- Rules & Regulations
D1RC UK Drift Series and D1RC Euro Cup Drift Championship 2008 Competition Rules and Construction Regulations
1.0 - Entrants’ conduct - Back to top
All entrants must behave in a suitable and responsible way, not causing disturbance or harm to any other competitors, spectators or their property. Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to participate in the event or will be allowed to enter the grounds that we have been provided. Anyone that is found to be using offensive language or giving verbal abuse to another person will be asked to leave the venue by D1RC officials. Any person found to be stealing, damaging or sabotaging other people’s property will be banned from the series, membership revoked and police action will be taken.You must also consider your own safety whilst spectating in any form of motor sport.
1.1 - Construction regulations & scrutineering - Back to top
The construction regulations should be read carefully as all cars will be required to pass scrutineering before and during competition. The scrutineer’s decision will be final.
1.2 - Chassis - Back to top
All chassis must be of the 4WD 1/10th scale touring car ‘190/200mm’ type and must be electrically driven by one motor only, positioned between the front and rear axle centre line. No ‘nitro’ powered vehicles are permitted.
There is no upper or lower weight limit or ride height limit.
Wheels, tyres and wheel nuts must not protrude more than 1.0mm beyond the wheel arch to ensure safety to other participants’ bodies and equipment. No parts of the chassis may protrude beyond the bodyshell for safety purposes.
1.3 - Electronics and Radio - Back to top
Only legal radio frequencies can be used to control participating vehicles. These frequencies include:
26.96MHz - 27.28MHz
40.650MHz - 40.955MHz
2.4GHz modules.
Competitors must have available at least three (3) pairs of crystals, frequencies as shown on their entry forms and use the frequency selected by the D1RC drift official.
No person shall turn on their radios without first checking with Drift Control that their frequency is free to use. Failure to do so could result in damage or injury to fellow competitors and their property and/or to spectators.
When competing or practicing you should announce to all other active competitors the frequency that is in your transmitter and receiver.
Forward only and Forward/Reverse electronic speed controllers can be used. The use of power capacitors is allowed.
There shall be no electrical or mechanical driving aids fitted, for example, gyro based drift angle assistance.
Transmitters, receivers, servos and speed controllers must be in good and safe operational condition.
All electronics, including lighting, must be insulated so that no other person is put in danger when handling the car.
1.4 - Batteries - Back to top
All cells must be Sub-C Nickel Metal Hydride or Sub-C Nickel Cadmium 1.2V. Lithium Polymer cells are not currently allowed.
Cell packs must consist of 6 cells only and may be of any brand or mah capacity.
1.5 - Tyres - Back to top
All competitors must use one of the two D1RC `08 Drift Series control tyre. Drivers will not be allowed to practice or compete without these tyres being fitted. These are the:-
a) Yokomo ZERO-ONE ‘R’ Super Drift Tire, Part# ZR-DR02 Single Wide Drift Ring Version (pair), or
b) HPI T-Drift tire, Part# 4406 (pair)
(See entry, below)
1.6 - Motors - Back to top
All motors must be brushed, electric ‘540′ can sized and be fitted with armatures of minimum 18 turns to maximum 27 turns. (See entry, below)
The motors may be bushed or ball raced and use any springs/brushes. Both fixed and variable timing is allowed. The can/magnets/end bell/armature combination may not be mixed and matched but must be as originally supplied by the manufacturer (for ease of policing by scrutineering).
1.7 - Bodyshells / Appearance - Back to top
All bodyshells used must represent 1:1 scale cars which are, or were at some time being manufactured and are/were generally available. To be eligible for use, all car bodies must be recognisable and identifiable as being based on a full size production car. No fantasy car bodyshells may be used.
Bodyshells may represent any type of car, front, rear or four wheel drive with engine mounted front, mid or rear, as may be found in full size competitive drifting. Trucks are not allowed.
Bodies may represent models in standard or modified form, as may be expected for use in motor sport and, specifically, Drifting. More recently produced aerodynamic race bodies (you know, the plastic ‘blobs’!) are not allowed.
The shell need not represent an actual, existing full size drift car but should represent one that would be eligible, if it were used, in the full scale EDC series (see EDC rules and regulations for help)
Wheels must be of realistic design. Aerodynamic ‘disk’ race wheels are not allowed.
