If you're gonna drift, you gotta do it right. Don't go out to a corner and expect to do a perfect slide your first time. Practice. Drifting is all about mastering car control. You can't hold it together, you're gonna spin out.
Don't think running touge is the best place to learn how to drift, you're wrong. You'll die. It's plain and simple. You can't expect that a steel guardrail will hold up a 2,500-3,500 lb car from going off the edge.
My advice? Start in a parking lot. The worst you can do is overheat. After you got confident, try a wide corner, maybe. Then, once you can tighten up and feel the control, start on touge drifting. That'll be your best bet to approach touge with drifting in mind.
You'd better listen. It's better then dying. You think you're the best? So did Koji.
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Koji smiled. He finally got his hands on a good car, a lot better then his dad's diesel. It was a Nissan 180SX KRS13. It had a CA18DET engine. He knew all about it. 1.8 liter turbo inline 4 with 175 horsepower. It was stock, but it had balls.
"Koji, stop staring at your car and come one, we're gonna be late to English."
Koji sighed and followed Mika into class where he sat down in his usual seat. He opened his book and looked at the page as the teacher began to recite it in perfect harmony.
Koji wasn't paying attention, he was thinking about tonight. It was Friday night. The Emperors were set up to race against the Red Suns the next night. But tonight, Akagi was his.
Koji closed his eyes and began to dream about the mountain. The amazing hairpin curves that he'd been down with his dad. The amazing view from the top of the mountain. The way he'd feel when he drifted…
Behind him an Evo roared, but it was too slow. It couldn't keep up with Koji, Akagi's downhill specialist. He slid around another corner and the RedSuns sticker shone off his rear quarter panel.
He lost the Evo in two more corners and then came upon the almighty 86 of Akina. He set himself up on the side of him and attacked the corner too hard for the 86 to follow him with.
He then used his amazing heel toe downshift to send the back end out, causing a perfect drift around the hairpin turn and off to the win, where he was greeted by his team and fans.
He looked at Ryosuke and smiled, "I beat them both."
Ryosuke smiled, "Good job Koji, I've realized now that you are the master of Akagi and deserve to lead the Red Suns."
Koji nodded, "I will lead them the best I can."
Koji then looked out at his fans, drifters who were no where near his technique and tons off girls who wanted him. He smiled and saw the one girl who he wanted too. Mika.
Mika came up close to him and said, "Koji, now that you're an amazing driver, I can finally tell you that I love you."
Koji smiled, "I love you too." He leaned in close bringing their lips centimeters apart before…
"Koji, you look like a puffer fish."
Koji opened his eyes and looked over at Mika. She smiled and giggled a little. He smiled back and said, "Sorry Mika, I was just day dreaming. Hey, do you want to come out with me tonight to Mt. Akagi?"
"Yeah, but I have to work."
"Come on, take time off."
"Koji, I have to. I need more hours, because I missed work on Tuesday when you bought the car. Then I told you no on Wednesday and Thursday when you got it through emissions and went to get it registered. Now, No."
He sighed, "You're no fun…"
"I'm just realistic. I don't have the week off."
"Fine then, I'll go by myself."
"Koji!"
He was gone. He walked outside and breathed. The mountain was the only important thing to him. Girl's don't matter. He'd have tons of them hanging off of him when he was the master of Akagi…
Akagi pass, 10:56
Koji smiled as he sat at the top of Akagi pass. He was ready. He had driven up ok, without tail sliding yet. But now he was ready. He would drift hard from the first corner on.
Koji slammed on the gas pedal when he let off the clutch and the rear tires spun. He held the wheel straight as he took off towards the first corner, nearing 70 kilometers per hour. He broke and moved his feet with the heel-toe downshift moves he saw on an online video.
He then turned the wheel and waited for the back end to slide, which it didn't. He cleared the corner ok because he had over-broke, but no tail sliding. Koji sighed, "I guess I have to go faster."
On the next curve, Koji sped up to 100 kilometers per hour and heel toe downshifted again while turning the wheel hard and held the brakes in extra long, causing the rear to slide a little more. He smiled and hit the gas pedal somewhat quickly, causing the RPM to shoot up and the rear tires to spin.
Koji countersteered as far as the wheel would go and let off the gas. The car straightened out and Koji breathed out. He got on the gas more slowly this time, but sped up quickly.
He began to notice the tail sliding on the light corners. The gas was causing the tires to spin. Koji smiled. He had to accelerate to drift, not brake. He headed towards a hairpin turn going 120.
He turned in and the back slid. He kept his foot on the gas and the tail whipped out almost violently. He smiled. He had hairpin drifted. He then turned the same way in the next turn.
As he was turning, he was accelerating. He then came to a sharp right hander. The right hander. This corner would soon come to be known as Koji's corner. Here's why…
Koji entered the turn as he had the last lighter curves. He turned the wheel and the backend slid. It slid a lot. His back tires were smoking and he was having his first experience with body roll.
Koji countersteered, not being too far into the turn to brake and adjust, but too used to it now. He felt that by counter steering, he would pull out like he had before. He was wrong.
Koji's front tires began to slide with the body and Koji looked over at the rail. It was getting closer and closer. By the time Koji had hit the brakes, it was too late. The car had gone through the rail and was now falling into the ravine.
Koji stared out the window, feeling weightless. He was scared. He wanted to scream but he had no voice all he could do was fall. Everything flashed before his eyes, his first bike, his parents, his car, Mika…
And like that, it all ended. There was no longer a dirty bike in his garage that he could ride. His parent's wouldn't be able to chew him out for coming home late. His car was worse then his body. And he would never be able to tell Mika how he really felt…
A Week Later…
Mika was on her knees back by her parent's SUV, tears falling down her eyes. She couldn't bare to listen to the priest. She then felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked back at her mom.
"Mika, honey, there's nothing you could have done."
With a raspy voice, she said, "Yes there was! I could have been there with him and…"
"Gone off the cliff with him? So I'd be where you are right now, balling my eyes out? Koji was a nice boy, but he wasn't very smart. He'd only had his license for what, a month?"
She wiped the tears from her eyes, "About…"
"Honey, Koji passed on because it was his time. The boy loved to talk about the touge and mountain racing, but he never understood that everyone up there is so talented. He didn't know what they had gone through to become the great driver's that they are."
"Koji thought he could do anything…"
"I know honey." Her mom fall down on her knees and took her daughter in a loving embrace, consoling her aching heart,. She looked up at the sky and thought, "Koji, I want you to look over all the future driver's and make sure that they are safe. Make sure they don't do what you did and don't bring people like my daughter cry on their knees for kids like you…"
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Get it? Koji is watching over all of us and if you die racing stupid, he'll be one of the first people you see up there. I hope that you're all careful. I'm stupid like Koji and I wrote this so I could tell myself to be careful. I hope you'll do the same.
