The criteria for NOPI drifting competitions

Procedure: Drivers will be given practice time on the course prior to qualifying. Practice runs will be used to gauge appropriate entry speed, line, initiation point, angle, and other aspects which will be used as a guideline for judging for the specific course layout. Information about judging expectations will be relayed to drivers via drivers meeting prior to qualifying runs.

Any questions or concerns from drivers or teams should be addressed during the drivers meeting prior to qualifying runs. Driving in qualifying indicates understanding of judging criteria and acceptance of the judges decisions.

Drivers will be divided into groups of 4 drivers, and given 3 judged qualifying runs. Each driver in the run group will have their first run, then the group will continue in the same order on their second and third runs. If a driver has mechanical troubles or otherwise once his run group has begun he will be given up to 10 minutes or until the run group has completed all 3 runs, whichever is later, to complete any repairs. If the driver is unable to compete at that time, they will forfeit their remaining runs, and their score will be computed from there.

Each driver will have their best two runs averaged together towards their qualifying score. The score will be out of 100, and may include half points. The top 16 drivers will be announced shortly after qualifying has finished, and the competition ladder for tandem eliminations will be computed based on qualifying order. The highest qualifier (1st seed) will drive against the lowest qualified driver (16th seed), the second highest qualifier (2nd) will drive against the second lowest qualifier (15th), etc. Brackets will be staggered so that the number 1 and number 2 seeded qualifiers will not face off until the final round.

Each judge will have one of the 3 major categories, and will give 10 points towards style / overall impression. This gives each judge an opportunity to rank the run based on how they liked it overall. No one judge will be single handedly responsible for a majority of the score.

Spotters:
NOPI will designate an area for team spotters which will give a similar vantage point as the judges. Teams will be allowed to have 1 team member, in appropriate team attire, to ‘spot’ from said vantage point as well as communicate with other team members what they are able to view. Any on-track protests must be filed from the spotter with the race director at race control, and must be made in a timely manner after the controversial on-track activities occur.

Spotters are allowed to be of assistance to a driver and their team, not of a nuisance or influence to the judges, race control, or NOPI officials. Spotters who contact the judges, race director, NOPI officials, or otherwise disrupt the normal activities of the race control may be removed at the discretion of NOPI staff.

Protests will be resolved at the next available break for any on-track related offenses by the race director. Protests of judgement calls CANNOT be made.

Criteria:
Drivers will be scored on SPEED, LINE, ANGLE, and STYLE AND OVERALL IMPRESSION. Three judges will each score the runs separately, and the total score will be tabulated per run. The top 2 runs will be averaged together, and the drivers will be ranked based on their 2-run average towards seeding for tandem competition. Tie breaker will be based on entry speed on the fastest run.

ANGLE (20 points)
Angle is judged based on overall angle through the entire course. Corrections, a shallow angle, and late initiation will all receive point deductions. Drivers should be committing early to the drift and maintaining maximum angle through the majority of the course without correction.

SPEED (20 points)
Speed is judged based largely on entry speed, but also on overall throttle control through the drift. High entry speed and a high sustained speed, as well as full throttle through a majority of the course will result in maximum points. Scrubbing speed through the course, partial throttle, and lower entry speeds will receive much lower points.

LINE (30 points)
Line is the most critical part of the drift for qualifying, and thus the most points. Drivers will be judged on the clipping points highlighted in the drivers meeting, highlighting the inside / outside line as suggested by the judges. Proximity to the clipping point will be judged, hitting cones and/or clipping points will result in point deductions.

STYLE / OVERALL IMPRESSION (30 points, 10 from each judge)
Each judge will be giving a total of 10 points towards the overall score in the ‘style / overall impression’ category. This category is all-encompassing, but will include things such as tire smoke, full throttle through the full course for the non-speed judges, proximity to the walls for the non-line judges, and full lock drift and early initiation for the non-angle judges. Different courses may have different aspects which add to the ‘style’ category. Higher quality drivers will naturally have a smoother-looking and more impressive drifting style which will naturally lead to higher style points.