Why would someone drift a car in the first place? I used to wonder that too. At first glance, it appears to be something entirely without functionality. It is not the quickest way around a racetrack. It wears out tires quickly. Is the car damaged? It is aggravates the car. Yet some people still invest time, money and effort into learning to do so.

Drifting is a driving technique in which the driver oversteers intentionally, causing the rear wheels to skid laterally through a curve. It’s not about losing control. It's a matter of handling a car while it's sliding to begin with. Doing it well takes practice. In a planned rally-style slide, the driver has to gently modulate the throttle, the steering, the brakes and all the other elements in just the right way to keep the car in a controlled slide around a turn.

Some people drift because they enjoy the challenge of the technical. And it is difficult to keep a car in a skid without spinning out or leaving the road. Others float there because it is permitted by some forms of motorsport. There are contests in which drivers are scored on angle, line and style. Some have a good time doing it in a confined space, with no objective beyond getting better and better. You also drift because it’s a change of what you normally do in a car. On most driving: The general idea is maintaining grip and smoothness. Drifting is the loss of rear-wheel grip, done purposefully in a safe setting. It's intended to be, that's the point.