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◉ Can You Drift Legally if You Don’t Have a Driver’s License?

Tag: racing

For many years the answer to this question has been no. The rule has always been that you must be of legal driving age to drift. There is now an exception if you complete a Safe Driver Training course.

In California, on March 16th, Dominic Martinez, 14, who does not yet have a driver’s license, was allowed to legally drift at Sonoma Raceway. Generally, you need a license at any drifting location or raceway. This is to ensure that everyone at the track is capable of driving safely. Part of drifting is knowing the ins and outs of driving legally. You can’t know how to drift and race without first knowing how to drive within the confines of the law.

For drivers who want to experience the same thrills as Martinez, they will have to find the right place to drift. You won’t be able to just drift in your neighborhood, or on any streets for that matter as it’s completely illegal. But, many race tracks allow you to legally race, drift, and compete against others. So you will want to look locally in your yellow pages, or a quick Google search will help.

Drifting is Getting Bigger and More Diverse

Drifting has been a pastime since at least the 70s and is continually growing its community and media attention. With the thrill and exhilaration of pulling off skillful maneuvers, and driving faster than normal, sometimes with dream cars that the drivers themselves build and customize, it’s no surprise that teenagers, such as Dominic Martinez in the video, are now actively participating in drifting events.

Why Should I Drift at Events and on Race Tracks?

Not only is drifting at events and race tracks safer and more fun than illegally doing it on the streets but there is a sense of being a part of your local community. You can meet new people who are interested in the same thing you are. You can be part of a competitive scene if you’re interested in how you stack up against others. At every event and track, there are a variety of skill ranges, so you don’t have to be good or experienced to go. You can participate, learn how to drift, and even improve with advice from others. Newcomers are always welcome!

Get Your License

If you’re interested in drifting or racing legally, the first big step is to get your license. Once you have that, most race tracks will let you drift if you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle (but only in singles, if you’d like to drift with others, you will also need a roll cage). Any stock sports car out there is rear-wheel drive. If you do not have one, you are most likely driving a forward-wheel drive car, or, all-wheel drive (off-road vehicles). Then contact the track you want to go to and find out more about the events that are going on.

Have fun out there and remember to drift safely and legally. Sign up today with OnlineDriversEd.com to help get you started with getting your license and gaining the knowledge required to understand how to drive.

On March 16th, 2016, Dominic Martinez (age 14), and his father Eric Martinez, teamed up with Sonoma Raceway to allow the young and upcoming pro-am drifter, Dominic, to legally drive his newly built race car, despite being too young for a license. With his pristine Nissan S14 240SX, this young competitor was able to participate in the Sonoma Drift event later in the evening.

Eric Martinez, with his own experiences in drifting, used his knowledge to put together a drifting dream car for his son. This race car took him an impressive three months to build. Each part was hand-picked and put together by professionals to ensure it was up to safety codes and regulations.

At Sim Raceway’s driver training course, this mechanical beauty was given to Dominic as a birthday surprise. He went in expecting to get work done on his previous car, but with careful planning, his father was able to surprise him with a new superior drift car.

Dominic has a passion for competitive drifting and looks forward to competing in future events that will allow him to legally participate, despite his age.

OnlineDriversEd.com has some exclusive footage coming up with Dominic Martinez drifting and telling us his humble thoughts on the experience. We’re also going to explore why drifting at raceways is safer and more fun than anywhere else.

Interested in getting your license? Sign up today. Let our experienced staff help you get the education you need to get out there and drive.

Let’s face it. Going fast in your car can be an enjoyable experience and racing your friends can be even more fun. Unfortunately, you are not a professional race car driver, and you do not have the opportunity to drive on the German Autobahn, where sections of the road have no speed limit. This means you probably do not get many opportunities to legally go at whatever speed you want. You might be wondering, “Where can I legally speed or race?” Luckily, there are places in the United States where even an amateur driver can legally speed.

Sonoma Raceway- Sonoma, California

After taking a course conducted by professional drivers and getting some driving pointers, those who take a class through the Simraceway Performance Driving Center are let loose on the Sonoma Raceway to test their speed limits. There are a variety of classes to fit your speed or racing needs. While some courses allow you to bring your vehicle to the track, others let you drive an Audi sports car or take a Formula 3 race car on the track. You will even get tips from professional drivers on how you can do better next time. With the option for group training, it is a wonderful opportunity to take classes with your friends and family members to see who is the better or faster driver.

