of you can say that the level of action was lacking, every tandem run was door to door, from start to finish, and to compare DMCC drivers to the likes of Team Orange or Signal is like comparing Led Zeppelin to Poison in raw musical talent. Kumakubo owns Ebisu Circuit, Team Orange lives on that track, and are legends in drifting. To make such a comparison makes zero sense.
Feint, posts like yours where you have really only highlighted the more negative points, not saying you added no positives, you did…but your post could certainly be construed way more negative than positive. Post like this could hurt DMCC, and drifting in Ontario. We are the one and only professional drifting organization here in Canada, if DMCC doesn’t grow drifting won’t grow. That helps no one.
the fans never really have a chance to see whats going on behind the scenes, they have no idea what kind of sacrifices have been made, and what kind of dedication the DMCC management, staff, and drivers have to the growth of drifting.
On a very positive note, Eric and I are going to speak with Mosport this week to see if we can get some practice days before the snow starts falling. We will keep you all well informed.
As far as 2011, we are already working very hard to take Canadian drifting to the next level! We will have 2 events @ Mosport next year, and we are in talks with a great facility in the Ottawa area. So we will have at least 2 events, if not 3, here in Ontario next year.
Since Frank already confirmed that the track speeds were the fastest yet i’ll assume that the argument against it void at this point.
This is not DMCC’s fault, it’s primarily the fault of the vendors themselves. I reached out to several people to join me and all backed out for one reason or another. Secondarily, it is your fault (the individuals, tuners, fans) because the vendors only don’t support events where the fan base doesnt support them. I’ve always had good results at DMCC but usually from the guys who already knew me… they stop by and pick up knick-knacks and we arrange larger deals that come in the weeks to follow… if you don’t make a point of doing that or if you buy all your stuff out of the US then why would vendors come out to these events?
I actually can’t beleive that the SELEX and STD guys make the trip out there so often considering no one around here uses their services. But kudos to them for making the effort.
For the people in this community you should be running the products supplied by our vendors but if you’re not, and you’re also not running SELEX or STD then you’re a part of the problem unfortunately.
Another factor would be the date change… hard to manage that when you are running a business. I am sure if MOSPORT had of kept up their end of the bargain from day one that things may have been a little different.
That said, Frank, you guys did a great job. I hope the numbers and other results were what you expected and i REALLY hope MOSPORT opens up a bit to drift although i have a feeling that they’re smart enough to do the math and determine whether or not the maintenance required to hold amatuer drift days is even worth it.
For me, the best drifting i have EVER seen as at Downsview at night under the lights 2 years ago when Haig went 1 more time like 4 times in a row with someone else… that was totally insane… but DMCC has to deal with envionmental constraints and pulling off another fine season in the face of those constraints deserves a kudos from everyone.
It’s important to be critical of the events so that DMCC knows where to improve, but let’s try to find the delicate balance between critical and discouraging. We all want drift to grow and expand in Canada. Ontario is the key market for expansion right now and the support of everyone in this community is vital to see it through.
There is some bad-energy out west i see where some people are dissappointed that DMCC isn’t an FD calibre event yet… that’s not DMCC’s fault, it’s ours.
Didn’t Pants a pro drifter say it was the slowest. Shouldn’t we take his word for it?
Pants didn’t get as many runs as the other drivers. With the majority of the drivers having never driven the track before, the runs progressively got faster. Especially tandem runs, He drove his heart out though!
I think Pants is referring to the entire course, not the first initiation turn going in. While in mid-drift, I doubt people were going higher than top of 3rd…(this is just going off by the video that was posted of Pat)
Course seems a lot like USAIR that clubFR puts out.
The speeds are measured… it’s not an opinion.
Pant’s was probably not as fast as the likes of Waldin, Cyr, Briggs…
Frank has to be nice and say he drove his heart out, i can be slightly more specific and say he was slower 
I am sure some of it had to do with unfamiliar course lay-out, line of sight, etc.
I can tell you right now that the track was very technical. Not all of it was but the first corner was insane. You can’t understand it unless you drive the course and try to transfer the wieght of your car to drift right into a blind corner when you are still going left. I was one of the drivers who had double 00 after blowing my tranny in practice after 4 runs. My team amazingly managed to swap the tranny and the diff 2 times in an hour and get me back out for 1 qualifying lap unfortunatly I spun. I am still happy I went and I can’t wait to get on that track again. With a little more practice time I could see me haveing alot of fun on that track.
the track itself was excellent, had everything you wanted as a driver, i should re phrase my statement, it was the fastest track, on entry, my self and alot of other drivers found ourselves shifting down a gear near the end of the track layout, resulting in speeds to slow down to about 50-60kms crossing the finish line.
during practice i was trying to fix a problem Ive had with the car year. thanks to my excellent pit crew we got it fixed, had about 10 good practice runs, then had a practice run with my team mate Brad Carlton, with Brad leading we went into the first corner and brad spun and we had contact, Making my practice run short.
My First qualifying run I took the first clipping point wrong sending me off line into the dirt.
