It seems like only yesterday the 2011 racing season came to a close, and yet here we are, on the cusp of yet another year full of fast cars, hard turns, and lots of high octane action. We’re especially looking forward to another year following Formula Drift driver Vaughn Gittin Jr., who took home the 2011 Championship but fell far short in 2011. We’re sure Gittin is as anxious as we are to get back on the track and make up for a lackluster year.

Of course, a lackluster year for Vaughn Gittin Jr. is still a great year for most everybody else, and just keeping up with Gittin’s Mustang is an accomplishment. This video from the 3rd Round of the 2011 Formula Drift series gives us a front row seat as one competitor does his best to keep up with Gittin at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Formula Drift is a fast, brutal sport, with each race usually lasting less than a minute. And it’s not so much a race, as an attempt to keep up with the lead car, and mirror the moves they do. Naturally you’ve got to be fast, accurate, and able to see. It’s not an easy sport by any means, and even a champ like Gittin has a hard time (watch for flying debris at the 20-second mark.)

The above video is just 35-seconds long, but its enough to give us mere mortals a taste of what its like to try and keep up with Gittin. We couldn’t do it, and you probably couldn’t do it either. We’ll just leave it up to the pros to put on a good show.