All cars entered must be in good, clean cosmetic condition when initially entering the competition. Best efforts should be made during the competition to maintain the appearance of the shell.
The bodyshell must be fastened securely to the chassis at all times when being used.
Bodyshells should be carefully painted and finished. Windows may be clear or realistically tinted. No unrealistic holes may exist other than body post and aerial holes. Aerials are encouraged to be kept inside the body shell, out of sight.
There may be electrical lighting attached to bodyshells to increase aesthetic qualities.
There may only be one ’strut’ type rear wing and / or flip spoiler on a bodyshell which must be securely fastened.
You will be required to place a race number decal on your car’s windscreen, representing your series personal identification number. These stickers will be supplied by D1RC at each event and you will be required to collect these at registration. You will be allocated your number following receipt of you first entry form. These will represent your seeding, as determined from the previous year (2007) or as allocated by D1RC (New entries and Euro Cup).
You will be required to fit to the top of your windscreen the official D1RC Sun Strip. This will be supplied. For placement reference, please study the picture below:
You will be required to fit to the door panel area of your car, the official D1RC Sponsor Panel and/or at least one separate decal of each of our sponsors. These will be supplied. For placement reference, please study the picture below:
2.0 - Entry - Back to top
There are two competition classes in the D1RC Drift Series, Pro Class and Club Class. The D1RC Euro Cup will be a single class event.
Pro class drivers will be selected by the D1RC organisers from the Club class or be existing D1RC Pro drivers. Pro Drivers will enter the whole series (all the competition rounds) at least two weeks prior to the start of round one of the series and enjoy a ‘whole series’ discount.
Club class drivers may apply to enter on a round by round basis or enjoy a ‘whole series’ discount if they enter all the competition rounds 2 weeks prior to the start of the series. In either event, all entries must be received at least two weeks prior to the start of round one of the series or, in Club class, each round if entering round by round.
Euro Cup Drift Championship completed entries, together with the entry fees (in £ sterling) must be received no later than 1st May 2008. Please see entry forms for accepted methods of payment. The Euro Cup is open to all drivers who possess a current passport of a country that is a recognised member in the European Community as at 1st May 2008 and is a member of a drift group or club, as known to the D1RC or DRCCentral drift community, within that country. If in doubt, please ask!
Entry forms will be available for printing from the D1RC.eu website forum from late January. All requested details must be fully and clearly completed.
The correct entry fee together with a stamped self addressed envelope must be included with the entry form. Please see entry forms for accepted payment methods. Late entries will be returned.
A participant may only enter one (1) times per event. This does not restrict the number of chassis or bodies used by an entrant during practice although entrants who make it through elimination to the final 16 must then select and use just one chassis and bodyshell.
Entries will be accepted at the organiser’s discretion. Euro Cup entries are restricted to 106 drivers, initially 10 drivers per EU member country until 1st April when the remaining places (if any) can be filled in entry form receipt date order (thus any entry over the 10 will remain a potential entry until all 106 entries are confirmed - if not accepted, refunds of fees will be made).
Note: The organisers will endeavor to make available at the event both Control Tyres, Yokomo ZERO-ONE ‘R’ Super Drift Tires and HPI T-Drift Tires, at a reduced price and the Yokomo D1 19T motor (not a control motor but a series legal motor) also at a UK reduced price. Purchases are optional but the use of the control tyres is mandatory. If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please mark these items on your entry form and the items will be supplied to you at the event, as available and upon payment. Please do not rely on this service as they are not always available!
3.0 - Competition Rules and Format - Back to top
The format and schedule of each event may be modified to support conditions but, in general, the rules and format will mirror that of the full size D1GB/EDC competitions - practice, then qualifying/elimination to 16 (or 8 if D1RC deem appropriate) followed by twin car finals. Judging will be carried out by D1RC/GB/GP officials as available and their decisions will be final. Cars may be required to attend scrutineering at any time.
For the Euro cup, following qualifying, there will be multiple 16 driver finals – A, B etc. The finals will be run in reverse order, ‘x’ to A and the winner of each final will be elevated to compete in the following final.
Only the A final will qualify for trophies but, by adding further finals, all competing drivers will be allowed to take part in Tsuiso battles and it is theoretically possible to win the event from the lowest final.
