Tech Regulations

Tech Regulations

Be sure to read and understand the tech requirements for an event before you register. Your car MUST pass through technical inspection before it is allowed on track.

What is expected of drivers for all events:

Morning drivers meeting attendance is mandatory. No exceptions, you must attend the drivers meeting to drive on track. We will not do personal drivers meetings. Please make prior arrangements with a track official before the day of the event if you absolutely can not make it.

Be alert and pay attention to all flaggers, and track officials while driving. If you do not listen to a track official or heed a red flag you will be removed from the track. Repeat offenses will result in being ejected from the track.

Keep the pits clean! Use the trash cans and carry out what you carried in. Spills must be cleaned IMMEDIATELY. Water is preferred in the cooling system, but coolant is ok.

C Group Beginners (Lessons and Clinics): First or second time drifting, has a good handle on using a manual transmission but limited to no track experience.

C Group Novice (Drift Events): These drivers have driven a handful of drift events, they understand the basic concept of how to drift, but need more seat time and instruction to start linking corners and controlling their slides.

B Group Intermediate: These are more experienced drivers who can successfully complete the course without losing control of their vehicle the majority of the time. They show advanced knowledge of car control such as knowing what to do when they or others around them spin out. These drivers are very familiar with driving drift events, paying attention to flaggers and displaying knowledge of track etiquette and safety.

A Group Advanced: These are experienced drivers who are very familiar with Drift Events, the Thompson Speedway facility, show proper car control, and can complete the track without issue. A Group drivers are allowed to run the full road course sessions, but their cars are required to meet a certain standard of advanced mechanical ability. Inquire in the tech bay if you are unsure if your car is fit for the full road course.

Lock City Officials have the right to promote or demote drivers they see fit.

  • SA2020 or newer approved helmets required for all drivers & passengers. No M or DOT rated helmets allowed. Helmet sharing between drivers is not allowed unless you are in separate run groups. Your helmet will receive an approval sticker that will be checked each event when your car is inspected.
  • Long pants, closed-toe shoes, and a shirt are required.
  • Up-to-date Fire Extinguishers are required for all cars. Must be securely mounted via a metal bracket away from the airbag. Extinguishers should be mounted within reach of the driver while seated with seatbelt/harness on. A minimum 2lb of pressurized extinguishing agent is required, and gauges will be checked. Fire “sticks” such as the Element E50 will only be accepted as a supplemental device.
  • Safe & Secure seat is a must. All factory mounting hardware must be used. Seat cannot rock back and forth.

NEW! Harnesses, if used, need to be:

  • SFI rated and must not be more than 2 years past the expiration date, or
  • FIA rated and must not be more than 5 years past the expiration date.
  • Properly mounted via SFI/FIA standards to roll cage or harness bar, not bolted to the floorpan. When in doubt, retain stock seatbelts for compliance.

  • Car should come through tech completely empty. Remove all spares, tools, and other items from the car before entering the tech line. If your driver’s floor mat is not pinned down, it should be removed so as not to get stuck under pedals.
  • Absolutely NO LEAKS! This includes oil, power steering, coolant, etc. We aim to keep the tarmac clean and safe of spills that rob seat time from everyone else for cleanup.
  • Broken wheel studs or missing lug nuts will result in an automatic failure. Please use Loctite on adapters.
  • Suspension & steering components must be tight and exhibit no play. Any play whatsoever in tierods, wheel bearings, steering rack, or control arms will result in a fail for the day unless repaired and re-inspected. This is the biggest common failure we see.
  • Exhaust must exit behind the rear wheels of the vehicle, and a muffler must be present. “Blast pipes” do not count as a muffler. A resonator is also not a muffler. Hood exhaust dumps are not allowed, unless pre-approved for DB level by a Lock City official before the event. Wastegate dump tubes are OK.
  • If your car’s turbo is located on the driver’s side, a heat shield MUST be in place to protect the brake master & reservoir. The heat from the turbo/manifold can boil your brakes and cause fire.
  • Glass & plastic bottles are not permitted as catch cans / overflows.
  • Fuel tanks ideally should remain in the factory location. Fuel cells are okay if mounted safely and securely. If the fuel cell is located inside the car, a firewall between the fuel cell and driver’s compartment must be present.
  • All fuel lines should be rated as “fuel injection hose” and fuel hose clamps must be used. Traditional worm-style clamps dig into lines and cause leaks.
  • The battery must be securely tied down via a metal bracket. Factory brackets preferred. No bungee cords, ratchet straps, or rope.
  • Engine bay wiring should be tidy, secured, and away from moving parts & hot components that could cause failure or fire.
  • Cars must have a visible tow hook front & rear! No tow hook, we hook to the first thing we see.
  • No full-size trucks, or exoskeleton / tube-chassis cars are allowed.
  • Vehicles must have all body panels present. You may remove your front bumper if too low for tech.
  • Working headlights & tail lights are required for any night events both on track and in the pits.

These roll cage requirements are aimed to align with other motorsports sanctioning bodies such as SCCA, NASA, D1, and Formula Drift but are not a direct translation of their rules and requirements. Please research your intended use before construction of any new roll cage. Lock City Drift reserves the right to approve cage designs that do not fit the rules on a case-by-case basis.

