  
Discover the winning combination in drifting: adrenaline and responsibility
RoDrift, the only public utility motorsport club in Romania, celebrates 10 years of existence this year. Find out what he managed to build during this time for adrenaline junkies.
Drifting is a spectacular sport because of the speed of the cars, the technique of the drivers and the adrenaline you feel when you watch the combination of the two. But for RoDrift, safety and responsibility are just as important; for the members of this community, which today numbers more than 60,000 people, drifting is for professional circuits, not for the roads.
Andrei Balica, the president of RoDrift, is proud of the achievements that the motorsport club has had in its 10 years of existence. He says the members' passion for the sport and desire to grow it has made drifting take off. And their achievements don't stop there. Find out what RoDrift has been able to build all these years and what their plans look like.
RoDrift is the only motorsport club of public utility in Romania. What does this mean?
If we think about all sports disciplines in Romania, there are even less than 10 sports clubs with this status. Usually this quality is held only by national sports federations according to law 69/2000 updated this year. The fact that RoDrift benefits from this recognition is due to sustained work for 10 years, through the activity of the sports club carried out at the national level. And we did not limit ourselves strictly to sports, by organizing the National Drift Championship, but also to social responsibility activities, through our campaigns called "Champions are on the circuit, not on the roads". And not only.
Over time, we have fought to popularize the idea of motorsport competitions only on the circuit, not on the roads, in order to promote traffic safety, especially in the context where we have a negative record of fatal accidents in Romania, at European level. That's why we want to offer adrenaline junkies a safe environment in which to perform and where we can guide them both towards responsibility in traffic and performance on the track.
Drifting is a spectacular sport when practiced responsibly
How was this club born in Romania, which this year celebrates 10 years of existence?
This club, with the full name "Romanian Drift Community", started from the idea of a community of people gathered around a very great passion, a really special piloting technique, practiced by few, but appreciated by many. 10 years ago, the RoDrift team laid the foundations of this sport, with the support of both the Romanian Sports Motor Federation and the National Sports Agency (Ministry of Youth and Sports at that time), under whose umbrella we carry out our activity. Thus, in the 10 competitive seasons, RoDrift hosted over 60 events, with a total of over 450 pilots from 18 countries, who over time participated in our championship.
How would you describe the drifting community in Romania?
Atypical. Motorsport is generally dominated by competitiveness, somehow normal, the podium being the most concrete barometer of performance. But the community around drifting stands out for its fantastic cohesion. We are all a big team, we help each other, we promote each other, we support each other, and this atypical behavior for such a competitive sport has helped us grow the championship in such a short time and stand out at the level European.
In less than a decade, we have grown from a community of passionate people to a club that organizes the most relevant national championships at European level, attracting competitors from 18 countries such as: Bulgaria, Slovakia, Italy, Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania, etc. . This happened because year after year we brought more adrenaline to the competition, we brought bigger challenges on the trails and we constantly increased the level of professionalism in organization, preparation, communication. That's why we now have people coming to watch our competitions even on top of the mountain, hundreds of kilometers away.
The talent of the pilots is applauded on the open stage
What are its main characteristics and values?
It is a community of more than 60,000 people, very diverse, but at the same time cohesive around a great passion. They are enthusiasts who like to push their limits to make their dreams come true. Non-conformists, eager for new things, energy yes, but responsible at the same time.
What are the biggest challenges facing the Romanian drifting scene today?
I believe that in order to be able to perform, regardless of the field, regardless of the sports discipline, that sport must benefit from a training base, and this means investing in that sport. Investments that will multiply in the economy, for sure. If we look at the communities that benefit from the circuits - Monza, Reggio Emilia, Spa, Nurburgring - they are prosperous, they have complementary businesses that serve these circuits, they have a well-established HoReCa industry and other related activities. I am sure that we can replicate this model in Romania as well.
In order to develop this sport, first of all it has to be practiced, otherwise this is also the biggest challenge, being an extremely expensive sport, but also due to the lack of an easy infrastructure necessary for training. RoDrift already has a tradition of organizing 2-3 training sessions per year, but even so, much more is needed.
