Ben Broke-Smith – EDC
Hometown – Solihull, Birmingham, UK
Car – 1990 Toyota Chaser JZX81, 1JZ Single Turbo

Right from an early age I’ve been obsessed with cars and driving, spending my entire childhood waiting for the day I could get my driving license. As soon as I could drive, the first priority was RWD, going straight out and buying a BMW 5 series. All I wanted to do was to be able to drive RWD cars with the natural ability of drivers like Tiff Needel, people I’d watched on TV as a kid. After only having my license for a year I attended a BMW day at Rockingham circuit, and met a now-good friend of mine and pillar of the UK drifting scene, Julian Smith, as soon as I saw him drifting his E30 M3 around the circuit I was instantly hooked. From then on I attended drift days in my bone stock BMW E28 525i, eventually getting the diff welded. From that step on, I gradually got more and more cars, tearing them apart and turning them into drift machines, gradually moving on to more and more powerful machines, but always BMWs. After blowing up an E36 M3 more times than I’d like to remember a couple of years ago, I decided to go JDM, and purchased an R32 Skyline GTS-T. This was 2006, the first year I really took things seriously. In my first year of competition I finished 5th overall, in a very home-brew car, spending most of the year battling it out with only 240bhp, a set of coilovers and a welded diff. This was the first year Driftworks sponsored me, Phil & James had been friends for a while, but this year I’d get to know them better and occupy more space in their workshop, creating mess wherever I went!!…. 2007 saw me in a JZX81 Toyota Chaser, probably not the most sensible car to buy, but it matched my pre 2006 image of different cars, a big 4 door but now JDM. I had a good year, but some poor design decisions on the Chaser meant that I had troubles with reliability all year, constantly breaking things and making my life difficult. 2008 saw me develop the car and my skills to the point where I could put in a reliable, consistent performance. The Chaser was now on Federal tyres, running 560bhp and reliable, a winning combination!!!! The combination of continued support from Driftworks and consistently using the same tyres helped me take the championship, something I’d worked hard for over the last few years!!

Outside of drifting seems to always be filled with cars, constantly working on the drift car to get it ready for the next event. Work life is at Driftworks, where I’m the sales manager, using all my skills and knowledge to help advise everybody on which parts they need. I get to work with my friends, Phil, James and Mel. When I’m not driving cars, fixing cars or at work talking to people about their cars, you’ll find me spending time with Laura (my girlfriend) and with my friends and family, generally doing normal things like normal people!!!!

October 8, 2008

Red Bull Drifting World Championship Tickets On-Sale Now;
Featuring an All Reserved Seating Layout

Long Beach, Calif. – October 8, 2008 – Tickets for the Red Bull Drifting World Championship are now available online for the November 15-16, 2008 event at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, CA and will feature an all reserved seating layout.

Red Bull Drifting World Championship tickets are available online at www.formuladrift.com and start at $35 for a 2-day pass. VIP tickets are also available online and will include: 2-Day reserved seating in a covered sky box, food & beverage, on-site parking, and a discount coupon for the Formula DRIFT merchandise tent. Formula DRIFT has taken care of the service charges for all online ticket purchases and there will be absolutely no service charge for online transactions.

“Online ticket purchases are very much encouraged as they provide the lowest possible price and guaranteed admission into the event,” says Ryan Sage, V.P of marketing of Formula DRIFT. “Formula DRIFT and Red Bull want to provide the fans with the best consumer experience and make purchasing tickets as easy as possible.”

Tickets will also be available on event days, November 15 & 16, at the Long Beach Convention Center, which will serve as the official event hub for the Red Bull Drifting World Championship. Fans will be able to park, purchase tickets, and take a courtesy shuttle to the secret event venue from this location.

CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Ueo Katsuhiro – D1
Hometown – Kumamoto, Japan
Car – Nissan Silvia S15

May 26,1972 in Kumamoto, Japan Ueo Katsuhiro was born. His parents where strict and was in the fishing business. When he was young he would go out to sea with his father helping him out during the holidays and summer vacations. While helping out at sea Ueo found interest in engine building and repair. While improving his knowledge and skill he soon started surprising adults around him. This was the start for Ueo Katsuhiro.

