DRIFTING = is technique used to show-off. drifting is kind of like dancing with cars. if someone would tell you that it is faster to dance thru 100 meters than run, then you'd laugh. this is how ridiculous it is to say that drifting thru corners with car is faster than driving normal. drifting was designed for showing off only, it's not meant for driving fast.
idiots be like: bUt RaLlY cArS dRiFt AnD gO fAsTeR! .. NO, rally cars DO NOT DRIFT, they power-slide, which is completely different thing. there's a HUGE difference between drifting and power sliding.
DRIFTING is when you use brakes (normal brakes or handbrake) and/or flick of steering combined with accleration to make car slide BEFORE you get into corner. POWER SLIDING is when you let your car slide out of the corner purely because of speed.
also rally cars have special tyres that have this "bite" when going sideways, tyres dig into dirt/gravel and have more grip as they start sliding, but DRIFTING does not have that.
it highly depends on tyres aswell, with some tyres you'll go faster if you don't slide at all.
in certain situations in rally, you DO turn car sideways before the corner, which seems like a drift, but it's still considered as power sliding, NOT drifting.
here's AI generated reply to what is difference between drifting and power-sliding, which is pretty much what i explained:
The main difference between a power slide and a drift is when the maneuver begins in relation to the corner's apex:
Drift
Begins before the apex of the corner. The goal is to make the car oversteer as it enters the corner. To initiate a drift, you can use the handbrake, clutch, or do a Scandinavian flick.
Powerslide
Begins after the apex of the corner. You keep control of the car until you reach the apex, then you suddenly put the power down. This can cause the back end of the car to step out, especially in rear-wheel drive cars with good power.
so if you want to sound smart, then least you can do is learn the fucking terms and difference between DRIFT and POWERSLIDE. totally different things.
in fact power sliding can be faster on tarmac aswell, it all depends on road conditions, car and tyres. there is no this or that, but drifting is always slower, because it's show-off technique. as i said before, drifting is like dancing. you will never be able to move faster by dancing than by sprinting. this is how stupid it is saying that drifting is faster than driving normal.
finally it also depends on downforce of the car, if car has no or very low downforce, then power sliding can be effective on tarmac aswell, but generally on tarmac it is much faster to follow the ideal driving line and not lose any traction. again it highly depends, road could be dirty and slippery, in which case power sliding would help improve the times.
it's common sense really, but i'm also expert racer. i've been racing in real and in games. i know what i'm talking about.