Mmmmmm Donuts

Cooper Tires has set a new World Donuting record at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire. Twenty-two enthusiasts mainly from the online ‘Drift’ community, Driftworks.co.uk, helped Cooper break the previous record for the number of cars simultaneously donuting, which stood at three cars.

The cars, which included an exotic collection of Japanese performance cars such as the Nissan Skyline, Toyota Soarer and drifter’s favourite, the lightweight Toyota Corolla, had to perform donuts for no less than
10 seconds to earn their places in the history books.

Among the participants were several competitors of the UK D1 National Championship, the UK’s premier drifting competition. Big in Japan, drifting is growing in popularity across the world. D1 is a fast-paced discipline that sees drivers sliding their high-performance cars, at times side-by-side, through a tight course at speeds of over 100mph.

Drifting relies on both driver talent and tyre performance as drivers apply the brakes to initiate a slide, or drift, and control the car as it slides from side to side through a marked course. The drift is maintained with a precise balance of power, braking and steering. Drivers are judged on execution and style as they complete the course.

According to Cooper, the company’s knowledge of drifting – due to its involvement in the US Drift and Formula Drift series in the United States – has assisted in the development of hard wearing but relatively soft tyre compounds which offer exceptional levels of adhesion in both wet and dry conditions.