CLICK HERE for the full story from Boostiao.com
Category: FD News
Stance | Works – FORMULA DRIFT ROUND 7: TITLE FIGHT – IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY, CA
CLICK HERE for the full story from StanceWorks.com
Speedhunters – REFLECTING ON THE FORMULA DRIFT FINALS
CLICK HERE to view the full story from Speedhunters.com
2012 Formula DRIFT Awards
Each year during the annual Formula DRIFT awards banquet key individuals are recognized for their achievement in the season.
Fan Voted Awards:
Hardest Charging Driver: Daigo Saito
Best Driving Style: Fredric Aasbo
Spirit of Drifting: Danny George
Best Personal Style: Ryan Tuerck
Crew Member of the Year: Mike Kojima
Team Manager of the Year: Stephan Papadakis
Fan Favorite Driver of Year: Fredric Aasbo
Fan Favorite Car of Year: Daigo Saito’s Lexus SC430
Awards Based on Performance
Come Back of the Year (from lowest qualifying to highest finish – RD5 Throwdown) – Rhys Millen
Most Improved Driver of Year (from 2011 ranking of 34th to 2012 ranking of 13th) – Robbie Nishida
Top Qualifier of Year (highest avg. qualifying score through season) – Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Ace of the Year (Most head to head wins) – Daigo Saito
Top Gun of the Year (highest head to head win percentage – 80% wins) – Daigo Saito
Rookie of the Year – Daigo Saito
Guest Blog: Kevin Wells Technical Manager of Formula DRIFT Opens Up About the X-Raying of Vehicles at Round 7
Prior to the start of Round 7: Title Fight at Irwindale Speedway the decision was made by Formula DRIFT technical manager, Kevin Wells to inspect the top contending vehicles via X-ray, which was the first time in the Series history that this had been done.
In order to shed some light to the reasons why this procedure was completed, Wells has answered the top questions that have continued to be asked since the event.
Why did Formula Drift X-ray vehicles?
We were looking to see if competitors had modified chassis and/or hidden ballast. We contacted technicians from NASCAR and NHRA to see what equipment they used for this type of testing. Neither NASCAR or NHRA has done this before. Due to the variety of vehicles we have, and the location we desired to examine them, the methods NASCAR and NHRA use to examine their cars were not feasible. After further research, we decided on X-ray as the best method to determine if vehicles had modified chassis or hidden ballast.
Which vehicles did you X-ray?
We decided to X-ray the top seven ranked vehicles because these vehicles were eligible by points to win the championship. The top seven vehicles were composed of five vehicle models: Ford Mustang (2), Lexus SC430 (1), Nissan 240SX (2), Hyundai Genesis (1), and Scion TC (1). In addition to the seven competition vehicles, we also X-rayed stock versions of the five makes in order to compare our findings.
Where did you X-ray?
We X-rayed the rocker panel / door sill portion of the vehicle. This portion of the vehicle was suspected to be an ideal place for placing additional ballast or adding additional frame structure.
Did you find anything?
No, all the vehicles we examined were legal and passed the test. Below are three images taken from different Ford Mustangs. You can clearly see these vehicles are not modified in this portion of the vehicle.
Stock Mustang x-ray
Will Formula Drift continue doing this in the future?
Yes, we will continue to look for vehicles that are breaking the rules (to keep a level playing field), and this will be one of the tools at our disposal.
