Drifting competitions are judged based on line, angle, speed, style and show factor. Line involves taking the correct line, which is usually announced beforehand by judges. The show factor is based on many things, such as the amount of smoke, how close the car is to the wall or designated clipping point, and the crowd's reaction. Angle is the angle of a car and more importantly the turned wheels in a drift, speed is the speed entering a turn, the speed through a turn, and the speed exiting the turn; faster is better . Style is scored on a combination of a rate-to-angle during the initiation, how fluid the car looks through the course, and how committed the driver is through the course. The rate-to-angle is how quickly during initiation or Furidashi (振り出し:starting point) and transitions or Furikaeshi (振替し:transfer) a car gets to its sliding angle. Fluidity is how smoothly a driver maneuvers their car around the course, taking into the account the amount of corrections that a driver applies through the turn(s), and the smoothness with which the car transitions from one corner to the next. Commitment is about how much throttle the driver applies, and the confidence and dedication the driver shows when approaching track edges and barriers. That is the quicker the driver is able to come to angle, the more speed and angle they can carry through the course, the fewer corrections they apply through the course and the closer they drive to the track edges or barriers, the higher the style score.
The judging takes place on just a small part of the circuit, a few linking corners that provide good viewing, and opportunities for drifting. The rest of the circuit is irrelevant, except as it pertains to controlling the temperature of the tires and setting the car up for the first judged corner. In the tandem passes, the lead driver (in the lead car, Senko) often feints their entry to the first corner to upset the chase driver (in the chase car, Atooi), however in some European series, this practice is frowned upon by judges and considered foul play, resulting in deduction of points.There are typically two sessions - a qualifying/practice session, and a final session. In the qualifying sessions, referred as Tansō (単走:solo run), drifters get individual passes in front of judges (who may or may not be the final judges) to try to make the final 16. This is often on the day preceding the final. The finals are tandem passes, referred as Tsuisō (追走:chasing race). Drivers are paired off, and each heat comprises two passes, with each driver taking a turn to lead. The best of the 8 heats go to the next 4, to the next 2, to the final. The passes are judged as explained above, however there are some provisos such as:
- Overtaking the lead car under drift conditions is OK if the chasing car doesn't interrupt the lead car's drift.
- Overtaking the lead car under grip conditions automatically forfeits that pass.
- Spinning forfeits that pass, unless the other driver also spins.
- Level of smoke from the tires.
- Increasing the lead under drift conditions helps to win that pass.
- Maintaining a close gap while chasing under drift conditions helps to win that pass.
Points are awarded for each pass, and usually one driver prevails. Sometimes the judges cannot agree, or cannot decide, or a crowd vocally disagrees with the judge's decision. In such cases more passes may be run until a winner is produced. Sometimes mechanical failure determines the battle's outcome, either during or preceding a heat. If a car cannot enter a tandem battle, the remaining entrant (who automatically advances) will give a solo demonstration pass. In the event of apparently close or tied runs, crowds often demonstrate their desire for another run with chants of 'one more time'. There is some regional variation. For example in Australia, the chase car is judged on how accurately it emulates the drift of the lead car, as opposed to being judged on its own merit - this is only taken into consideration by the judges if the lead car is on the appropriate racing line.[citation needed] Other variations of the tansou/tsuiso and the tansou only method is the multi-car group judging, seen in the Drift Tengoku videos where the four car team is judged in groups. The D1JP drift series has been prototyping and fine-tuning an electronic judging system based on custom sensors that record and transmit car data to a computer that judges the run. This system is also being tested in some European series. It is designed to remove subjectivity and/or predisposition of judges. Usually the track for such a system is broken up into several sections (usually 3) and the system automatically generates scores based on speed, angle and fluidity of the driver in each section, combining the scores for the final score. In certain situations judges can change or overrule a score, which happens, though rarely.