Month: March 2010

Formula DRIFT Continues Alliance with Universal Technical Institute

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Formula DRIFT Continues Alliance with Universal Technical Institute;
Annual “Tech and Preview Day” to be Held March 27, 2010

LONG BEACH, Calif. – March 18, 2010 – Formula DRIFT will continue their relationship with Universal Technical Institute. (NYSE: UTI) the “Official Technical School of Formula DRIFT.” UTI is a leading provider of technical education training for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. UTI will host the annual “Tech Day” at their Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. campus, located at 9494 Haven Avenue, on March 27 from 10am to 4pm.

“As part of our continued alliance with Universal Technical Institute, the Official Technical School of Formula DRIFT, UTI and FD are collaborating to bring forth the 2nd Annual UTI / FD Tech Day,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Tech Day is a fun day where fans can come and get a glimpse of the new cars for the 2010 season, meet the new and returning drivers as well as have an open house tour of the top class UTI Rancho Cucamonga campus. It’s been a good off-season but now we are all excited to get the season started and March 27th at UTI will be the unofficial start of the 7th FD season.”

Over 24 of the top Formula DRIFT teams will be bringing out their 2010 competition vehicles for annual technical inspection. This will be the first glimpse of many new vehicles and drivers including Samuel Hubinette’s new Dodge Challenger, Michael Essa’s new BMW 3-series powered by a M5 motor, and the 4-rotor Mazda RX-8 of BMI Racing. At 1pm Nitto Tires will announce their official drive lineup for the 2010 Formula DRIFT season. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet Formula DRIFT drivers, teams and techs, and watch the pre-race inspection live. On hand will be industry displays, food vendors and promotional giveaways (while supplies last) that include Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets. An autograph session with Formula DRIFT pro drivers will be held at 2pm with confirmations from Vaughn Gittin, Jr., Ken Gushi, Dai Yoshihara, and the 2009 champion Chris Forsberg.

For prospective students interested in automotive training, UTI will provide tours and information about its various technician training programs and financial aid. (Financial aid is available for those who qualify.) Instructors and graduates will be available to speak to individuals interested in careers in the automotive industry.

“UTI is honored to continue as the ‘Official Technical School of Formula Drift’ and host Tech Day at our Rancho Cucamonga campus to kick off the 2010 series,” said Mark Harston, events manager at Universal Technical Institute. “The relationship between UTI and Formula Drift is complementary. We are always looking for ways to give back to the community and motorsport enthusiasts, and the open access that Formula Drift has given to them is truly unique. We look forward to working with the series and teams again this year to help advance the sport of drifting, while creating awareness about technician training and careers throughout the industry and motorsports.”

TANNER FOUST STREET DRIFT: MULHOLLAND

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TANNER FOUST STREET DRIFT: MULHOLLAND

Tanner Foust drifts his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion TC Drift Car on a legendary stretch of Mulholland Highway. Known as “The Snake”, this stretch of Mulholland in Malibu just east of Kanan Road is a famous hangout for SoCal motorcyclists and car enthusiasts. The two mile ribbon of road winds uphill through the Malibu mountains between the Rockstore Café where thousands of bikers convene every Sunday and “The Gallery”—a viewpoint where much of the road below can be viewed. Watch as Tanner Foust unleashes his 600hp NASCAR V8 powered Scion drift car on this famed road. There were no rehearsals and most of the film is of Tanner’s first run on a clean stretch of road. Notice how he paints a line of black rubber on the virgin tarmac, running inches from the guard rails and rock walls of the canyon. The howl of the motor, screeching tires and billowing smoke contrast with Foust’s almost zen like motions in-car. The road was closed and Tanner is a trained professional so please don’t try and re-create.

Samuel Hubinette Racing, Announces Two-Car Team for 2010

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Hübinette Forms
Samuel Hübinette Racing,
Announces Two-Car Team for 2010

1st rendering of Hubinette Racing Dodge Drift Challenger

Newport Coast, Calif. (SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING) — Two-time Formula DRIFT (FD)
champion Samuel Hübinette is returning to the FD series with a new factory-backed
Dodge team in 2010.

