The Suzuka road racing circuit in Japan is a legendary track and one of the oldest tracks featured in the Formula 1 season. It’s also well known for GT and superbike racing; it’s a regular fixture in many national and continental racing series, it’s well documented in video games, and it’s Honda’s home circuit. It’s not often associated with drifting –typically that goes on at the nearby but smaller Suzuka Twin Circuit.
But a cool ride in the amusement area at Suzuka looks like an absolute blast, while also teaching the joy of drifting to opposite-lock enthusiasts of all ages. It runs two people in a race together on rails, and yes, it’s actually a race. But it’s incredibly creative in how the designers developed the track and the mechanisms to make the cars go faster.
What Universal’s Mario Kart Ride Should Have Been
If you’ve been fortunate enough to visit Universal Studios, the Mario Kart ride is a fun but slow stop-start affair that leans into 3D technology rather than a sensation of speed in the real world. Suzuka’s drift ride definitely takes place in the real world, and it requires smooth drifting to make the vehicle go faster. Nail a perfect drift and you’re rewarded with a burst of speed. However, if you mess up the Scandinavian flick and the counter steering, the car spins out and onlookers will laugh at your lack of skill.
If the ride is as nuanced as Amusement Insider’s video suggests, it looks like a lot of fun and the kind of ride that would inspire genuine competition and rivalry. The idea is brilliant, and we love that the layout is a scaled-down version of the real Suzuka circuit. It’s well worth watching the whole video to see the point-of-view shot of the circuit. While it’s not as fast as adult drivers might want, it seems fast enough for family fun.
“The vehicle’s inputs feel very accurate, and getting into a longer drift around a full corner takes a lot of skill, especially through the left-rights which require strong exits and entries to perfect the next turn. They’re hard to get right! This video is only my second attempt, so it is not perfect. It’s a really fun ride system and it takes a few rides to really start to get the feel of the car and succeed!”
An Idea That Needs To Be Explored
Technically speaking, this drift ride is a roller coaster since the cars are connected to a rail system and follow a predetermined course. Unlike most roller coasters, it is not a passive experience. It’s more like a real-world video game, and competitive to boot. However, we likely won’t see it come to major amusement parks as, like the Mario Kart ride at Universal, they favor rides that can be high volume. In fact, their business models require it. Hopefully, though, this is the kind of thing we’ll see more of at permanent race tracks around the world where amusements are on the side of an event.
On top of that, as it’s on rails, we know from traditional roller coaster experience that cars can go very fast, and do it and safely. Formula Rossa at Ferrari World hits decimal points under 150 mph in 4.9 seconds, and riders can experience up to 4.8 g in the turns. A drift coaster like this doesn’t need anywhere near that performance, and frankly, it would probably be borderline terrifying riding just off the ground at even half that speed. But there’s room to push the limits a bit further to cater to kids, adults, and thrillseekers of the world.
Source: Amusement Insider / YouTube
