CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – Final Bout, a company that aims to bring Japanese-style drifting to North America, invited racers from all over the country to the Affinity Circuit on Saturday to burn some rubber.
This weekend was one of just five events, where teams of drivers competed for a spot in the championship event, on Final Bout’s home track in Wisconsin.
The teams, made up of three to five drivers, were judged on how well they can mimic and stay in sync with one another as they enter the turns. Organizers said this style of drifting has its roots in Japan.
“Drifting, in general, started in Japan, the way it started was people were just going through mountain roads doing aggressive driving and eventually the rear end started kicking out and they realized that was cool,” said Simba Nyemba, Co-owner of Final Bout.
Several of the cars at the event were imported from Japan.
“My car is a 1989 Nissan Cefrio, it was an import from Japan, right-hand drive. Everything is flowing the car’s handling great, it’s a lot of fun I enjoy it,” said driver, Chip Perkins.
Saturday’s event was about the cars themselves, as much as it was about the driving, with every car judged on its appearance as well as its performance on the track.
Drivers from right here in the Rogue Valley also got in on the action, to show off what Southern Oregon can do.
“That’s my favorite part getting everybody from other places, there’s a lot of people who’ve never been the track before, getting to see them enjoy it, and everyone gets all stoked. I also get the home advantage, I run this track all the time so I know it well, so hopefully, it will give me a little bit of that edge,” said local driver, Zac York.
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