Category: FD News
[COVERAGE] RD 6: Showdown via AMDrift.com
Round 6: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway Results
Round 6: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway Results;
Michael Essa Takes the Victory and the Points Lead
Long Beach, Calif. – September 15, 2013 – Formula DRIFT presented by GoPro entered Texas Motor Speedway for the first time. Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 takes the victory and the lead in the Pro Championship points chase heading into the final competition of the 2013 season.
Round 6: Showdown saw a return to Texas with the first Formula DRIFT event in the Lone Star State since 2005. Texas Motor Speedway hosted the highly anticipated event under the night sky. The new track proved to be challenging as one of the fastest drift tracks on the circuit and one of the most technical for tandem drifting.
The consolation round saw Patrick Mordaunt in the Diamond Lighting / APEXi Lexus SC430 against point leader, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z. Forsberg won the battle to secure third place, but falls to second place overall in the Pro Championship standings with only 15.5 points separating him from the leader. The final battle pitted Essa against Matt Field in the CX Racing / Maxxis / Blacktrax Nissan 240SX. Essa bested Field for his second victory of the season and second straight podium finish to take the event win and lead in the point standings heading into the final competition of the season. This was Field’s first podium finish of his Formula DRIFT career.
“First year here at this track and the course was just insane with sustained speed throughout. It was just crazy out there, but we were able to take home the win,” said Michael Essa, winner of Round 6: Showdown. “Our GSR Autosport BMW E46 with Wisefab suspension and Bilstein suspension along with Yokohama Tires helped make this an amazing event for us. We are leading the points right now by about 15 points heading into Irwindale and we have a shot at the Championship which is not what we expected entering this season with a new car and can’t be more happy with the results.”
Heading into the final competition of the season for Round 7: Final Fight on October 11 – 12, 2013 at Irwindale Speedway. Less than 90 points separate the top six drivers and the championship. Additionally, the inaugural tire and manufacturer championship will be determined at the final competition of the tenth season of Formula DRIFT.
“It is always exciting to hold an event at a new venue and Texas Motor Speedway provided a great place to showcase drifting. The event outcome sets up a competitive finale, ” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With only one competition left in the season, the Championship is up for grabs with the top six drivers vying to be crowed champion.”
Formula DRIFT to Hold a Drift Demo at the Circuit of The Americas on September 21 -22 in Conjunction With American Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championships
Long Beach, Calif. – September 13, 2013 – Formula DRIFT has been invited to hold a drift demonstration at the Circuit of The Americas in conjunction with American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) and the World Endurance Championships (WEC) on September 21 – 22, 2013.
For the first time drifting will take place at the Circuit of The Americas track in Texas. Formula DRIFT professional drivers will be the first to drift at this new facility, one of the world’s premier racetracks. Tyler McQuarrie, Conrad Grunewald and Michael Essa are all crossover drivers with road racing background, while Justin Pawlak is part of Team Falken Tire that will also be fielding a team in ALMS’s GT Class over the weekend. The drift demonstration will take place during the race weekend for the ALMS and WEC Series.
“We are proud to showcase drifting to the ALMS and WEC fans at Circuit of The Americas and be part of a motorsport filled weekend,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “It is going to be a fantastic sight seeing the guys drift through turns 12-15 and around the iconic observation tower.”
The Formula DRIFT demonstration will take place on Saturday, September 21, from 2:15 PM – 2:35 PM and again on Sunday, September 22, from 9:30 AM – 9:45 AM.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Penalty Clarification
Formula DRIFT has received various inquiries regarding the nature of the recent penalty handed down to Vaughn Gittin Jr. The following is a brief synopsis of the events that transpired and the ending result.
During Round 5 at Evergreen Speedway, we conducted standard technical inspection on the #25 car and found a part that was deemed to be out of compliance with 4.3 of the Formula DRIFT Technical Regulations. Following the event, we conducted a thorough investigation into the part (third link mount) that we deemed to be out of compliance. Vaughn Gittin Jr. was involved in the investigation and complied with our requests. We were able to determine through the investigation, that the part was indeed out of compliance. Factory Ford tolerances are the standard in which third link mounts must be within to be compliant on this chassis. The part in question was found to be an after-market part, that while made for the chassis in question, did not meet the factory tolerances and thus out of compliance. The penalty assessed is in no way an indictment of Vaughn Gittin Jr. or his team as cheaters. Our investigation did not reveal any evidence as such. Our investigation did not reveal any evidence that the part in question would create a competitive advantage. It stands that the team made a mistake. Drifting, by nature is a subjective sport, however, the technical regulations implemented by Formula DRIFT are black and white and so therefore must be administered in that way. To that end, the five (5) member panel of the Disciplinary Committee convened and returned a majority vote of the penalty that is currently listed on our website.
We hope the information we provided helps give additional clarity to the situation. Please contact our office for any further questions.