  • Bolt-together cages are not accepted. However, cages may be fully welded and bolted into the chassis if sandwich plates are present. If the cage is welded to the chassis, tubes should land on plates or boxes which are fully welded on all seams.
  • The main hoop, any overhead tubing, and all and diagonal bracing must be made of matching minimum 1.5” diameter x .095” thick steel tubing for cars under 3500lbs and 1.75” diameter x .095” thick steel tubing for cars over 3500lbs.
  • Roll cages should be constructed of DOM tubing. Schedule 40 or aluminum tubing is not permitted.
  • Overhead bars may be configured in a “Halo” or A-pillar bar design with windshield bar.
  • All joints in the roll cage must be fully welded and gussets are recommended.
  • The roll cage must have a minimum of two door bars on the driver’s side and passenger’s side. H-bars (“NASCAR” style) and X-bars are permitted. Other bar designs may be permitted with prior approval.
  • Backstays off the main hoop should extend to the rear shock tower area.
  • SFI or FIA rated roll cage padding is recommended at tubing sections where an occupant may come into contact with tubing.

The roll cage must have a minimum two horizontal bars present. A harness-height bar is required as well as one additional horizontal bar. Horizontal Bar Examples:

  • Dash bar
  • Windshield bar
  • Harness bar
  • Floor bar in main hoop

The roll cage should have a minimum of one diagonal bar present. Diagonal Bar Examples:

  • A diagonal bar from above the driver’s head to the passenger floor in the main hoop
  • A single diagonal bar or “X” diagonals in the backstays
  • A diagonal bar across the overhead bars

Additional impact protection is now required for driver safety for the following course layouts and scenarios:

A Group Road Course: Multi-car tandem driving will require a full roll cage complete with door bars. Please see appendix A for complete specifications regarding roll cages. Multi-car tandems are defined as close proximity driving of 3 or more vehicles. Solo runs are permitted on all courses without meeting these requirements.

NEW! When running road course back section, a full roll cage and proper harnesses for both driver and passenger are required to be able to drift the banked section of the oval. This applies regardless of tandem or solo runs. All drivers are allowed to drift the flat on the inside of the oval turn.

Convertibles: Convertibles are required to have a roll bar if a factory roll bar or other factory-installed rollover protection such as “pop-up” bars are not present. Please see the Tech Rules PDF for more details.

Lock City Drift Officials reserve the right to stop a car from driving at any time during an event, including, but not limited to any tech violations or to re-inspect a vehicle for track-worthiness after a collision.

STREET SERIES 2025 RULES AND JUDGING CRITERIA

What is Expected of Street Series Participants

Street Series is a highly anticipated drift competition that takes the top 32 drivers in New England and tests their skills over four different events. Inspired by D1 Street Legal competitions, rear tires are restricted to 235 width and minimum 200 tread wear. Each competition offers a cash prize and drivers earn points towards the overall standings. The series culminates in a final competition where the top drivers compete for the grand prize. With its intense competition and challenging layouts, Street Series is a must-drive event for anyone looking to test their skills against the top drivers in the north east. For full Street Series guidelines and information click here.

Drivers Meeting

If you are not at the driver’s meeting, you cannot compete and will not be issued a refund. Absolutely no exceptions. Note: Staff may reject your car during technical inspection; the driver can fix their car if time is available. If rejected by staff or if unable to be corrected, staff may issue a partial refund; these events are not for everyone. Try to stay in the spirit of the rules.

General Information

  • The main event will be a 32-driver tandem-battle competition.
  • Rolling start battles. We do not drag race off a line.
  • Judged in sections: entry, corners, snaps, flow
  • There will be a battle for third (3rd) and fourth (4th) place before the final battle.
  • Practice sessions may happen depending on time and driver counts.

Style / Flow

  • Line and speed from lead car
  • Proximity and drift from chase car
  • Heavy angle on deceleration (slow down hard) – Brakes encouraged
  • Shallow on acceleration (fast)
  • Smooth transition between varying angle within drift
  • Hard transitions with momentum

Execution

  • Tandem transitions encouraged to be simultaneous or chase transitions should be earlier than lead car
  • Transitions should be as hard/fast as possible
  • Exit course should be straightened from drift as smooth as possible
  • Chase car proximity should end equal or closer than start

Errors

  • Half spin, full spin, or any full loss of inertia = driver error resulting in 0
  • Two tires off pavement or hitting / running over cones = driver error resulting in deduction
  • Excessive Rev limiter = driver error resulting in deduction
  • Excessive E-brake usage = driver error resulting in deduction
  • Correction of front wheels (understeer) = driver error resulting in deduction depending on severity
  • Left foot braking in lead car if deemed unnecessary = driver error resulting in deduction or 0 if malicious
  • Bump/crash directly contributing to lead car error = chase driver er

Get in touch!

If you’re looking for a facility rental, have questions about drift lessons, tech requirements or anything else, shoot us an email and we will get back to you as soon as we can. If you are looking for the media application please click here.

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