Papadakis Racing’s 1,000-Horsepower Toyota Corolla Hatch Is a Reminder That Drifting Is Completely Amazing

Last week, I was in Savannah, Georgia, driving the new 2020 Toyota Corolla Sedan and while I was there, Toyota had a surprise waiting for me - a ride along with Ryan Tuerck in the 1,000-horsepower Papadakis Racing Toyota Corolla Hatchback drift machine! It was an incredible experience, and it served as a stark reminder of just how amazing drifting really is.

Updated 03/19/2019: When this article was originally written, the author assumed Ryan Tuerck would drive the featured Corolla race car in the 2019 Formula Drift season. This is incorrect. Papadakis Racing built the featured Corolla race car for Toyota for demonstration purposes, and Ryan Tuerck is not a regular driver for the Papadakis Racing team. The author apologizes for the error.

Drifting’s History Is Very Enticing

Born from the sideways antics of worldwide rally racing and the illegal touge racers of Japan, professional drifting officially arrived stateside in the early 2000’s, piggybacking off the booming popularity of Japanese import performance culture brought on by the original The Fast and the Furious movie, as well as the Japanese direct-to-video magazine Video Option and, of course, the Internet.

Back in high school, I remember combing through hundreds of pixelated video clips as I sought out the best examples of drifting I could find, all in the name of exposing my motor-minded friends to the insanity of the sport. Here was something that was completely new to us, an exotic fruit that tickled every four-wheeled taste bud, complete with wild cars that fit our collective automotive palettes perfectly. Between the brief online videos and VHS tapes, we were hooked.

The D1 Grand Prix, Japan’s premiere pro drifting series, hosted an exhibition round at Irwindale Speedway, and it was an immediate smash hit. A record-breaking ten thousand fans from around the country came out to watch the spectacle, priming the sport for a full frontal assault in the years to come.

A Motorsport Anyone Can Get Into

In 2004, Formula Drift was established as the premiere drift championship series in North America, and despite claims early on that drifting was just a “fad” that would quickly disappear, the sport is still going strong 15 years later.

If you’ve ever attended a Formula D event in person, it’s immediately obvious why. Rather than racing against the clock, each battle is a one-on-one affair judged and evaluated by a team of experts. All the action is there in the run, right in front of your eyes. It’s like a drag race in that sense, but unlike a throw-down on the 1320, a drift battle isn’t won or lost by nearly imperceptible differences between the drivers. There’s space for style here, for character and nuance. Sure, there’s still plenty of nitty gritty technical details for the nerds out there (myself included), but if all you care about is smoke and speed, there’s heaps of that on tap to satisfy.

That sort accessibility is translated into the pit walk, where fans can get up close and personal with the drivers and their cars. Unlike the closely guarded secrets of a Formula 1 team, you can actually get a good look under the hood of a drift car. Between the easygoing attitudes and scoring, there’s a sense of approachability that’s hard to find anywhere else.

The Cars Are Incredible And The Drivers Are Cool

Peel the branding off a few random entries from NASCAR, and it’s difficult to tell them apart. Not so with a Formula Drift competitor.

The variety of cars on display is staggering. Modern drifting has evolved beyond the stereotypical sport compact (although there’s still plenty of those), now growing to include muscle cars, European sedans, and even top-shelf exotics, each of which is equipped with cutting-edge motorsport technology.

What’s more, these folks simply drip with personality compared to the Stig-esque robots you see in other series. Not only that, but each is astoundingly talented, hanging it all out there in a display of carefully controlled chaos you won’t find anywhere else on Earth.

Ryan Tuerck And The Toyota Corolla Hatch Drifter Have Me Stoked For 2019!

The 2019 Formula Drift season is scheduled to kick off April 5th in Long Beach, California, with subsequent events set to take place in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Washington, Missouri, and Texas. You can find more info and buy tickets here.

Suffice to say, Ryan Tuerck and the 1,000-horsepower Papadakis Racing Toyota Corolla Hatch certainly won me over after my ride along in Savannah. Stay tuned, as we’ll post a writeup and video on the experience, as well as an in-depth review of the race car, very soon.