{"id":46140,"date":"2016-09-16T08:15:56","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T07:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/?p=46140"},"modified":"2024-07-25T11:37:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T10:37:54","slug":"driftland-mark-buckle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/expert-opinion\/driftland-mark-buckle\/","title":{"rendered":"Drift: Q&A: how an underground culture exploded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drift culture was born in the mountain passes of Japan. But it’s become one of the most popular motorsports in the world. Its popularity is testament to the appeal of accessible motorsport. Mark Buckle is one of the stalwarts of the UK scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Influx: Drifting has a poor reputation amongst some pundits in mainstream motorsports. What\u2019s your take on that?<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark Buckle: We\u2019re not MSA or FIA accredited. Because of that some of the cloth cap brigade turn their nose up. They still think of Drifting as kids in supermarket car parks doing doughnuts, or going sideways around roundabouts on Saturday nights. That\u2019s not what we\u2019re about. One of the reasons for setting up DriftCup was to actually take kids off the street and to give them a chance to do that stuff in a few years time at, say Silverstone. They will be doing that, in front of a crowd of 15,000 on September 24 at TRAX.<\/a> Our rule is simple. If you are seen or caught Drifting illegally, off-circuit, then you\u2019re banned from competing.<\/p>\n

Influx: Who\u2019s your Drift hero?<\/em><\/p>\n

MB: That\u2019s a really difficult question as there are so many Drifters across the world that impress me. In the UK it would have to be Matt Carter, his chasing skills are second to none. In Ireland James Dean is simply on another level. But my hero has to be Katsuhiro Ueo, I can watch him driving his AE86 from 2001 to 2005 over and over again.<\/p>\n

This is worth a watch for the commentary alone.<\/em>
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