For the Drift Series, trophies will be awarded at each round, with prizes as available.
Qualifying
Format
Before competitors are allowed to practice and before the qualifying rounds begin, each competitor will have signed in at ‘Drift Control’ and received their qualifying number and mandatory decals. This number will tell you when to go out onto the track to qualify. When it is your turn to qualify, you will proceed onto the track and agree that you are ready with the judges. You will get one practice run of the course, then stop at the start line and agree that you are ready to begin your qualifying. You will get three judged runs of which you will receive points out of 100 for each one. Once you have finished your three judged runs you will be notified of your result from the judge(s) and depart from the track area.
What are the judges looking for?
Drifting is a sport that is, in many ways, very similar to that of ice skating and there are certain criteria that the drivers get judged on that determine their overall scores and performance, these include:
Entry speed -
This is an aspect that cannot be easily proven in solo, qualifying runs but becomes more apparent in the ‘Tsuiso’ battles in the final 16. The entry speed of the drift can determine the result of the drift and a higher entry speed puts the car in more danger and makes the car harder to handle, because of this a higher entry speed will gain more points.
Line clipping -
This is a feature that the judges look into heavily. This is often judged on how well the driver takes the driving line and if they ‘clip’ the apexes, or not as the case may be. The driving line may not always be the inside curb of every corner but in most cases will involve the driver sliding from the outside of the corner, hitting the apex tip and then sliding back out wide to the edge of the track, maximising the drift’s length. Judges will often prefer to see the nose of the car clipping the inside point of a corner and the tail of the car to be as near to the outside of the turn as possible; this shows evidence of good car control which gains the driver more points towards their score.
Drift angle and counter steer -
The ‘Drifting Angle’ of a car is based on the direction it is facing against the direction it is travelling. The further the back end of the car comes around to be in line with the front of the car, the more ‘drifting angle’ it has. Primarily the more angle a driver achieves in his drifts, the more points he will score. In addition to this, there are more aspects that determine the score that are in relation to the angle. The angle has to be maintained throughout the drift without cutting back against the drift (straightening out half way through a drift) so that it appears to be one smooth motion. This also means that the drifts have to have high angle for extended periods of time to score heavily, whereas a short burst of oversteer would not get good points even if the rotation was significant. A car that demonstrates extreme amounts of rotation without spinning out will be awarded additional points, although, if too much speed is lost in any drift due to excessive angle points will not be as high.
Presentation -
Despite the judges marking the drivers predominantly on entry speed, driving lines and drifting angle, another factor that plays a part in the final scoring is presentation. This aspect is based on what the judge thinks of the driver’s technique and whether they think the driver is displaying flare or high amounts of energy in the drifting. Good presentation of drifting will catch a judge’s attention. Even though you may want to catch a spectator’s eye, any tricks or special moves that involve dangerous driving will not be condoned by the Series’ competition and this is only to be done in practice runs and exhibition displays. These tricks may include 360 spins into a controlled drift etc. Anything deemed ‘dangerous’ by the judges and D1RC officials will be ruled out whilst competition is in progress.
Scoring -
The judges will take all these factors into consideration and give you a score out of 100 points in total. You will get three scores from your runs, one score for each run, and your best result will be taken and placed onto the qualifying table in the correct position. In the event of a tied best score with another driver, your second, and if necessary third scores are taken into account. This position will determine whether you advance onto the Tsuiso final rounds (top 16 driver scores) or, in the Euro Cup, which final you will battle in.
Tsuiso Battles
Tsuiso is the Japanese term for ‘Twin Battle Drift’.
Format
The Tsuiso battles will be run using the top sixteen qualifiers (the top eight qualifiers will be used if entrant numbers do not allow sixteen) fighting their way to the number one position. The first placed qualifier will be placed against the sixteenth placed qualifier; the second placed qualifier will be placed against the fifteenth placed qualifier and so forth up to the eighth and ninth placed qualifiers going against each other.
The pairs will embark on a single practice run followed by two judged runs where each car will take it in turn to lead and once a winner of the pair is announced, he/she will continue onto the final eight. Once winners have been decided out of all of the sixteen drivers, they will then create four pairs. The winner of the first battle in the final sixteen will face the winner of the second battle of the final sixteen and so forth. These four pairs will then, again, battle in the same process as before to produce four winners which continue onto the semi finals. The same pattern follows as to who faces who and then the battles are run again to produce just two winners that progress onto the final. The final two drivers will face each other in exactly the same process so that an overall winner can be announced. It is normal for the losing drivers in the semi-finals to battle for 3rd place honors.
