Round 1: Vaughn Gittin vs. Eric O’Sullivan. Vaughn leads and rides the wall. Eric stays on him. Eric surged on and looks like he mis-shifted and goes a bit shallow and off-track. Run 2. Eric leads and there is a major crash on the bank with the 2 cars. Eric’s car is stuck on the bank, while Vaughn drives off. Judges deliberate the cause of the crash…Eric O’Sullivan advances (but his car may not be able to continue).

Note the winner of the next round with Chris Forsberg and Tyler McQuarrie will determine the winner of the event if Eric O’Sullivan can not continue.

It’s official this next battle is for 1st place.

Round 2: Chris Forsberg vs. Tyler McQuarrie. Tyler pulls away from Chris. Good run by both, but Tyler had a gap lead. Run 2. Chris leads and Tyler sticks to Chris. Tyler stalls at the transition off the bank and Chris continues with the run. Chris Forsberg wins the round adn the event!

Consolation Round for Third Place. Vaughn Gittin vs. Tyler McQuarrie. Tyler leads and rides the wall and Vaughn stays behind. Tyler with great angle and Vaughn comes up close. Run 2. Gittin leads both ride the wall. Tyler on Vaughn’s door. Great run! Tyler gets the win and third place.

We continue to the Great 8 competition.

Run 1: Ryan Tuerck vs. Vaughn Gittin. Tuerck leads ands Vaughn shadows him through the course. Great run by both. Run 2. Vaughn leads with a very early initiation, but Tuerck sticks to his door through the rest of the run. Amazing. Vaughn Gittin moves on.

Round 2: Eric O’Sullivan vs. Tony Brakiohiapa. Tony B leads and Eric goes aggressive and taps Tony on the bank and spins out. Tony finishes. Run 2. Eric leads and Tony very low on the bank. Sloppy run by both. One More Time.

Run 1 in OMT. Tony leads stays high on the bank. Eric stays tight. Tony goes wide and Eric slides past him. Run 2 in OMT. Eric leads creates a gap. Tony slides wide in the power alley. Eric moves on.

Round 3: Ross Petty vs. Chris Forsberg. Ross leads and lays down a lot of smoke and angle. Chris goes door to door with Ross. Great run! Run 2. Chris leads and rides the wall super fast. Ross tries to catch up but goes off line a bit. Chris Forsberg advances to Final 4.

Round 4: Samuel Hubinette vs. Tyler McQuarrie. Sam pulls away and sticks to the wall on the bank. Tyler plays catch up entire run. Run 2. Tyler leads and rides the wall with Sam going a bit shallow and now Sam plays catch up. Tyler McQuarrie advances.

Final 4 in next blog post.

Round 5: Breaking Point at Evergreen Speedway is about to begin. Stay tuned for round by round LIVE updates here on the Formula DRIFT blog.

Packed stands and paddock

Round 1: Ryan Tuerck receives a bye run

Round 2: Robbie Nishida vs. Joon Maeng. Robbie leads Joon on the first run. Robbie stays high on the bank and Joon chases. 2nd run both drivers run high on the bank and Nishida stays close behind on the bank. Into the power alley both drivers are good but into the 2nd the last clipping point Joon goes wide and Robbie passes him. Robbie Nishida moves on to the Top 16.

Round 3: Tanner Foust vs. Tommy Suell. Tanner leads and Tommy gives chase and gives Tanner a battle sticking to him on the bank. Great run. Tommy to lead and both high on the bank..Tommy clips the wall and drags his bumper. Going into the power alley…Tommy goes wide and almost spins and Tanner crashes into him. Both hit the k-rail. Tanner loses his front bumper. Tommy needs a tow. Tanner heads back to the paddock. Tanner moves on to Top 16.

Round 4: Vaughn Gittin vs. Alex Pfeiffer. Vaughn leads Alex and stays high on the bank. Alex is a little lower and Vaughn stays good on the run, while Alex makes a small correction in the power alley into the 2nd to last clipping point. 2nd run Alex leads and rides the wall while Vaughn gives chase. Alex spins into the 2nd to last clipping run and Vaughn slides close to clipping the corvette. Vaughn moves on.

