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- Jim McFarlane is ready to represent SA in Egypt at the Red Bull Car Park Drift World Finals.
- Veteran drifter won the South African leg of the competition in KZN in April this year.
- Has to leave his trusted Nissan 350Z drift car at home due to Covid-19 restrictions.
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Jim McFarlane (46) from Pretoria might be a sports management professional who holds national colours for water skiing, but the extreme sports junkie says he prefers the smell of burning rubber. McFarlane is a professional Dragon Energy Drink drifter, and he scooped the gold in this year's Red Bull Car Park Drift tournament held at the Suncoast Casino in Kwa-Zulu Natal in April.
McFarlane is currently packing his bags to head to Egypt to represent the cream of the crop when it comes to Mzansi's drifting scene at the Red Bull Car Park Drift World Finals on 5 November.
He says: "I'm a little lost for words, especially since we hadn't been able to compete in over a year. The Car Park Drift tournament in Durban was extremely challenging, and I think every driver was able to take something away from the national tournament."
The four elements
McFarlane thrilled the judges at the Suncoast event earlier this year with his dedication to line, angle, speed and style.
He explains: "These four elements are critical when it comes to professional drifting as that's what the judges are watching. I focus on driving a precision line when I drift, and then I let the speed, angle and style come naturally."
The veteran drifter is based in Pretoria and runs a specialist sports promotion company near Delmas out of Red Star Raceway. He pilots a bespoke Nissan 350Z that's fitted with a custom-built Chevrolet 6.0-litre V8 engine that's been lifted out of a Lumina SS.
"I love the balance and the handling of the Z," he says. "Its weight distribution, even with our modifications, makes it highly driveable on the limit. I can feel the car pivot around my hips from the driver's seat, and because it's a big-bore naturally aspirated motor, I'm able to maintain momentum without worrying about a whack of boost from a turbo."
Covid-19 hampering chances
For the Red Bull Car Park Drift World Finals in Egypt next month, however, McFarlane won't be able to drive his trusty Nissan as he could not send the car to Egypt due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
He notes: "It's going to be a challenge, I will admit, but I'm confident that I'll be able to get to grips with the car that I'll be using over there reasonably quickly. I'll only have one day, maybe a session of a couple of hours, to train with the car, but I will do my best to enjoy the event and fly the South African flag as high as possible.
"The world's best drifters will be at this competition, and I know there that it's going to be one tough challenge."
McFarlane has hired a rear-wheel-drive drift vehicle to use at the tournament in Egypt (a custom-built BMW E92 with a Chevrolet V8), but it's a left-hand-drive car. He says it will require a mindset shift to drive from the "other side" of the vehicle, but he explains that the fundamentals of drifting remain the same regardless of where the driver sits.
He notes: "I do have some experience with left-hand-drive cars, but I will admit that it's going to be very different. I'm focused on hitting the course's driving line hard to score maximum points over there. I'll let the style, speed and angle flow as I gain more confidence with the vehicle."
McFarlane encourages youngsters interested in motorsport to look into drifting as an outlet. He concludes: "I wanted to get into rallying, to be honest with you, but I learned a long time ago that that scene can get really, really, expensive. I'm not saying that drifting is a cheap sport, but I am saying that the barriers to entry are lower.
"As a young drifter, you can find a cheap rear-wheel-drive car for R50 000 and use that as the basis for your development. It's not about having big horsepower or the best aftermarket parts; it's about identifying your strengths behind the wheel and driving to those advantages on the drift course."
You can watch the Red Bull Car Park Drift World Finals on the Red Bull website.
