Drift Trial is a mode in which you attempt to drive around a single lap of a track, earning points for the quality of your drifting. As soon as you enter a drift by sliding your rear wheels around a corner, a flag will appear, and you will start to accumulate points. Drift as often as possible as you make your way around the track—when the lap is complete, your total points will be calculated and recorded.

■ Before Attempting a Drift Trial

Drifting is all about deliberately causing your car to slide, and there are certain things that you should bear in mind if you want to drift successfully:

・ Don't Use an FF Car
In order to drift, you need your car's rear wheels to slide. As such, FF cars, in which the front wheels are powered, are not suitable for the purpose. Be sure to use a car with a layout other than FF. An FR or 4WD car is recommended.

・ Set Traction Control to 0
You need to keep your rear wheels sliding as you drift, which means you should disable any traction control features that prevent your car's powered wheels from spinning. Open the Quick Menu and select 'Settings' -> 'Assist Settings' -> 'Traction Control' and set it to 0.

・ Disable Auto-Drive
Auto-drive is a feature that assists with all aspects of driving, and it's extremely useful when you're driving normally around a track. It's not designed for drifting, though. Open the Quick Menu and select 'Settings' -> 'Assist Settings' -> 'Auto-Drive' and switch it off.

・ Fit Tuning Parts Designed for Drifting
Scoring more points in Drift Trials isn't just about improving your skills. It's also about ensuring that your car is set up for drifting by fitting the right parts and adjusting the right settings. The Tuning Shop sells parts that are specially designed for Drift Trials. Increase your Collector Level in order to fit and equip them!

■ Enjoying Drift Trials

Drifting requires a great deal of skill, and it may feel difficult at first. Here's some advice to help you practise and improve, as well as some tips for racking up big scores.

At first, it's better to consider the front and rear of the car separately when practising your drifts. The front half of the car is what causes the rear wheels to slide. The rear of the car maintains the drift.

The easiest way to trigger a drift is to head into a corner at high speed and then suddenly apply the brake, immediately followed by the handbrake. At first the aim is just to get the car to spin, so that you have an idea of the speed required and a sense of how it feels when the rear wheels slide.

Once you've set the rear wheels sliding, you need to think about how to keep them that way. The most important tools you have with which to do this are counter-steering and acceleration control. Counter-steering refers to steering the car at the moment it stars sliding in the same direction as the slide. Counter-steering allows you to control the extent to which your car slides sideways.

The extent to which you apply the accelerator also allows you to control your car's slide. Put your foot down to increase the extent of the slide. Take your foot off the accelerator to subdue the sideways slide. Using a combination of counter-steering and acceleration control allows drivers to produce some very impressive drifts.

Tyres with the least possible amount of grip are recommended for Drift Trials. Adjusting your front and rear ride height, the suspension's natural frequency, the damping ratio, and LSD settings can also produce beneficial effects.

In Drift Trials, points are awarded according to the following criteria:

Angle
The angle at which the car is drifting (the 'drift angle') evaluated, relative to what the racing line would be using ordinary grip. If the drift angle increases beyond a certain point, your car will be deemed to have entered a spin, and your drift points will be reset.

Distance from the Record Line
You will be evaluated on your ability to trace the ideal racing line (using ordinary grip). The further away from the Record Line you stray, the fewer points you will accumulate.

Speed
The speed of your car during the drift will be evaluated. The higher the speed, the more points you will accumulate.

Duration
The duration of your drift is evaluated. Performing a drift that scores highly according to criteria 1-3 above and sustaining it for a long time is the best way to quickly rack up a lot of points.