Shannonville, ON - Racing enthusiasts from across the area traveled to the Shannonville Motorsport Park on Labor Day, to partake in and observe the popular sport of drifting. Drifting, a driving technique where the driver oversteers and uses a hand brake as they enter a corner allows the car to "drift" through the turn until the driver regains full control and accelerates to the next corner.
This was my first drifting experience and I had no idea what to expect. I arrived just before 9am and was the only person at the track other than approximately 20 racers. I went to the grandstands and made my way to the top where I could also view the entrance gate to the park. Before long there was a long line up of participants and spectators arriving. The weather was less than ideal with overcast skies and high humidity but the rain was holding out.
After a drivers meeting at about 9:30am, participants began taking to the track. The final corner at Shannoville Motorsport Park is where most of the action took place. Spectators lined the wall with their cameras and phones in hand to capture the event up close. Separating the drifters and the spectators at times was just a few inches of retaining wall. I was excited to be so close to the action but a little apprehensive as well. At one point I pushed my luck and tried to get closer to the action and where I could have a better vantage point of the drivers entering the final corner. Track officials quickly put the kibosh on that idea and I am glad they did because no more than 2 minutes later a vehicle hit the wall head on right where I was standing causing a red flag to be issued. Clean up took 10 minutes and the driver was okay.
I was only able to observed the event for a couple hours and in that time, I witnessed 3 good accidents, 5 engines blown and too many to count, vehicles leave the track.
I highly recommend this event for any racing enthusiast who has never seen it. It is jammed pack with action and is the outcome is very unpredictable.
