Riding with Abuja’s ‘crazy’ drifters

The sight could be mistaken for a motorsport festival at the heart of the nation’s capital, Abuja. Like a swam of angry hornets, the cars roared and buzzed to life, rattling spectators to the fun of the ‘crazy’ drifters. It was a warm Sunday evening, and Daily Trust joined spectators to catch the sights and […]

The sight could be mistaken for a motorsport festival at the heart of the nation’s capital, Abuja. Like a swam of angry hornets, the cars roared and buzzed to life, rattling spectators to the fun of the ‘crazy’ drifters. It was a warm Sunday evening, and Daily Trust joined spectators to catch the sights and sounds of car drifting, which has become popular during weekends in some parts of the city, such as the Central Business District, Jabi, Utako and Wuye.

Car drifting is a driving style in which the driver manoeuvres the car from turn to turn, keeping the car in a state of oversteer with the mastery of the use of the throttle, brakes, clutch and gear. For starters, drifters are thought to emphasise car control by coordinating the amount of countersteer with the simultaneous control of the throttle and brakes to shift the weight balance of the car back and forth through the turns as they strive to adhere to the standard racing lines.

While drifting has been developed as a form of sport, also known as motorsport, and used for competitions, the drifters this Sunday are merely out to catch fun and entertain onlookers. Spectators staring in awe filled the scenes, admiring the drifters as they displayed mastery of how cars could be maneuvered in unusual ways.

Most of the cars used for the fun appeared expensive: Top brands like Hummer, Mercedes Benz and BMW, all painted in eye-catching colours and even exotic sports cars. Daily Trust observed that most of the cars were customised with sport tyres, gull-wing doors and ear-splitting sound systems blaring music. 

Most of the spectators were young people, who from their appearances could not afford the cars used for the spectacular displays. Drifters took turns at full throttle, pushing the torque of the cars to the limit and forcing the tyres to screech against the tarred roads. Cheers from the crowd occasionally rented the air as the performers dazzled them.

The scene also saw some kind of economic activities as hawkers sold CDs, ice cream, sachet water, recharge cards and snacks. 

A young man standing by the side of the road categorised the ‘crazy’ drifters into three: those who have a new car come to show off; those who come to pass time and cheer their friends and those who come to drift with their cars with the quest of being first among equals despite the scarcity of petrol.

Some of the drifters came with two or more cars driven to the place with their mechanics. This reporter observed a drifter with three  BMW 3-series cars with extra tyres in the back. He told Daily Trust that he does not drive any car except a BMW because it is heavy with powerful torque, balanced, and hardly somersaults. He said he gives his mechanic the car to fix whenever it develops any fault during the weekly show and use another spare car to flaunt his wealth and passion. 

The drifter said he has been drifting in the Central Business Area before the government chased them out, but they have found other suitable places to stage their show.

However, it was observed that the Police parked an official Toyota corolla patrol car in the junction to deter the youth from drifting. By six in the evening, the police drove off while the youth booed them. The departure of the police marked the beginning of the show.

Before the drift started, three youth came in three metallic, ash and milk colored S-Class Mercedes Benz with the LED fog lights to the admiration of many. They parked and came to the centre before the drift commenced. Some onlookers recognised one of the occupants of the cars as the Chairman of the Association of drifters.

However, one of the drifters, who had remodeled his white E-Class Mercedes Benz, identified simply as Yamusa, said “I am a member of the Abuja Auto Sport which comprises Clubs like ‘Q Customs’, ‘Dark Knight Autos’ and others alike.” He told Daily Trust that he does not want to be photographed. “I started driving when I was twelve, in the year 2000 and I started drifting five years ago in 2011 at 27.”

Yamusa said there are two ladies who are good car drivers and they are good drifters just like any other person. He said, “Drifting with a car is all about controlling a vehicle, allowing it to lose control and then regaining control.” He said the best cars to use in drifting are BMW and Mercedes Benz because they have a 360 and 180 degrees control against other type of cars. He revealed that they stopped drifting in the city centre because of the safety of spectators, adding that lack of an arena forced them to search for alternatives.

 Yamusa said they go to where they compete kitted with a first aid kit and most importantly a fire extinguisher. He advised onlookers to avoid coming close to the drift arena for their safety as they can watch from a safe distance.

The drifters hold elaborate shows every six months, which they tag as ‘Rims and Beats Show’. The rims refer to the drifters and the beats stand for musicians they invite to perform like WizKid and Burna Boy.

The organisers of the show give trophies to the best drifter at the end of each of the shows to encourage others to perfect their skills. 

Yamusa disclosed that they invite members to train late at night and also organise weekly shows during weekends in preparation for the ‘Rims and Beats Show’.

Meanwhile, Yamusa put up mild drama to deceive unsuspecting spectators and earn their cheers. Having tried in vain to burst his tyre, he parked his car on a metal drainage, pulled the hand-brake at full throttle and released the clutch until the tyre exploded followed by thunderous cheers from the crowd.

On this day, he was the first drifter to burst his tyre, a record every drifter eyes at the shows, to earn more popularity and respect. 

With an ambulance stationed for any emergency, the junction was cramped with spectators standing on their cars, sitting on drain pipes of a construction company and on hills just to have a full glimpse of the action, as Abuja’s ‘crazy’ drifters ride pumped full of adrenaline.