Touge Heroes – ReMiXeD from Touge Heroes on Vimeo.

Touge Drift from L on Vimeo.

Touge (mountain pass) racing, as the name suggests, takes place on the Japanese mountain sides. Windy roads form the tracks where the races occur. The battle is always done in a one-on-one fashion.

The aim of touge is not to drift, but to be the fastest on a particular stretch of road. Drifting can be used to block the chaser or as a part of a driving strategy, but touge is traditionally focused on grip.

During the race , if the challenger cannot keep up with the leader, the race is lost. If he or she can keep up with the car in front closely, the battle is usually won by the chaser, or a second run is organised. If the chaser is able to pass the car in front, they automatically win the challange.

In the Touge scene, many “hashiriya”s (Japanese: meaning street racers or road racers) no longer race in the traditional sense. Instead of grip racing, drift has been adopted to show-off and prefect their driving skill. These days, local drivers will gather togather in the mountains and team drift. Few posess the competitiveness which fuelled touge racing but rather put their focus on skill.