Drifting Experiences

If you’re after a driving experience day that’s not for the faint hearted, full of daredevil stunts that’s seriously high on the action front, then Driving Experience’s range of Drift Driving Experience day packages may be just what you need.

Originating in Japan in the 1970s, a mixture of professionals and enthusiasts have seen to it that it has become one of the fastest growing motorsports in the world. And then there’s the Fast & Furious series of films, on which drifting stunts feature heavily, which have helped it to gain popularity and even more new fans.

But for the novices among us, you may be wondering what drifting actually is. Put simply, it is driving at high speed whilst the rear tyres of the vehicle slide, whilst retaining control. It requires a lot of practice and serious expertise, skill and handling for any self respecting motorist.

Among the uniquely specified vehicles that we offer on our Drifting Experience Days we have the Caterham, the BMW M3, Nissan Skyline and Porsche Cayman to name but a few. These have all been specially designed in a way that will be able to cope with the demands put on the vehicle.

We also have a number of drift tracks on our books which host drift school and events all across the UK, including the historic Brands Hatch, Donington Park and also Birmingham Wheels Raceway, which also hosts its own drifting championship events.

Some of our Drift Experience Day packages also include Drift Passenger Rides - an ideal experience for a junior petrolhead or less confident drifters in waiting.

All of our drifting experiences make a great quirky gift idea for a loved one, or even as a treat for yourself. They even make a fantastic idea for a corporate team building day or an unusual stag do weekend idea for a group booking. You can purchase them either using our 10 month open gift voucher, or you can take a look at all our available dates and pick one to suit you using our events calendar.

Whether you’re a complete beginner, a budding Marco Santos, or even if you’ve just dreamt of being in the same driver’s seat as Paul Walker, we have a variety of car drifting experiences to suit a variety of expertises, from an introductory session right through to something more advanced with our exclusive 1-2-1 course. All come with some of the top specced models, and expert tuition, meaning you’ll be making your tyres smoke and squeal in no time at all!

The question we get asked more than any other with our drift experience days concerns whether somebody can learn to drift without a driving licence. The answer is yes, but there is a caveat: we ask that our potential drift drivers can demonstrate they can both drive and proficiently operate a manual car. We ask this to ensure that all participants get the most out of their track time.

One thing we absolutely need to point out is that drifting is illegal on public roads in the UK. It should only ever be performed on private, controlled, safe and specifically designed tracks and circuits like those we have available on Driving Experience.

As you’ll discover, drifting a car is almost impossible to get right first time, but our experienced instructors who will accompany you for your drifting experience are incredibly patient and give you useful hints and tips that will ensure you make fewer mistakes and pick up the basics - how to star, transition, exit and maintain - gradually and with more practice.

It may seem like drifting only serves its purpose in performing stunts that would put the Great Gonzo from the Muppets to shame. But gaining these skills is more valuable and practical than you would think.

Learning to drift a car sideways in a safe, controlled environment means that should you need to swerve suddenly or unintentionally lose control of your vehicle out on the open road, you’ve got the capability to do so.

When drift enthusiasts, professional and amateur alike, are looking at perfect drifting, they are focussed on Swiss watch accurate line maintenance on sideways cornering, as well as excellent angles, speed and flair. Which is why rear wheel drive, manual cars with a handbrake are ideal vehicles for drifting. It is less a case of power, as with supercars, more of control capabilities.

The fact that it is a precise, complex, almost artistic form of motoring means that whilst many other forms of motorsport are experiencing decline, the popularity of drifting is going from strength to strength. So there’s never been a better time to experience a unique form of driving that has its fans all over the world.

There are two easy ways for you to purchase a Drifting Driving Experience. You can either purchase one of our driving experience days as an open 10-month gift voucher or book directly onto an available date of your choice using our events calendar.

If you cannot see any dates on the voucher page, then simply e-mail or call us and our customer service team can give you the most up to date availability. If you wish to make a bespoke package, or are interested in making one of our driving experiences into a group event or corporate event, please contact us by going to our corporate days page and filling in our enquiry form.

Essential Booking Information for Drifting Driving Experiences

If you buy an open gift voucher for a Drifting package, the standard validity period to use the voucher is 10 months. However, please make sure you check this first, as some Drifting vouchers and special offers may have a shorter or longer validity.

If you are booking directly onto a date for a driving experience, please note that you are making a booking request, and the date and time that you choose will still be subject to availability.

We usually confirm bookings within 48 hours, but we ask that you do not make any arrangements in conjunction with your booking request until you have received your final confirmation email. The receipt we send you after making a booking request is not your confirmation.

Other important things to consider when purchasing driving experiences for the Drifting is that the driver meets all requirements in terms of age, weight, height and driving licence. These requirements are unique to each driving experience, so please ensure you have read the important information thoroughly.

If an experience is for junior drivers only, we will usually mention this in the name of the package, but not in all cases. If you place a booking for a driving experience, and the driver doesn’t meet the requirements on the day, then it is unlikely they will be able to drive the vehicle, in which case they will be offered a passenger ride.

We have many junior experiences available.