Ken Block might have shown you the coolness of Gymkhana, with lots of smoke, tire shredding and going sideways as much as possible. But the original Gymkhana is not like that. In fact, seeing such an event with normal cars could turn you laughing down right.
That’s because you might have a wrong perception of what Gymkhana is all about. This type of auto event is similar to autocross, and the main goal is to complete a course in the fastest time possible. And drifting all the way is not the fastest way of completing a cone course.
Gymkhana is indeed about skills behind the wheel (or handle bar in case of motorcycle Gymkhana, which is very popular in Japan) but they get to be used more to navigate around cones, doing figure 8s, sharp turns, weaving, parking and avoiding obstacles while also trying to beat the clock.
As a driver, you’ll need to use handbrake techniques, sliding, left-foot braking and other maneuvers to complete the sinuous obstacle course fast, but the end result won’t look even close to what Block does in his turbocharged monsters. That’s just showoff, advertising and little to no competition. What, you thought all those maneuvers he pulls are filmed in one shot?
Returning to our subject, here’s what Gymkhana looks like if you use normal cars, especially old small Japanese cars or a kei pickup. Puny right?
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