How Stake F1 Team's Collaboration with Kick.com Elevates Motorsport Entertainment Through Drifting Spectacles
Motorsport competitions attract huge crowds and fans worldwide. However, for many, racing is as much entertainment as sport. Some racing maneuvers excite audiences even more than winning checkered flags.
One of these maneuvers is drifting, a fantastic display of speed and control. Racing teams recognize drifting’s popularity, leading to collaborations with streaming platforms.
Stake F1 team is one of them and has partnered with kick.com streaming to broadcast daring drifting action. The thrill of watching F1 stars demonstrate drifting elevates motorsport viewing into a new entertainment domain. By streaming drifting feats online, the racing team and platform can bring fun to broader audiences through spectacles beyond traditional grand-prix racing.
Motorsport as an Entertainment
Motorsports’ popularity has grown into an international sensation. Live broadcasts are in demand, and many are willing to travel the distance to watch the action in person. There are many reasons why motorsports events are exciting to many.
Thrilling Atmosphere
We can’t compare motorsports' excitement to any other event. It has a distinctive atmosphere that many are looking for. Be it a race or a rally, the track provides an intense yet lively scene that’s apparent in the live streams or in person.
Motorsports also bring an adrenaline rush to the audience. Racing scenes always involve powerful cars moving at high speeds, and it’s exciting. The audience will also watch the drivers desperately trying to gain a lead.
When we’re talking about high-speed moving cars, dangers are always involved. There are huge risks of the vehicles colliding with one another.
Still, most don’t watch to wait for the accidents. However, it adds more thrill to the overall watching experience.
Motorsport Stars
Like other sports, some drivers have grown to become world-class stars. Even non-fans would’ve heard of Lewis Hamilton and Micheal Schumacher.
Seeing these stars’ faces in the media, luxury brands, and other outlets is another way to bring non-fans into motorsport. If they’re attracted to the stars, they try to learn more about them, start watching F1, and even follow Formula Drift for the action.
Media Coverage and Pop Culture
Now that many spend more time on their mobile devices, the industry has improved accessibility so that fans can enjoy the action. Some e-motorsports allow fans to enjoy virtual events of their favorite drivers.
Social media has also made significant contributions to turning motorsports into entertainment. It allows fans to get updates about their favorite team standings and personalities.
Why Drifting?
Drifting as a technique has existed since the 1950s. It was started in Japan by Kunimitsu Takahashi, who competed in F1 in 1977. At that time, cars weren’t meant to drift.
However, Takahashi started sliding his cars through turns instead of breaking, and he controlled the oversteer to go fast. Due to his distinctive style of driving, he won several titles.
However, Keiichi Tsuchiya was more known for drifting between many drift legends, obtaining the nickname “Drift King.” He watched the action in the Japanese Touring Car Championship and wanted to excite his audience by doing it. He uploaded a video in 1987 showing himself drifting his Toyota Corolla Levin on public roads, starting a hype all over Japan.
Tsuchiya showed audiences how drifting cars could be controlled, and the recordings look amazing. He became known as the best at swinging the car's back end out and holding the slide-through bends at high speed.
It took a while until the hype reached outside Japan. 1996, the first drifting scene happened at Willow Springs Raceway in California. Then, the first season of the drifting world championship, the Red Bull Drifting World Championship, took place in 2008.
The Birth of Formula Drift
Although the beginning of drift scenes in the US isn't as intense as in Japan, the birth of Formula Drift became the perfect beginning. Ryan Sage and Jim Liaw announced the release of Formula Drift at the SEMA Show in 2003.
With the budding popularity of drifting in America, Formula Drift quickly became the most popular US drifting series. There have been many changes from one season to another, from additional rounds to new arenas. Formula Drift keeps fans coming back for more action.
In 2023, Formula Drift celebrated its 20th anniversary. They keep on giving more to the excited fans, starting the 21st Formula Drift season with a new judge, Reese Marin.
Drifting Scoring
Scoring drifting is entirely different than other skills. Watching laps and stage times is more evident for the audience to take note of the standings. However, some audiences might be oblivious to how to rate a drifting action.
Three judges, or four if we take Formula Drift as an example, are usually scoring drifts to determine the qualifier and final standings. The criteria they use to score drifts are mainly these four:
- Drifting angle: Obtaining a high point will require good instinct. Angles that are too low might not receive any points. When angles are too high, it’ll slow the car down.
- Line: Judges usually inform drivers about an ideal line before an event starts. There are certain points on the track that drivers must approach, either with the rear or with the front.
- Speed and fluidity: The more fluid and the faster the driver runs their drift, the higher the judges will give points.
- Style: Style tends to be the most important criterion when judging a drift. Judges will look at how precise the drift initiation is, if there are any corrections, the use of full throttle, and so on.
Regarding twin battles, there’s another criterion besides the four above. As there would be two cars on the same track, going simultaneously, judges would consider both vehicles' standings. As the two cars race through two laps, judges will evaluate the four main criteria above, including the distance between the two cars.
The leading car must be able to score as many points as possible. Meanwhile, the chasing car should keep close to the leading vehicle without touching it.