In the multi-final Euro Cup, the final winner will progress into the next level 15 driver final to make up the 16.
How is Tsuiso Battle Judged?
This head to head drifting is judged on the same aspects as the solo qualifying was based on; however there are a few more principles that come into play. Strategic drifting has a role in Tsuiso and the high level of competition and energy gives a good show to the spectators. The precise judging of this type of drifting is hard to explain but there are some outlines to go by.
Scoring -
When scoring a Tsuiso battle the judges allocate each driver 5 points before the run starts and then depending on what happens in the run, they then add or subtract points from the competitor’s totals so that when added together they still total at 10. For example, one driver could be awarded 2 points for superior drifting whilst the other would then loose 2 points. This would make the score 7 to 3 and the first driver would be winning by a margin of 4 points. After a first run, the loosing driver can try to make up his points in the second run to win back the lead so that they advance to the next round whilst the winning driver would try to defend his points lead. Point scores can range from 0 - 10 to 5 - 5 and even a score of 5.5 - 4.5 can appear if the judges feel that one driver had a very slight edge over the other. If one driver spins, crashes or goes off track in a Tsuiso run the other competitor is most like to get a 10 - 0 advantage. If the judges still have a 5 - 5 score after both runs, they will ask the drivers to run again from scratch.
The Offensive Car -
The offensive car when Tsuiso drifting is the chasing car. A good way to put it would be that the chasing car has to ‘hunt’ down the leading car. Drivers have to use their drifting ability to try and get as close to the leading driver as possible as to put immense pressure on them so that a mistake is made. The chasing driver must demonstrate better drifting in order to keep pressure on the leading driver whilst still keeping good angle and speed. The driving line is not as important for the chasing car as it is trying to follow the lead car and keep with it as much as possible, unless the lead car displays a bad driving then and then chasing car can continue to hit the clipping points and show a good drifting line. If the chasing car cannot keep up with the lead car whilst drifting this is to be looked at as inferior driving and points will be deducted for letting the lead car get away. If this is due to not having as much power as the lead car, there are certain measures you can take to increase your speed such as decreasing your drifting angle although this may play against your point scoring. Under no circumstances can the chasing car come in contact with the lead car in a way that disturbs the lead car’s driving. Any crashes of this manner will result in a Judge’s decision as to whether the Tsuiso is to be run again or the ‘victim’ car going through to the next round automatically. Overtaking is allowed but not necessarily supported by the judges and under no circumstances must the cars start ‘racing’ as this is going against the fundamental idea of drifting.
The Defensive Car -
When a driver takes the lead in a Tsuiso battle the idea is to perform their drifts faster with a good line and a bigger angle to try and shake off and distract the car behind them. If the leading driver does mange to pull away from the car behind and still manage to display good drifting technique then they will be awarded more points. Attempts to distract the chasing car whilst still maintaining a good line will also be looked at by the judges and could affect the final score in a positive or negative way.
It’s important to understand that the concepts discussed in this article are general guidelines for scoring the drift events and are meant to educate the competitors and the general public. They do not provide a guarantee of results and should not be used to compare to results from drift competitions. Drifting is still a subjective competition and the judges at an event are the final authority. Their decision is therefore final and all good competitors should accept this without qualm.
Trophies
Trophies will be awarded as available. It is D1RC’s aim to make awards to 1st, 2nd & 3rd places in both driver classes in the Drift Series competitions and to the Best Drift Shell and Best Drift Chassis. Please note that any one shell and any one chassis may only win once per season. If a shell or chassis wins an award it may still be entered in subsequent rounds (for public viewing) but cannot win.
Trophies and prizes for the Euro Cup event will be awarded as available to the event.
D1RC Drift Series - Rounds to qualify
All rounds of the 2008 D1RC Drift Series are to count towards the series championship.
John & Eddie Turner - 16 January 2007. Revision dates will appear here. D1RC Drift Series / Euro Cup Drift Championship Rules & Regulations 2008 vers 1.0, ‘Entry’ updated 24/1 vers 1.1