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park- Chandler, Arizona

Bob Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving also offers courses in race car driving for interested individuals. Classes run from one to four days, depending on the course. Although there are several classes, the signature course is the Forza Motorsport Grand Prix Road Racing course. While drivers have a ride-along passenger to coach them in the beginning, they later get the opportunity to take a race car around the track on their own, with no speed limit. Plus, at the completion of the course, you can obtain your SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Regional race license, allowing you to compete in real races.

Qualcomm Stadium- San Diego, California

If you are looking for something a little less expensive than going to a race car driving school, another great place to race is Qualcomm Stadium. Their Friday night Race Legal events allow you the opportunity to enjoy street racing in a much safer environment than on the road. It is an event that is great no matter your racing experience. You might even find yourself coming back for more races. Races take place most Fridays from January through April. Prizes are even given to the top performers in a wide range of categories.

Aspen Motorsports Park- Woody Creek, Colorado

Created after Colorado Governor Edwin C. Johnson banned racing on public roads, Aspen Motorsports Park is located a short distance from Aspen. Performance Driving Days allow participants three hours of driving experience around the track. Each driver is given full racing gear, including a race suit, gloves, a helmet, and driving shoes. After completing the instruction portion of the day and getting a feel for the race car and the track, participants can travel the track on their own while completing time trials. At the completion of your time trials, you will get a printout of your lap times.

If you are interested in racing around the Aspen Motorsports Park, you must be able to drive a manual transmission vehicle, and you must be at least eighteen years old. Plus, sessions are only available Tuesday through Thursday from mid-June to mid-September.

Of course, these are not the only places where you can speed or race legally in the United States. If you are interested in driving fast, we encourage you to find places near you where you can legally drive with no speed limit.

 

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For many years the answer to this question has been no. The rule has always been that you must be of legal driving age to drift. There is now an exception if you complete a Safe Driver Training course.

In California, on March 16th, Dominic Martinez, who is 14 years old and does not yet have a driver’s license, was allowed to legally drift at Sonoma Raceway. Generally, you need a license at any drifting location or raceway. This is to ensure that everyone at the track is capable of driving safely. Part of drifting is knowing the ins and outs of driving legally. You can’t know how to drift and race without first knowing how to drive within the confines of the law.

 

 

For drivers who want to experience the same thrills as Martinez, they will have to find the right place to drift. You won’t be able to just drift in your neighborhood, or on any streets for that matter as it’s completely illegal. But, many race tracks allow you to legally race, drift, and compete against others. So you will want to look locally in your yellow pages, or a quick Google search will help.

Drifting is Getting Bigger and More Diverse

Drifting has been a pastime since at least the 70s and is continually growing its community and media attention. With the thrill and exhilaration of pulling off skillful maneuvers, and driving faster than normal, sometimes with dream cars that the drivers themselves build and customize, it’s no surprise that teenagers, such as Dominic Martinez in the video, are now actively participating in drifting events.

Why Should I Drift at Events and on Race Tracks?

Not only is drifting at events and race tracks safer and more fun than illegally doing it on the streets but there is a sense of being a part of your local community. You can meet new people who are interested in the same thing you are. You can be part of a competitive scene if you’re interested in how you stack up against others. At every event and track, there are a variety of skill ranges, so you don’t have to be really good or experienced to go. You can participate, learn how to drift, and even improve with advice from others. Newcomers are always welcome!

Get Your License

If you’re interested in drifting or racing legally, the first big step is to get your license. Once you have that, most race tracks will let you drift if you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle (but only in singles, if you’d like to drift with others, you will also need a roll cage). Basically, any stock sports car out there is rear-wheel drive. If you do not have one, you are most likely driving a forward-wheel drive car, or, all-wheel drive (off-road vehicles). Then contact the track you want to go to and find out more about the events that are going on.

Have fun out there and remember to drift safely and legally. Sign up today with OnlineDriversEd.com to help get you started with getting your license and gaining the knowledge required to understand how to drive.