After six successful seasons with the NuFormz Mopar/BFGoodrich team, Samuel
Hübinette is moving on to a new chapter in his illustrious career. Hübinette will
strike out on his own in 2010, forming his own racing operation, Samuel Hübinette
Racing (SHR). With support from sponsors including Dodge and BFG, Hübinette’s SHR
organization will field a two-car team for the 2010 FD season.

“This is a new chapter for us,” said Hübinette. “I’m very excited to be back in
competition and to take on a new role as team owner this year.”

The veteran Hübinette will drift his new Dodge Challenger, while FD newcomer Andrew
“ACP” Comrie-Picard will take the wheel of the team’s familiar Dodge Viper SRT10.
“We’re looking at a strong year and a strong team for 2010,” said Hübinette. “We’re
pleased to bring the Dodge Challenger into the series, while still showing off the
capabilities of the Dodge Viper. I’m excited to see what ACP can accomplish.”
Comrie-Picard is an accomplished rally driver who won the 2009 North American Rally
Championship. Both Hübinette and Comrie-Picard will be competing on BFGoodrich g-Force T/AKDW tires.

Turning the wrenches for both Comrie-Picard’s SHR-Dodge/BFG Viper and Hübinette’s
Challenger is Brad Manka. The SHR crew chief maintained Hübinette’s NuFormz Viper
during the 2008 and 2009 FD campaigns.

Hübinette has competed in the FD Series under the NuFormz Racing banner since the
series’ inception in 2004, capturing two championships in his first three seasons.
Hübinette to date owns the most wins (nine) of any FD Series driver.
The two-time FD champion was dealt an enormous blow when NuFormz team owner Shaun
Carlson passed away suddenly last October. Hübinette will carry on in memory of his
departed friend and colleague.

“Shaun’s tragic death was a shock to us all,” said Hübinette. “We hope to do him
proud out there this season.”

ABOUT SAMUEL HÜBINETTE

A native Swede, Hübinette has been living and competing in the United States since
2001. He became a US citizen in 2006. When he isn’t drifting, Hübinette is also a working stunt driver in car commercials and in Hollywood productions including the Fast and the Furious franchise, Crank2, and the upcoming film Knight and Day. Hübinette developed a taste for speed in his native Sweden, where he earned a reputation for pushing snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars to their limits. He competed as a driver in Touring Car racing on a team for Volvo from 1997 through 2000 and worked for Volvo Cars for nine years as a stunt driver and test driver in product development for the company. He has also worked as a performance driving instructor, including a three-year stint at the Skip Barber Racing School, where he was a member of the elite Special Product Group. Last year Samuel became a “specialist reserved officer” with LAPD.

SHR Partners: Dodge, BFGoodrich, Mopar, Eibach, Weld Racing, AIT, Sparco, K&N, AEM, Stack Performance, ES Motorsports, Royal Purple, Wilwood, Tilton Engineering, Os Giken, ITI Performance, Magnaflow, Azunia Tequila, APR, and more to come!

For more info visit Toxic Drift

Motegi Racing Announces Associate Sponsorship of Formula DRIFT Series for 2010

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CERRITOS, CALIFORNIA – Motegi Racing is excited to announce that it will be stepping up its involvement with the Formula DRIFT Series in 2010 and coming on board as an Associate Sponsor of the series. Motegi Racing has been a long time sponsor of the Steph Papadakis owned Rockstar team with ties going back to Steph’s drag racing days. “The relationship between Motegi Racing and Steph’s drift team has been instrumental in providing our engineers with feedback on our wheels performance and the applications needed for the drifting competitor and enthusiast” says Chris Anderson of Motegi Racing. Tanner Foust has done a great job as a driver and has put the Motegi Racing sponsored Scion on the podium many times this past season. Tanner runs on the ultra-light forged Motegi Racing Traklite 1.0 modular wheel, 17×8’s in the front and 18×10’s in the rear.

The Formula DRIFT Series gives Motegi Racing a great opportunity to have our wheels on display at the track and answer questions from enthusiasts. This series also provides us an opportunity to work with our employees & dealers in each of the event cities and increase their involvement in this segment. We look forward to seeing you out at the track.

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