EXTREME. That's how I like things to be, especially when we're talking about sports.

I like action, I like speed, and I like it packed full with energy.

The thrill seeker in me just seems to be in constant search for that next shot of adrenaline.

Fortunately, "work" often provides access to high-octane events where I get just what I'm looking for.

Like recently, Formula Drift - the professional drifting series in the United States - came to the Lion City of Singapore to put on a hot show that introduced more people to the extreme motor sport of drifting.

Drifting isn't your traditional kind of motor sport.

Traditional motorsport contests are often about getting the car as quickly as possible from start to finish as fast as you can.

But if you're into motorsports, but are also the type who likes to watch the grace, sound and fury of four-wheelers take driving to the extreme, my guess is you'll love drifting.

It's a motor sport with a twist - literally.

Usually, slipping and sliding around a circuit is not a good thing. But in drifting, that's what it's all about.

Drifters pull off a strange driving contradiction: They can control the machines they drive when their tyres no longer grip the road.

BEYOND THE LIMIT

It's all about driving beyond the limit of the tyre's traction. They do this by intentionally forcing their car into sideway slides at high speeds, usually through a marked course.

The first time I heard this I thought, "Fun!"

As adventurous as it sounds, you could have had your taste of it already by accident (pun intended). Possibly, on a wet road and your car's rear end swung about for a few seconds until you recovered to get it back to control.

If that's ever happened to you, you've drifted.

Doing that on purpose though, is a whole other ball game. It requires some nifty skills.

It's like car ballet as you get a visual treat seeing highly-modified sleek machines smoothly glide through twisting corners at high speeds.

Just when they coast past one corner, they flowingly transition into another swaying motion of another, just skimming the borders or the circuit in graceful fashion.

Add to that the sounds of roaring engines of cars up to 600 horsepower and the smell of burning rubber, and you get yourself one engaging sensory experience any petrol head would find thrilling.

That's as a spectator, but part of my job in reporting on these events is to get up close and personal for a different perspective.

In this instance, it meant riding shotgun in two of the professional drifters' "souped-up" cars.

Drifting happens to be something I've been fascinated with since about 2003, when I first learnt about it while living in Australia.

I've been for a ride with some friends who attempt to do it on their own, but getting strapped in beside a professional - well, let's just say I knew I was in for something special.

From the third gear entry alone, I already felt the force that glued me back to my seat. It trimmed off to second gear, but that's actually when then the action began.

We hit a rear clipping zone, where the rear end of the car slipped away. Tyres were screeching as I was gripping on to my seat feeling as if the car's lost control. Nonetheless, I was screaming in enjoyment.

Even before you can get over the thrill of the first corner, you're on to the next as the driver steered the car in the opposite direction.

Think of drifting through five of these opposing turns in speeds of over 100 km/h.

Awesome! Exhilarating! Loved it!

But it wasn't enough. That rip-roaring ride reinforced my desire to learn how to take control of the car so I can do that myself. One day.

Watching the Formula Drift Singapore Championship heightened my appreciation for the fastest growing form of motor sport in the world.

SPEED

It takes the element of speed of your traditional motor sport, and packs a whole lot more to give you more bang for your buck.

Speed is just one element that goes into drifting. But it's not about getting from point A to point B in the fastest time possible.

Judges are looking for drivers who use the proper race line. The course is full of clipping zones that act as targets for the drivers to get as they can, without hitting them.

They are also meant to carry out the proper angle while maintaining control of the car. And all together, they want impact - a spectacular hardcore run.

It's this subjective judging element that makes drifting a good mix of your traditional motor sport and judged action sports, like surfing, snowboarding, surfing, snow-boarding, freestyle BMX or motocross, snow-boarding, skateboarding, etc.

This is extreme pedal to the metal, high-powered action, I tell you.

That's the reason why this underground activity that started in the mountain roads of Japan has developed into this high profile professional sport that just continues to grow in popularity all over the world.

Pop culture has picked up on it.

Hollywood's idea of donuts has changed with the third instalment of "The Fast and the Furious" movie called "Tokyo Drift".

(A "donut" in layman's terms is when the car rotates around the front tyres so it goes around in circles.)

Even video games like "Need for Speed" (Carbon and Pro-street) allow you to experience the sliding action in the virtual world.

Countries like the Philippines, Thailand and even Malaysia - who have their own professional drift series - have an increasingly growing drifting community.

In Singapore, the sell-out crowd of 11,000 people in attendance is an overwhelming response to Formula Drift's first foray into Asia.

This I am sure about; Singapore, and the rest of the region for that matter are ready for more.

And so am I.

Drinie Aguilar is a co-presenter of Engine Block, and can be seen as the host presenter for GAME and Score Tonight on STAR Sports.

This article was first published in The New Paper on May 9, 2008.