With yesterday’s Weekly Photo Challenge still fresh in everybody’s mind, I discovered something today that was hot enough to actually burn rubber. I was on a casual drive through the City this afternoon, not really in a hurry to get anywhere, so just cruising. I was near the Convention Centre which is near the lower end of town. I though I heard screeching tyres, you know the kind you get when someone has an adrenalin rush as the traffic lights turn green and they pull off with a wheel spin. Well, it was like that, but it was going on for a lot longer. So I decided to follow the source of the sound.
Fortunately, I had my camera with me. I’ve posted a blog previously about “always take the camera with”, so try to follow my own advice. As it turned out there was an event at the Convention Centre, for car enthusiasts. One of the items was what is referred to as drifting…I must admit, something I haven’t heard of, even though I try to watch Top Gear as often as I can, even though I take an interest in Formula 1, ok! maybe its a more casual interest, but I do :-). Well turns out that drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed. (That explanation by courtesy of Wikipedia). And I thought I knew very little about only birds and trees :-). I know a little about Motorsports, rally, and drag racing but hadn’t heard of tracking.
Anyway, the drivers seemed very competent handling these powerful cars through some difficult manoeuvres, or at least that’s what the announcer told us. The whole process involved lots of screeching tyres, and wheelspinning with lots of smoke generated by the burning tyres from the friction I suppose. There were even instances where the rubber burnt so much that the tyre actually burst, which was greeted by a loud cheer from the crowd, much like when a high level of excellence is achieved in most sports. I hung around for while and took some pictures, having now learned and seen what drifting was. The journey continues………………………………..
Todays images are moments from todays journey….
4otomo 