Drift City Life

When we talk about drifting, it’s usually about the General Tire Mustang, loads of tyre smoke and serious angle.

The Drift City event in Cape Town, however, is a little different…

DriftCity18 was the third Drift City event, which takes place on the Grand Parade, right in front of City Hall. The Cape Town city council is notoriously picky about which events it agrees to and supports and Gary Stockenstroom put in months of work to get the project off the ground and happening.

The first two events were a huge success, and we were super excited to be heading south for this year’s event. Our big dilemma was which car to take: although the event is called Drift City, it’s not strictly speaking a drifting event! It’s more like Gymkhana Grid, with an obstacle course run against the clock. The catch is that the judges can punish you for straight lines – they want to see you sideways between the obstacles, with plenty of style and a degree of angle…

We took the General Tire Mustang to the Rock Raceway to see if the Big Dog could run a Gymkhana track. Well, yes, it could, but only in first gear, and it felt so bulky... No worries on the drifting side, though – plenty of angle and loads of smoke!

The Continental Tyre Subaru #86BRZ, on the other hand, can definitely run a Gymkhana course. We did last year’s Gymkhana Grid event with the car, learning a lot in the process. In the end, it was a no-brainer to take the smaller car – although by no means an out and out drift car, it can get the job done and it’s quick and nimble.