Another big challenge is finding new circuits or new locations that we can bring up to circuit standard. In order to evolve, new challenges and novelty elements are always needed. Circuits in Romania are far too few, compared to the needs of sports motoring, but somehow this has become our strong point compared to most countries in Europe, because we manage to come up with original, urban or mountain circuits, which can be even more spectacular compared to a traditional circuit.
How has the drifting scene developed in Romania over the years? Are there any big trends or changes you've noticed?
The drift staged by RoDrift through the national championship has developed simultaneously with its athletes, being a clear symbiosis between the year-by-year increase in the competitiveness of the tracks and the high level of performance achieved by our pilots. They prepare their competition materials every year with new technological recipes and engine upgrades to get a better chance for the podium. We can say that the level of both the drivers and the competition cars has reached a level comparable to any European or international championship. The trend, certainly, is to evolve, to continually surpass itself, the greatest enemy being comfort, that place where things tend to be conserved at the expense of performance.
What are the most important drifting events or competitions in Romania and how do they contribute to the growth and promotion of the sport?
All the events organized by RoDrift are important, they are all part of the National Drift Championship or are demonstration events promoting the championship. Each stage in the championship has its own specifics, whether it takes place on a very spectacular mountain route, or on an original urban route or on a speed circuit.
We have specified "events organized by RoDrift" to clearly demarcate ourselves from any other irresponsible and terrible or illegal manifestation carried out especially on public roads or in parking lots. We insist a lot on this aspect, the manifestation in a professional and controlled way of this piloting technique.
The RoDrift community has over 60,000 enthusiasts
What resources and infrastructure are needed to support the growth of the drifting scene in Romania?
The answer to this question is very simple - it needs financial resources. In vain you have a thoroughbred stallion, if you do not have a racetrack, in vain you have competition cars of thousands of horsepower, if you do not have a training base and circuits. The sport in Romania has demonstrated many times that it has an international scope and drifting is no exception, especially since we have dedicated and talented pilots, which is why we will dedicate our efforts to build this infrastructure that will give birth to future champions of European renown and, why not, worldwide.
How does the drifting scene in Romania compare to that of other countries or regions? Are there distinctive aspects or innovations that Romania brings to this field?
We are a very close-knit community, and that is an advantage because we have a common, strong and coherent voice. And I think we have one more characteristic - we are that "underdog" who has proven that it can be done even with little resources. We managed to do in 10 years what many European countries did not succeed in this niche, because they did not have the madness of the beginner who has nothing to lose. So we left, having nothing to lose and then we had everything to gain. In the organization of national drift championships, at the European level, Romania recorded one of the most spectacular developments.
What is your opinion about the social and cultural impact of motorsport, especially drifting, in Romania?
First of all, it is an educational approach through which we show young people that this sport must be practiced in a very well-regulated setting, by professional pilots, not on the roads. Secondly, we had the ambition to take this sport to more areas of the country, to small communities that benefit from these competitions from an economic point of view. Moreover, these competitions that are broadcast live, which enjoy an international presence, popularize areas of our country that would be very difficult for motorsport enthusiasts from other countries to discover. We grow a culture of performance, especially for young people, and we remind them with every step that any climb to the podium has a lot of work behind it, team efforts and, above all, discipline.
What are RoDrift's plans and goals for the future? How do you see the evolution and direction of the sport in the coming years?
On our agenda is to build an infrastructure dedicated to this sport and a competition base to support the performance of future generations of drivers and to diversify the stages so that we become one of the relevant drift competitions at international level in the coming years.
Adrenaline is one of the "ingredients" of this sport
What would be your advice for those who are interested in entering the drifting scene in Romania or developing their skills in this sport?
The first step can be a pilot school, training both senses and reflexes. Then, depending on each person's level, but also depending on the level of the competition material, they can access one of the 3 classes. The minimum age is 12 years and the minimum competition material for the Street class, as the name suggests, is a rear-wheel drive car without any special equipment.
Through our CSR actions, we even reward those who choose to leave the terribleness of the roads and adopt sports education within our pilot school, thus becoming licensed pilots and influencers in the communities they represent. |