Stake F1 Team’s Collaborations
Stake.com Casino Collaboration
Sauber rebrands as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber for the 2024 Formula 1 campaign. It was a strategic shift into the iGaming of motorsport. The team chose Stake.com for its expertise to open more possible collaborations and increase fan engagement.
The quality and exposure that the Stake community brings to the team allow the Stake F1 Team to enhance the fan experience. The collaboration redefines how fans interact with the team through high-quality technology and Stake's user-friendly interface.
Besides Sauber’s partnership with Stake, the team’s collaboration with Kick.com makes the team more accessible to a larger audience. As a streaming platform, Kick promises more engagement and innovation.
The platform can provide immersive experiences to captivate audiences. It erases traditional boundaries to show the Stake F1 Team to worldwide fans.
How Stake F1 Team’s Collaboration with Kick.com Streaming Elevates Motorsport Entertainment
Live-streaming platforms have large pools of audiences. These platforms house various creators and events, like music festivals and political rallies. Live-streaming platforms like Kick.com allow audiences to see these events in real-time. Fans no longer have to travel and be near the track to watch.
As long as someone has a good internet connection, they can enjoy any live-streamed event they want. With Kick on their side, the Stake F1 Team could get:
- Wider reach through multiple platforms besides live-streaming through Kick’s YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Cost-effectively broadcast their events without having to invest in expensive streaming equipment.
- Obtain real-time engagement from fans watching the livestream and build a strong connection through direct interaction.
- Increase their revenue through ads, subscription plans, and sponsorships.
- Obtain data through the platform’s analytic function to track viewer engagement and improve their future events.
Although relatively new, Kick quickly became popular due to its generous revenue system. It offers multiple tools and resources to help streamers deliver their content regardless of their experience level. Now that streaming can open opportunities for streamers, Kick also offers various subscription options to ensure they’re affordable.
Besides providing their services to make streamers of all levels easier, Kick hosts events and tournaments that engage with communities. The streaming platform connects the audience to interact with their favorite streamer.
Kick also has a YouTube channel that shares shorts and full videos of the Stake F1 drift skills, like the Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu video above. They use multiple cameras to properly showcase the fun of both professional drivers’ learning processes. Kick lets the audience in on everything happening.
Valtteri Bottas calendar received massive attention as the driver launched a unique 'merch.' The calendar is filled with pictures of his nude backside for a good cause. His efforts to raise money for research on prostate cancer was a fact that fans loved to know, as it was a side of him that they would see on the circuit.
When Valtteri Bottas’ wife, Emilia Pikkarainen, left him in 2019, fans also gathered to get more information. These bits and pieces of drivers’ lives are fascinating to watch, and short, fun clips on YouTube allow fans to get closer.
The video shows a clear view from above to show how precise both drivers trace the curving lines. Then, closer shots ensure nobody misses the smoke and the car’s movement.
You’d also listen to the drivers’ conversations as there are cameras inside the car. Zhou Guanyu’s crash at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is still fresh in everyone's mind. So, seeing his action on the screen effortlessly drifting can be a thrill.
With this fun content and Kick’s broad reach to multiple platforms, the Stake F1 Team could allow their fans to see more things up close and personally.
More About Kick.com and Kick.com App
After several huge streamers like xQc and Trainwreck moved to Kick, many started questioning who owns kick.com. This question will later connect to Stake and the Stake.com app, as although Kick Streaming Pty Ltd. is registered as a platform, it has a strong connection to Easygo Entertainment Pty Ltd.
A third of Easygo is owned by Ashwood Holdings, which is owned by Ed Craven, who also owns Stake. Many started concluding that Kick.com’s owner is the same as Stake's owner, making both technically exist under the same person's management.
Several streamers' audiences who aren't sure about Stake.com US legitimacy started questioning if Kick is safe and unrelated to the crypto gambling site. However, Stake.com’s net worth stands strong at $1 billion in 2024, and Craven is only an investor who doesn't directly impact Kick and Kick.com app operations.
Why Drifting Videos Are Popular
Car Drifting Action
Drifting videos are full of action, even more than a racing post. The action of a driver effortlessly sliding around a bend is elegant, yet it showcases power, skill, and speed. On the other hand, many people connect drifting with art.
Like how each artist has a unique style and infuses their expressions into their artistic pieces, drifting is the same.
Many professional drivers go the extra mile to tune their engines. Some even build them solely to showcase a fantastic drift.
Drifting action then becomes an outlet for these drivers to flaunt the unique attributes of their creatively built engines. Most drifting shows focus on the visual aspect for its aesthetics, but many put more effort into crafting art that elevates speed, noise, and power.
Drift Car Aesthetic
Tweaking isn’t only for engines; now, many drivers also apply body kits to elevate the aesthetic of their vehicles. Besides improving the outer look of a car, professional sculpting of body panels, rear spoilers, skirts, air dams, ridges, and diffusers can contribute to the airflow control of the vehicle.
Almost all vehicles on car shows today have elevated visual appeal. Plus, it can lower the drag coefficient and provide more downforce to keep the car grounded at high speed, making drifting shows more visually appealing.
All in all, most drift cars are meant to look aesthetic, which is why they’re fun to gawk at. This makes it even easier for Formula 1 drifting spectacles to attract audiences in person or through videos and live streams.
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