My second qualifying run i entered faster and sooner than any of my previous runs, setting me up perfectly for the first 3 clipping points, trying to slow my speed down with increasing the cars angle the unbelievable happened!! a charge pipe blew off , killing my power
it was a excellent event and cant wait to run it again!!!
hoping you and chris and brad can all run the full season next year…need for SONr’s in there… 
Yo, whomever is talking crap about DMCC at Mosport needs to shut their mouth and understand everything that was going on during this event! I been working with DMCC at the Ontario event for the past 4 years and I have seen major progress since then. The track was changed because of judges and drivers all got a fair shot a practicing unless their car had issues which is part of playing the game. I know my friend Fiddy dropped a diff on his hand helping a drifter out so he can get in the competition and make an impact. They reason I believe there was no Pro-Am is because it was the last event of the year and I know in previous years we here in Ontario was the second last event before the championship round! So, honestly in my opinion there was no point. I know that Eric and DMCC team will have a mind blowing event for us next year! Also what Bing said is very correct its you drifters and wanna-be drifters that have to make it happen as well. Look at Pants, Cyr, and Brad they were determind and made it happen for them so get your shit together build your cars legit and get practice in and enter Pro-Am then hopefully go pro, it is all up to you! So stop talking shit and help out!
Actually impressed with the conversation here…let’s keep it going guys and help Frank with the evolution of drift in Ontario…
On the topic of speed.
While the speeds on the gun at the initiation to the first clip may have been higher than those of other tracks, the speed throughout the course and average speeds MUST have been lower. I’m only bringing this up because the average fan cares nothing for the technical nature of the track. Quite frankly they don’t understand it. They want intensity, noise and smoke. These are the things that fire up the inner maniac in all of us and make drift exciting. My personal opinion is that the course got really boring by the time the cars got down to the bottom of the elevation change (which I loved). After that, the SR guys starting raping clutches and the LS guys were off-throttle more than they were on. Technical yes…exciting no. Fast…hell no.
That being said, this is my only critisism of the event and the layout.
The rest of the course I loved.
I loved the first initiation and watching cars transition over the crest at speed. Then pound on the e-brake and slide locked for what seemed like forever in order to get setup for the drift down the hill
I LOVED the spectating areas. I can’t imagine any other drift event where you are 20 feet away from a clip. No fence, no barriers, no obstructions. More people on the grass than in the stands proves that the fans loved it.
The elevation changes are sweet
The narrowness of the track was awesome. Fans love dirt drops…even if they don’t know they’re called dirt drops.
As for what 2011 offers, I hope it get’s bigger and better and I and U2NDyno.com look to support the growth of drifting in Ontario and Canada. I’ll likelye sponsoring another batch of drivers for the upcoming season.
I totally agree that would be awesome
^^ Adding to the above in which I agree with…
- More exbition for crowd (Drift show or bike stunts on track)
- Maybe having an on field announcer to hype the crowd! (I always have fun with the crowd I was infront of lol)
- When drifters are taking a break. Throwing DMCC shirts and shirts into the crowd!
- Doing a quick random contest to do a “ride with a pro” for a 2 mins drift show!
For the $25 dollars it cost fans to get in was well worth it! You get to walk up to meet the drivers and see a show and shine in one area!
The stands in the middle of the track was a GREAT idea! Plus bonus for me, I got to walk the beautiful DMCC model out to the cars to show who the winner is!
Keep adding realistic ideas and they may be used!!
Completely agree, I think the main problem with drifting and finding more of a crowd is the down time. Football has cheerleaders and basketball has music for their down time. Every other racing event has constant action. Have you ever tried to watch a live formula D event online? It’s horribly boring. Canada has an opportunity to create a remedy for others mistakes. If the crowd is always amused the crowd will grow.
I agree with Dan. I think people have to step aside, and look at it from the GENERAL public’s POV. Not a drifter nor a professional FD drifter. If the audience doesn’t know how technical and challenging the course is, they are not going to enjoy it. All they know is fast, smoke, tandem side-by-side and crashes. They do not care about elevation changes and blind turns. The course is awesome (by looking at the video) for drivers only, but for spectating I can see how people say it lacks action.
You have to put yourself in the public’s shoes and pretend you know nothing about drifting. You are just there to see action PERIOD.
If you saw an event with a course like the below, you’d jizz in your pants instantly whether or not you understand drifting.
Obviously FD and DMCC drivers are on a totally different level but that is how you wow crowds. Speed, Smoke, Angle and Balls to the walls. Technical smechnical…
Keep it simple so crowds can follow and just run on excitement on those 4 factors. Transition sweepers and elevation challenges and blind turns are only fun for the drivers, not so much for crowds.
I’m sure this thread can be an asset to DMCC, we all just need an open mind on accepting new ways on evolving the sport to make it interesting for the fans. That’s all it comes down to. Not the drivers, not the sponsors, but the CONSUMERS who pay the drivers, sponsors and DMCC to come watch a SHOW. They aren’t paying for the drivers to have fun with technical courses. They pay to see crashes, smoke, speed and angle. Whatever looks crazy to them is what matters most.
I thought the event was fuckin epic.
I stood right at the edge of the border where they allowed ppl to stand. Do you know how close that is? I was fucking 20-25 ft from the apex where they initiate. Fuckin crazy. That first corner where they initiate was crazy.
Everyone i took with me is now hooked to drift. All my rx7 boys want to drift, and everyone that didn’t have a car now wants one. Made me want to get a roll cage and start tandem.
My only problem is people didn’t cheer enough. I lost my voice when i got home.
And from the reaction of all the spectators around me and people i met and talked too, everyone loved it. The only problem was the commentator was annoying, and not clear enough, couldn’t hear him half the time. And the dj kept changing the friggin song every 10 seconds. Track staff was amazing though.
My only problem with this event was that I wasn’t there 
you were missed… i didnt get to watch a single full run… i needed you to cover my booth