Round 5: Justin Pawlak vs. Jodin LeJeune. Justin stays high and fast through the bank while Jodin chases. Jodin makes slight correction at last clipping point. 2nd run. Jodin leads goes high and scrapes the wall on the bank. Justin takes a tighter line and follows Jodin, but makes a mistake coming off the bank. Jodin LeJeune moves on to the Top 16.

Round 6: Eric O’Sullivan vs. Kenji Yamanaka. Eric leads and gives a big lead on the bank staying high, while Kenji gives chase and goes a bit sloppy. 2nd run. Kenji leads but Eric stays with him and forces Kenji to take an inside line through the power alley. Tight battle. Eric O’Sullivan moves on.

Round 7: Dai Yoshihara vs. Ryuji Miki. Dai crashed during practice and fails to make it to the line. Miki takes a “bye” run and moves on to Top 16.

Round 8: Tony Brakiohiapa vs. Kyle Mohan. Tony B leads and has good angle while Kyle tries to stick with him through the course. 2nd run. Kyle leads and he stays high on the bank and they both stay close on the transition to the power alley. Kyle had a better line. Tony B moves on.

Round 9: Ross Petty receives a bye into the next round.

Round 10: Stephan Verdier vs. Michihiro Takatori. Verdier leads and stays nice and high on the bank while Takatori takes a lower line. Verdier takes a great line through the course. 2nd run. Takatori leads and Verdier chases and has a shallow angle in the power alley, but Verdier makes a big correction into the 2nd to last clipping point. It’s going to a One More Time.

1st run of the OMT. Verdier takes a huge lead on Takatori and makes a great run. Takatori is far behind through the course. 2nd run of OMT. Takatori leads and Verdier runs close but straightens out and then spins out. Takatori moves on to Top 16.

Round 11: Chris Forsberg vs. Calvin Wan. Chris leads and stays high on the bank, Calvin spins on the transition off the bank. Calvin leads and Chris gives chase closely, but Calvin straightens out and exits the course. Chris advances.

Round 12: Darren McNamara vs. Michael Essa. Darren leads and stays really high on the bank and Essa catches up. Great run. 2nd run. Essa stays high and has small correction on the bank and Darren stays close throughout the course. Darren McNamara moves on.

Round 13: Samuel Hubinette vs. Pat Mordaunt. Sam takes a huge lead into the bank and Pat gets close to catching up and gives a good fight. 2nd run. Pat leads and Sam stays very close on the bank and sticks tight on Pat and there is contact. Sam loses his bumper. Sam moves on.

Round 14: Ken Gushi vs Rhys Millen. Gushi leads and stays high on the bank and Rhys gives chase close, while Ken makes a small correction in the power alley. 2nd run. Rhys leads and pulls away but Ken gives a lot of angle and catches up to Rhys. Ken Gushi moves on to the Top 16.

Round 15: Tyler McQuarrie vs. Ron Ewerth. Tyler leads and creates a huge gap. Tyler swings a bit wide on the clipping zone, but finishes way ahead of Ewerth. 2nd run. Ron leads and Tyler takes a high line and gets close to Ron and swings back on the clip keeping it close. Tyler McQuarrie advances.

Round 16: Taka Aono vs. Yasu Kondo. Battle of the Corollas. Great run by both as they stick close throughout the run. 2nd run. Yasu leads and Taka rides the wall catching up. Yasu Kondo moves on after a great battle.

We are heading into halftime break. The action continues at 5:30 PM. Keep checking the FD Blog for more LIVE Updates

Formula DRIFT Enters Evergreen Speedway

Evergreen Speedway is the oldest track on the circuit and was originally built as a horse-racing track. Located in Monroe, WA, Evergreen Speedway, is only a short distance from Seattle.

The Northwest fans are some of the most die-hard drift fans in the nation. The energy and excitement is often compared to that of Irwindale and the original “House of Drift.” The event’s headline moniker, “Breaking Point,” lives up to it’s name with many cars have been casualties to the track’s banking and tight transitions through the course. Last year’s event was historic as it was Formula DRIFT’s first rain event in history and the action did not fail to disappoint.

Pro AM drivers are also here @ Evergreen Speedway

Richey Watanabe – Mechanic of Tanaka Racing Corvette

Stay tuned for more photos – now I have to get ready because drivers are about to start practice…

j.martinez