Canyon Loop
Canyon Loop is the longest track at 897 metres: a flowing run of open corners between red rock walls. Nothing here is tight — the smallest radius is about 23 metres. Corners last long enough that the slide has to be held rather than thrown, and the reward is some of the biggest chains in the game.
| Lap length | 897 m |
|---|---|
| Road width | 14 m |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Clipping zones | 6 |
| Gates per lap | 8 |
| Character | Patient and fast. It punishes impatience on the throttle more than anything else. |
Corner by corner
Positions are percentages of the lap, counted from the start line in the direction of travel.
Opening left · 21% to 25%
After a start section with two gentle kinks comes a short left. A zone sits on the left edge just before it, so begin the slide early and let the car cross the zone on the way in.
The long right · 28% to 48%
A fifth of the lap in one right-hand corner, radius about 24 metres, with zones on the inside near the start and the end. Enter with a lift rather than the handbrake to keep speed, then hold it on part throttle. This is the corner the track is named for.
The esses · 51% to 72%
A left, a right with an inside zone, a short straight and another right. The gaps between them can be bridged inside the 1.2 second grace if you keep the car slightly sideways.
South left · 74% to 79%
A medium left with a zone on its inside. Arriving from a right-hander makes this a natural transition.
Return right · 81% to 95%
A long final right of about 23 metres with an inside zone, leading onto the start straight. A clean exit here sets up the next lap’s speed.
Walls, runoff and recovery
Rock on both sides with only 3 metres of runoff. The scenery climbs steeply around the road; the road itself is flat.
Pressing R in a timed run returns the car to the last of the track’s 8 gates you passed, stationary, with the live chain cleared and scoring paused for a second and a half. In Free Drive it returns you to the nearest point on the track instead.
Common mistakes
- Staying flat on the throttle through the long right until the car spins.
- Starting slides too late, so the car is still drifting outward when the corner ends.
- Using too much angle. Around 35° to 40° carries more speed and scores almost as well.
Which car
The Longbow, by design: its long wheelbase holds a steady slide for as long as the corner lasts. The Vector is provided for Canyon Crown and rewards a tidy style over an aggressive one. The numbers behind those characters are in six cars compared.
What to practice first
Lesson 5: Holding the slide. Every corner here is a sustained slide. Four seconds on the yard ring is the same skill. All eight are on the Drift Academy page, and drifting lines explains where to place the car in any corner.
The six challenges here
| Challenge | Judged on | Car | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Light | Drift score | Your choice | 4,500 | 9,000 | 15,000 |
| Rock Faces | Zones clipped | Meridian | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Switchback Rhythm | Linked transitions | Your choice | 6 | 13 | 21 |
| The Long Hold | Longest chain | Longbow | 2,300 | 4,700 | 7,800 |
| Even Pace | Weakest lap score | Your choice | 800 | 1,600 | 2,700 |
| Canyon Crown | Combined result | Vector | 3,000 | 6,000 | 10,000 |
Thresholds were set from completed runs by the game’s reference driver: gold is what it managed, silver is 60% of that and bronze 30%. A practiced human should beat it. How each result is calculated is in drift scoring explained.