How to master drifting in Team Sonic Racing

With drifting such an important part of the game, here’s our guide to getting that perfect line.

Drifting is the hallmark of any arcade racing game. From the days of Outrun in the arcade to Ridge Racer in the years of the original PlayStation to Need for Speed and its line of games that bring its own brand of racing. Then, of course, you have Kart racing games, which have cropped up over the years to delight gamers who like to take their motor thrills less seriously (but no less competitively!).

Team Sonic Racing follows in the same footsteps, taking the drift Mechanic and putting a blue hedgehog shaped influence on it. It’s an incredibly important aspect of the game, and in order to get the most out of it in your races, you’ll need to learn some of the nuances that come with it. Not only will it improve your racing lines and maximise boosts, but a smooth slipstream will help teammates with that all-important Slingshot boost to keep everyone in the race.

Mastering the drift will also make your game much easier when it comes to the game’s Ring Challenges, a variation in game’s Adventure mode that has you racing around tracks fighting to pick up as many rings as you can while racing laps around courses. You only have about 30 seconds, to begin with, but you can increase this by drifting into rings. You can collect rings without drifting, but you won’t receive that extra boost to your time.

The Ring Challenge courses are the best place to start mastering your drifting skills as they have consistent racing lines for rings and it shows enough variation in the strength of the bends that it is great for getting the drift mechanic correct throughout a track. It also helps to familiarise yourself with the courses without the distraction of items and other riders.

The starting of a drift usually initiates immediately. Unlike with it’s Nintendo rival Mario Kart, where hitting the drift button will start with a jump before it starts the drift animation, Team Sonic Racing’s drifting begins at the point of pressing that drift button.

This is key to getting your drifting right. The curve is quite strong off of a standard drift, so if you know exactly how you want to drift around a corner, practice this on the Ring Challenges, hitting the drift button just as you’re about to reach the first set of rings in a chain. This will allow you to take the front set of rings and then slope your way into the stretch easier than starting your drift a little before hitting it. It’ll make for your racing line to be smoother while also getting away from the drifting mechanics that you’d find in Mario Kart.

It’s also recommended that you start with a Technique-class racer as you will find that this is the easiest to control your drifting with, while also extracting great angles from your car. From there, practice with the class that suits your style of racing. If you’re a Speed-class main, then try practicing the control of your drifts at speed as this will be what gives you the edge over rivals in a team race while providing a consistent line for your team. The Power-class is almost always going to be following that line, so consistency with control is key for ensuring that you can master the art of Team Sonic Racing drifting whichever class you decide to be.

Happy drifting, racing fans!