DriftGasm: The Ultimate Drift School in Mumbai

The roar of the F1 movie has awakened Bombay’s inner gearhead, but not everyone wants to race straight. For those who crave control through chaos, who find beauty in the art of the slide, DriftGasm is the playground. With a focus on the technical finesse of drifting, this school isn’t about going fast; it’s about going sideways with purpose. 

Traditionally, sports have not been culturally Indian or of Indians' interest. However, with time, it became a prominent one to be taken over by many sportspeople.

Sliding Through the Past

Long before it became a polished motorsport or a high-octane feature in films and video games, drifting was a raw, improvisational technique rooted in danger and control. Its earliest form emerged from the racing circuits of early 20th-century Europe and America, where speed was king and cornering was an art. But it was Japan's mountainous touge roads that gave drifting its soul.

Drivers would slide their cars through hairpin turns not just to maintain speed, but to survive. Figures like Kunimitsu Takahashi, a former motorcycle racer, introduced drifting into professional circuit racing. At the same time, Keiichi Tsuchiya transformed it into a cultural movement, earning the title “Drift King” and inspiring generations through films, competitions, and street runs that celebrated sideways motion as both a skill and a spectacle.

In India, the car culture took a more conservative route. For decades, racing was confined to a handful of enthusiasts with access to imported cars or legacy motorsport families, and public perception around speed remained cautious. However, with the liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s, car ownership became more widespread, and motorsport slowly began to find its footing. Racing events like the JK Tyre National Racing Championship and the entry of Formula One in Greater Noida in 2011 signalled a shift.

Drifting, meanwhile, remained niche, practised in closed circuits or underground meetups, often misunderstood and lacking formal training spaces. But as Indian youth increasingly engage with global automotive trends through films, social media, and gaming, the appetite for motorsports like drifting is growing, ushering in a new, more performance-driven era of car culture in the country.

DriftGasm: Born from the Gaps in India’s Car Scene

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DriftGasm didn’t start as a business idea; it started with frustration. A group of car lovers in Mumbai, deeply invested in motorsport and the culture that surrounds it, found themselves with nowhere to go when it came to learning drifting. Tracks existed, yes. So did race clubs. But the specific craft of drifting, its precision, its physics, its chaos, had no real home.

So, they built one. DriftGasm emerged not with loud promises but with the quiet intention of creating a space where people could push their cars and skills beyond what traffic-packed roads or parking lots would ever allow. It became a way to legitimise something that had, for years, existed only on the fringes of India’s car culture.

What the School Offers and What It Doesn’t Pretend to Be

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DriftGasm works more like a workshop than a polished academy. Drivers come in at all levels, some who’ve never done a doughnut, others who already know how to handle the throttle through a slide. The sessions are practical, seat-of-the-pants lessons held on a private track, where learners can either bring their vehicles or use modified drift cars provided on site.

There are no medals or certificates here, just burned rubber, technical corrections, and a growing understanding of how to read a car mid-drift. For those not ready to take the wheel, there are ride-along sessions with trained drifters that offer a different kind of education, one that begins with the sound of tyres screaming into the turn.

Skidding Uphill: The Challenges and Future of Drifting in India

Setting up and sustaining a drift school like DriftGasm in India isn’t a smooth ride. With no clear motorsport category or official backing for drifting, everything, from securing land to dealing with safety regulations, becomes a negotiation. Legal permissions are tricky, especially within urban limits, and keeping drift-ready cars in shape is a constant, costly cycle. Repairs pile up fast, and spare parts often need to be sourced from outside the country. On top of that, there's the lingering public perception, many still see drifting as dangerous or irresponsible, rather than a form of skilled, technical driving.

Still, things are shifting. The buzz around global racing, slick car content on social media, and the recent spotlight on F1 have nudged drifting into public imagination. Younger drivers are no longer just watching; they’re asking questions, turning up to events, and wanting to learn. What DriftGasm is doing goes beyond offering lessons; it’s quietly building a scene. While drifting hasn’t quite entered the mainstream in India, it’s gathering speed in the corners, fuelled by curiosity, community, and a desire to drive differently.