Category: FD News

Nitto’s Auto Enthusiast Day is Going Back to Cali

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Nitto’s Auto Enthusiast Day is Going Back to Cali

After a successful event in Texas, Nitto Tire’s Auto Enthusiast Day is returning to Southern California August 1st, 2015 and promises to be the series’ best event yet.

Fast Facts:

  • 2015 marks the third year of the highly successful event series
  •  Event entry is free for all car show participants, vendors and spectators.
  •  Activities include a car show, drifting demos, truck jumping demos, a vendor midway, and raffle

    giveaways.

  • Meet Team Nitto drivers Vaughn Gittin, Jr., Odi Bakchis, “Mad” Mike Whiddett, and Tanner Foust

     
    Cypress, Calif. (June 9, 2015) – Southern California is the birthplace of “car culture” as we know it today. Everything from traditional hot rodding to the emergence of the Japanese car culture in the US can trace its origins back to “SoCal.” Celebrating all of this history, Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., a leading manufacturer of off- road and street performance tires, created the Auto Enthusiast Day event – a free car show designed to bring together every facet of the automotive world in one place. Now in its third year, Auto Enthusiast Day promises to be the biggest one yet when it comes to Angel’s Stadium in Anaheim, California on August 1st.

    Nitto Tire’s Auto Enthusiast Days has become a staple of the Southern California car show season. Since its inception in 2013, it has grown at an explosive rate, bringing in more cars, more vendors, more spectators, and more crowd-pleasing driving demos. Continuing this trend of growth, the 3rd annual event has even more in store for enthusiasts as Nitto pulls out all the stops to create the ultimate automotive experience.

    “We couldn’t be more thrilled with how quickly Auto Enthusiast Day has evolved, as well as all of the positive responses from our fans,” said Harry Kong, Brand Publishing Events and Motorsports for Nitto Tire. “Nitto is proud to be a company Fueled by Enthusiasts and we love being able to give back to the community that has been instrumental in our success. We have some great things planned for our 3rd annual event and cannot wait to see the reactions of the attendees.”

    Auto Enthusiast Day will be full of activities sure to please everyone. Like previous years, there will be a car show for enthusiasts and car clubs to show off their modified and restored vehicles, a Vendor Midway featuring the hottest products in the automotive industry, drifting demonstrations by Team Nitto drivers Vaughn Gittin, Jr., Odi Bakchis, “Mad” Mike Whiddett, and Tanner Foust, and raffle giveaways for everything from apparel to ride alongs with one of the Team Nitto drivers. New for 2015 will also feature various drivers from Nitto’s Ultra4 Off-Road motorsports team.

    The event will take place on Saturday, August 1st, 2015 at Angel’s Stadium in Anaheim, California and runs from 11am to 7pm. Admission to the event is free for everyone (spectator parking is $10) and the first 500 car show participants will receive a free gift for being part of the show. Vendor space is also free of charge for companies that want to show off their latest products, but space is limited and will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Tickets for Auto Enthusiast Day are available online at http://www.autoenthusiastday.com and interested vendors can reserve their spot by contacting [email protected]. To learn more about Nitto Tire, please visit www.nittotire.com. Join Nitto Tire on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NittoTire and on Twitter at @NittoTire.

About Nitto Tire

Nitto Tire (www.nittotire.com) develops performance tires for all uses, including racing, off-road and street. Using state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facilities in both Japan and the United States, Nitto provides innovative and high-quality performance tires for the most demanding automotive enthusiasts. For more information about Nitto or its products, visit the company’s web site or contact the company directly. Nitto is a registered trademark of Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., located at 5665 Plaza Drive, Ste. 250, Cypress, CA 90630.

#NittoTire #AutoEnthusiastDay

Formula DRIFT World Championship: Japan Round Results

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Formula DRIFT World Championship: Japan Round Results;
Masato Kawabata Wins at Fuji International Speedway

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Long Beach, Calif. – July 13, 2015 – Formula DRIFT Japan presented by G-Shock entered Fuji International Speedway for the 5th Round of the inaugural Formula DRIFT World Championship. Masato Kawabata in the Team Toyo Tires Drift/Trust Racing Nissan 35RX GTR takes the event victory and Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis leads the Formula Drift World Championship with a second place finish.

