When they say everything is bigger in Texas, they mean it and that includes the epic battles of Formula Drift Round 6: SHOWDOWN in Texas. With all said and done, we are proud to announce that Yokohama Tire’s Masashi Yokoi & his S15 Silvia took the round by surprise. All season long, the rookie has shown much potential he has with aggressive angles, battles, and true Japanese fighting spirit. In Texas he finally rose to the occasion locking in his first ever Formula Drift win!
In the Top 32, Yokoi faced off against Pat Goodin with our ADVAN AD08R’s. With a close battle in the Yokoi’s lead run, he led off with insane angle as usual which left Goodin vulnerable in the judge’s eyes. While Pat’s lead run was impressive, Yokoi was able to maintain extreme close proximity with great control which moved him into the Top 16.
In the Top 16, Yokoi faced Mad Mike Whiddett, also known for his aggressive angles and driving style, so this was not going to be an easy battle. While Yokoi managed to pull some insane angles in his lead run with a few car lengths away from Whiddett to take the lead run, Mike returns the favour in the chase run, resulting in OMT (One More Time!). Take 2 of their battle, Whiddett actually crashed his car and was not able to return to battle, moving Yokoi into the Great 8.
Now facing off against Chris “The Force” Forsberg, Masashi was in for a treat against the former champion. While the chase run was quite solid for Forsberg, it was Yokoi’s ability to close the gap by using precision in his angle with again, great control that gives him the chase. Yokoi was able to show his true colours in his lead run with an almost a five-car gap pulling away and taking the win over the former champ and moved on to the Finals!
The battle with Ken Gushi, who has been on a roll all season, would the toughest battle of the night. With Yokoi chasing in the first run, it was quite a close battle with both drivers with consistent angle and line, but Gushi takes this run giving him an advantage. In Yokoi’s lead run is where the final fight got interesting. Both driver’s made zero mistakes with close proximity, style, and angle; they were 2-3 car lengths apart the entire time. While a very close battle, Yokoi takes the win!
With Texas in the books, we look forward to seeing more Yokohama Tire action at Formula Drift Finals in Irwindale on October 9 & 10. Stay tuned for our coverage!
Photos: Larry Chen