When he turned 18 he was helping his friend as a tuning adviser while sharpening his driving skills. Soon he started becoming famous among “hashiriya” or drivers all around Japan. Ueo then met Tsuchiya Keiichi who changed his life. Admired by Tsuchiya’s driving technique he started practicing and learning those techniques on his own which lead to his debut in the drifting scene.

The reason why he started drifting was because of Tsuchiya Keiichi and now that he became a pro-drifter his goal is to test his skills at the world level.

James Deane – ProDrift
Hometown – Castletownroche, Co, Cork, Ireland
Car – 1998 RB26 Silvia S14.5

James comes from a strong Motorsport family background with both is father and uncle recognised as 1980’s rallying legends in Ireland. His brother Mike was one of the first ever people to win a drifting competition in Ireland back in 2003 when James was only 12 years old. From this day James was obsessed with being a drifter. In 2006 his brothers Mike and Kenneth entered him in the Prodrift Junior Championship drifting in a ford sierra. He finished 3rd. At this stage James and his family went on and bought his current Silvia which was running completely standard at the time. In Prodift Round 2 2007 at Rosegreen in Tipperary, Ireland, James managed to see off all the more experienced drivers and won the event at 15 years old. As far as we were aware this made him the youngest driver in the world to win a Professional drift competition. He was later placed 9th overall for the 2007 season and was awarded the title of rookie of the year 2007.

At Prodrift IRL Round 1 2008 @ Mondello Park racing Circuit in Ireland & In front of 7000 spectators James finished 5th overall being knocked out by the legendary Damien Mulvey

Prodrift Europe Round 1 2008 @ Mondello Park Racing Circuit in Ireland
In front of 7000 spectators James was to finish 4th overall and earn very valuable points in the championship.

Prodrift Ireland Round 2 2008 @ Tipperary Raceway Rosegreen in Ireland
Again with record crowds in attendance at the Irish home of drifting. James was victorious over John O’Connell and scored his second win in Rosegreen.

Prodrift Europe Round 2 2008 @ Teesside Autodrome in the UK
James was narrowly beaten by Darren McNamara, a small mistake on the last corner costing him the win. But with again great championship points he want away happy

Prodrift Ireland Round 3 2008 @ Nutscorner Oval Circuit Northern Ireland
James qualified 2nd but was unlucky on the day and was out at the Top 16 stage for the first and last time in 2008.

Prodrift Ireland Round 4 2008 @ Ennis Street Circuit in Ireland
James was on fire from the start and took the win with ease.

Prodrift Europe Round 3 2008 @ Sturup Raceway in Sweeden
At the very high speed track in Sweden James found himself in a new environment. He put on a amazing show and came home in 3rd place.

Prodrift Round 5 2008 @ Mondello Park Racing Circuit in Ireland
James had a good run on the day but in the top 16 battle he came across Deane Kearney the eventual winner and had to settle for 9th.

Prodrift Europe Round 4 2008 @ in Finland
James was under powered from the start and had to settle for 9th place.

Prodrift Round 6 2008 @ Mondello Park Racing Circuit in Ireland
James qualified 6th on the day and finished 3rd and with that he won the 2008 Prodift IRELAND Championship

Prodrift Europe Round 5 2008 @ Lydden Hill racing circuit in UK
James went to this event with a new RB26 engine gearbox and suspensions setup. This could have gone against him in that he might not been able to adapt to the setup quickly. This was no the case and after only 5 practice runs he was on the money. He qualified 2nd and then went on to storm up the field to an eventual 2nd place finish. This also gave him the title of Pro Drift European Champion
In 2008, James managed to win both Prodrift Irish and Prodrift European Championships which has been a huge achievement for him at just 16 years old. James is delighted to be representing Ireland & Europe @ Long Beach and to be taking part in the Red Bull World Drifting Championships.