Formula DRIFT Japan at Fuji Speedway was the first world championship round outside of the U.S. The break in the rainy weather treated fans to a great display of international drifting competition as 63 drivers from 8 nations battled to be at the top of the podium. Almost 300,000 Livestream viewers joined the action and tuned in from around the world.

“Last November we took a bold step to launch the Formula DRIFT World Championship and this round officially kicks off which drivers will be eligible,” says Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “Japan is the birthplace of drifting and it’s fitting to start the first international round where it all started.”

The event was challenging as many drivers who have never competed against each other matched up for the first time on this seemingly simple but very technical course. The semi-finals pitted Tadahiro Fukada in his RC-ART Dreamteam with Falken Toyota Mark II against Aurimas Bakchis in his ARK Performance / Feal Suspension / Nitto Tire Hyundai Genesis Coupe with Bakchis edging out Fukada to head into the finals. Number 1 qualifier Masato Kawabata in his Team Toyo Tire Drift / Trust Racing Nissan 35RX GTR defeated Masao Suenaga in his RE Amemiya Mazda RX-7 to face Bakchis in the finals. The final head-to-head battle between Bakchis and Kawabata came to an early end as Bakchis’s motor gave on the second run and was not able to maintain drift. This gave Kawabata his perfect weekend by qualifying 1st and winning the competition.

“It felt really good to compete and be successful against foreign drivers that I have never driven against before,” stated Masato Kawabata, winner for Formula DRIFT Japan. “I was provided with a great car that did not have any troubles all weekend and drove comfortably. I would love to compete more internationally. The world be ready, I am coming.”

The 2015 Formula DRIFT season will continue to Round 5: Throwdown on July 24-25, 2015 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

 

Formula DRIFT Japan: Fuji International Speedway Event Results
1. Kawabata, Masato Team Toyo Tires Drift / Trust Racing Nissan 35RX GTR Winner
2. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi” ARK Performance / Feal Suspension / Nitto Tire Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2nd Place
3. Fukada, Tadahiro RC-ART Dreamteam with Falken Toyota Mark II 3rd Place
 

2015 Formula DRIFT World Championship Standings After One Round
1. Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis ARK Performance / Feal Suspension / Nitto Tire Hyundai Genesis Coup 358.00 Points
2. Aasbo, Fredric RS-R Japan / Toyota GT86 NZ6 320.00 Points
3. Field, Matt Drift Cave Motorsports / Toyota Chaser JZX100 210.00 Points
4. Yokoi, Masashi D-MAX Racing with Yokohama / Nissan Silvia S15 187.00 Points
5. Kearney, Dean Oracle Lighting / Achilles Motorsports / Nissan 180SX S13 153.00 Points
6. Saito, Daigo Fat Five Racing / Lexus SC430 139.00 Points
7. Nishida, Robbie Team FNATZ x LB Works with ATR Radial / Nissan Skyline GTR 125.00 Points
8. Ng, Charles SoGun Motorsports / Mitsubishi Evo 122.00 Points
9. Whiddett, Mike Team Magic / Mazda RX7 FD3S 72.00 Points

Official Statement Regarding Recent Street Drifting Accident

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Watch A Street Drifter In LA Hit A Spectator And Drive Off

In response to recent events [Watch A Street Drifter In LA Hit A Spectator And Drive Off], Formula DRIFT has issued this statement.

Formula DRIFT does not support or encourage the use of public streets for illegal street drifting or any form of illegal street racing.  These activities not only harm the drivers and the spectators but also damages the Sport’s standing.

Please keep the streets safe and drift in a controlled environment.  There are many alternatives to street drifting such as those provided by many of our ProAm affiliates (Lone Star Drift, Streetwise Drift, Just Drift, US Drift, Southwest Drift/Vegas Drift, Golden Gate Drift, Evergreen Drift and Midwest Drift Union).

For those in Southern California, Formula DRIFT holds monthly Thursday Night Drift events at the Irwindale Event Center, which provides a safe environment and instruction from some of the top drifters in the nation.

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For more information visit: www.formulad.com