The second FIA Intercontinental Drifting Cup gets underway this weekend (2-4 November) in Tokyo, Japan, with 21 top drifting talents preparing for their Solo and Battle competitions.

While in the same location as the inaugural event twelve months ago, there are a number of significant changes that will make the second FIA IDC even more challenging for the competitors and spectacular for the spectators.

Firstly, the layout of the course has changed significantly with the aim of creating a higher speed at the initiation phase and adding more transitions for the drivers to master. The configuration is also longer, allowing for three outside zones and three clipping zones to be scored on each run.

The scoring system is the second major difference compared to the first running of FIA IDC. This year, a much greater emphasis will be placed on the human judges who will score each driver on three main criteria: line, angle and style. Points will also be awarded for speed (initiation and average).

The line judge will be looking at how close the drivers run their cars to the outside walls and how precisely they pass the inside clipping zones, with points awarded on a sliding scale. The line judge will also be able to deduct points from a driver should they cross over the white line and leave the course.

The angle judge will be focused on the same key areas as the line judge, and will award more points for higher degrees of angle which allow momentum to be maintained. They will also consider how long the angle is maintained, and how many corrections a driver needs to make in order to keep the angle consistent. If a car makes contact with the outside wall, it will be up to the angle judge to determine whether or not the angle was affected, and if so deduct points depending on the severity.

Lastly, the style judge has responsibility over the sections of the course not judged for line and angle. Here, commitment and fluidity are the two main criteria to be considered as the cars prepare to enter and then exit the scoring zones. The smoother the car control, and the more aggressively the driver attacks the course, the more points they will be awarded by the style judge.

With this comprehensive judging system backed up by detailed telemetry from every car, the competition in the second FIA IDC is likely to be fierce. Last year’s winner Masato Kawabata returns to defend his title, with fellow former front-runners Arkadiy Tsaregradtsev, Masashi Yokoi and Georgy Chivchyan likely to be in contention once again this time around. Click here to view the complete entry list. 

All the action will be available to watch live online via the official FIA Intercontinental Drifting Cup Facebook Page.