New Cars for German International Drifting Championship Drivers Alex and Corrina Gräff
- 30 Mar 2010
Alex began drifting in 2000 and became an International Drifting Championship (IDC) Pro Driver in 2008, competing against the most skilled drivers on the international circuit. His car "The Policecar" quickly became a cult vehicle in Germany. Now everyone, regardless of age, has heard about Alex and his amazing drift shows. At a recent Motorshow in Essen, Germany, over 414,000 visitors watched Alex perform his drifting magic inside the fair hall. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. In other words, you stump the gas pedal breaking lose the rear end, crank the steering wheel into the slid, and power through a marked course of turns in a blaze of smoking rear tires and screaming horsepower.
"Drifting is different than other motorsports," say Alex. "We always drive near the limit, and often over it. The fascination is to be able to control the car along that border area - the 'Grenzbereich.'" It's a term that loosely translated means - at the edge of the border.
In European drifting competitions high powered Japanese cars are still quite rare because many of the popular models were never on sale there on the domestic market. Therefore, in Germany for example, the drifting car of choice is a used BMW. Used BMW's are relatively cheap there and they have rear-wheel drive, in addition, there is a high interchangeability of parts between various models, which makes tuning or beefing up a drifting car a lot easier. Something Alex recently became all too aware of. Alex says he is very proud and thankful for his fans, friends and International Drifting Series (IDS) colleagues who gave him the opportunity to build a totally new car within a mere two weeks after his crash in Alkerslenben, Germany, that completely destroyed his beloved Polizei-Car. After missing two runs of the Championship, Alex still managed to finish in eighth position in the 2009 IDS Season. "The new car is better. This car is built only for drifting and it's easier to drive" remarks Alex. This May, at the 24 Hour Race at Nürburgring, Alex will be presented with still another new car, a BMW E36 M3 with 320 BHP with a K&N air intake system that will add an additional 15 BHP. Alex's wife, Corrina, started drifting at the beginning of 2008, after Alex taught her all she needed to know to compete in the IDC Rookie Class. Proving that talent runs in the family, Corrina finished her first season in fifth position overall. After much hard work, she entered the IDS Pro Class last year, finishing ninth. As a couple, Corrina and Alex are a one-of-a-kind in the drifting scene, and they are attracting many more people to the sport. At the beginning of the 2010 season Corrina also got a new drift car, a BMW E30 V8 4.4, equipped with the same K&N air intake system. Corrina says she is very happy to see more young ladies coming around and willing to compete in the sport. Strong competition after all raises everyone's game. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
