Watch A Formula Drift Car Tear Up A Formula One Track
Ever wonder what would happen if Formula One met Formula Drift? That’s what happened this week, as FD’s Vaughn Gittin Jr. borrowed an F1 track for a ride.
It’s one heck of a crossover! Formula Drift was in Formula One territory this week when one of Drift’s top drivers decided to test his car on an F1 track, with spectacular results that were all caught on camera.
Vaughn Gittin Jr., who just took home third place in the 2016 Formula Drift Championship, took his Ford Mustang RTR to Barcelona on Wednesday to see what he could do on Formula One’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Naturally, he brought a crew to record all of the excitement.
Gittin was able to drift all 1,600 feet of the Circuit’s Turn 3 in a drift that was more than 3,000 feet overall. Watch it happen in the video below:
The “Forever Drift” was such a big undertaking that even the man behind the wheel wasn’t sure that he could pull it off.
“After reviewing the circuit on paper I was a bit skeptical as to whether or not I was going to be able to carry enough speed out of Turn 2 and maintain the momentum and wheel speed to link all of Turn 3,” Gittin said in a statement afterward.
“I certainly did not think that I would be able to make Turns 3 and 4 one giant 3,200-foot right turn. Turn 3 is one of the longest turns on any racetrack in the world and Formula One cars attack it flat out!”
He credited his equipment with making the difference.
“Thanks to massive grip generated by my Nitto NT555G2 tires coupled with the Mustang’s impressive dynamics, I was able to get the speed needed to pull it off,” he continued. “It was literally like I was drifting forever. I have never been at a sustained angle for that long in my 14 years of drifting.
“In order to link Turn 3 to [Turn] 4,” he explained, “I had to go over the curbing and use all of the available runoff.
What motivated Gittin to try such an impressive stunt?
“When I learned of the opportunity to join the FIA World Rallycross for drifting exhibitions during the event, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get crazy on the epic Barcelona circuit,” he explained. “Between the huge triple-digit entry at Turn 1, and the Forever Drift of Turn 3 into Turn 4, this is one of my favorite experiences ever.”
He’s now aspiring for the fans to feel the same way, concluding, “I really hope everyone enjoys the fun and epic sound of the Aluminator XS screaming at redline through the fine tuning of our Magnaflow muffler!”
That’s certainly not something you see every day. Now the question is next time, could he do it in a food truck?
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