DRIFTING/THROTTLE CONTROL
Paul calls this discipline the ‘drifting’ part of the day, where in reality what it really teaches you is the importance of throttle control. You wouldn’t think that you would be able to get a FWD Focus ST breaking loose at the rear, and then holding the ‘drift’ just with throttle and steering inputs. But you can, as you can see from the photos!
Traction at the rear breaks loose easily thanks to some clever plastic additions to the rear tyres. As Paul says: “these are basically an evolution of the old trick of sticking McDonalds trays under the rear wheels.” They work too, you start off by building speed gradually, and when you feel the back end break away you need gentle inputs on the throttle and steering to maintain the drift.
Notice the word ‘gentle’? I was far too heavy-footed for this. To quote Paul on the day: “If the throttle has a range from 1-10, Jamie knows two settings; 1… or 11!” Whoops. But by the end of it I was starting to get the hang of things, and it definitely made me more aware of my throttle control (or lack of it!).