Drifting is a form of motorsport that involves power oversteering of one’s race car in a controlled manner, to maximize speed and show. Drifting reportedly developed from Japanese motorsports in the 1970s, first on professional circuits, then on street races around the country. The sport has since been made famous by movies like “Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift,” where the stars are the cars going sideways. Competitors score points based on line, angle, speed, and show factor. The correct line is usually announced by judges before the event. Show factor is based on criteria like amount of smoke, distance from walls, and the crowd’s reaction.

Michelle Katherine Yeo Yu, 23, is a Cebu-based entrepreneur, who enjoys cars and driving. Michelle always had a fondness for all things with four wheels, and eventually entered the business of distributing brands like Motul high-performance lubricants, Mothers, and Microtex. Michelle had previously joined circuit racing events at the Batangas Racing Circuit, and organized drag races in Cebu.

Her entrepreneurial activities started in grade school. “I was already selling papers to classmates in grade one, tamagotchis in grade four, then cell phones in grade six,” she recalls. She credits her parents, particularly her late father, for teaching her the basics of business. “I wanted a lot of things that I know my parents won’t give me. I never asked from them because I know it’s unfair,” she continues. She graduated with a degree in Computer Science from De La Salle University.

Michelle’s interest in drifting started when she tried the sport in June. She got hooked, and soon decided to practice in the 3rd Lateral D race. She joined the 4th leg of the Lateral D on 12 August. Out of the 26 participants, Michelle scored 17th. Unfortunately she was just one point short to qualify for the top 16 and hurdle the elimination round. She considers it to be not a bad result, after starting to learn the sport only a month ago.

Her current car is a 1989 Nissan Cefiro with an SR20 normally-aspirated engine, geared for drifting, that she rents from the racing school. She is preparing her own race car but this will be ready for next year’s race, hopefully with several sponsors. Michelle is also preparing to organize drifting demonstrations and competitions in Cebu.

As do many professional racers, Michelle advocates on and off the road. “I am safety-conscious all the time. I want to be a responsible driver. I’m proud to say that I never smoke, I never did drugs, and I was never drunk,”              

Michelle is not quite ready to challenge Russ Swift when it comes to precision driving, but she’s well on her way to taking on the boys in this and the next season’s Lateral D races.

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