CERRITOS, CALIFORNIA – Motegi Racing is excited to announce that it will be stepping up its involvement with the Formula DRIFT Series in 2010 and coming on board as an Associate Sponsor of the series. Motegi Racing has been a long time sponsor of the Steph Papadakis owned Rockstar team with ties going back to Steph’s drag racing days. “The relationship between Motegi Racing and Steph’s drift team has been instrumental in providing our engineers with feedback on our wheels performance and the applications needed for the drifting competitor and enthusiast” says Chris Anderson of Motegi Racing. Tanner Foust has done a great job as a driver and has put the Motegi Racing sponsored Scion on the podium many times this past season. Tanner runs on the ultra-light forged Motegi Racing Traklite 1.0 modular wheel, 17×8’s in the front and 18×10’s in the rear.
The Formula DRIFT Series gives Motegi Racing a great opportunity to have our wheels on display at the track and answer questions from enthusiasts. This series also provides us an opportunity to work with our employees & dealers in each of the event cities and increase their involvement in this segment. We look forward to seeing you out at the track.
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Stephan Verdier Racing Announces New Sponsors for the 2010 Formula D Season
Stephan Verdier Racing is pleased to announce our new and returning sponsors for the 2010 Formula D Seasons, a sneak preview at our partnership with the upcoming movie Iron Man 2, our new partner Royal Purple and plans for more power!
For the first two rounds of the Formula D Season we will have our new partnership agreement with Iron Man 2. One team was selected in each of the five different motorsports disciplines to represent the Stark Racing Team from the upcoming movie Iron Man 2 and we were selected for the drifting aspect of those disciplines. The car will sport a new livery for the first two rounds of the Formula D series with the Iron Man 2/ Royal Purple colors. Upon completion of the first two rounds the livery will be changed for the remainder of the year.
We have also defined an agreement with our new sponsor Royal Purple for the entire 2010 Formula Drift season. According to Stephan Verdier, “This coupled with agreements with Iron Man 2 is definitely a big boost to our Formula D racing program in our quest of the 2010 championship.”
Crawford Performance has also agreed to step up there involvement in the Formula D racing program by building a brand new engine/power package and supplying a sequential gear box for the season. “There will be quite a bit more power on tap for Stephan this year to keep the edge on the competition in his race for the 2010 Championship and we wish him the best for the upcoming season!”, says Quirt Crawford, President of Crawford Performance.
In conjunction with the returning sponsors, Cooper tire, Clutch Masters, Subaru, Enkei, I-speed, Turbo by Garrett, RMR, Stance, Sparco, Seibon, Apr, Gti we now know we have an optimal chance at the championship this year we can not wait for round 1 at Long Beach to get started!
www.stephanverdier.com www.royalpurple.com www.starkmotorracing.com
HORSEPOWER DRIVEN BY STAR POWER 2010 TOYOTA PRO/CELEBRITY RACE DRIVERS ANNOUNCED
2009 Celebrity Winner Keanu Reeves Returns to Compete with the Pros;
Other Stars Behind the Wheel include Adrien Brody, Tony Hawk, Christian Slater, Jesse McCartney and Adam Carolla.
Tanner Foust will compete in Toyota Pro / Celebrity Race
LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 11, 2010) – An eclectic group of Hollywood’s stars from film, television, music and sports will put their freshly honed racing skills to the test all in the name of charity on Saturday, April 17 in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, part of the 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The field of drivers will compete in identically-prepared race-ready Scion tCs in what has become the world’s longest-running, most prestigious celebrity racing event.
The historic, 10-lap race for charity on a 1.97-mile street circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach in Southern California is one of six featured events during race weekend. This year’s anticipated field of 18 drivers includes the following diverse entertainment and media personalities:
” Adam Carolla Radio and television host, comedian, and actor best known for programs like “Crank Yankers” and Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” alongside Jimmy Kimmel. He also was a former contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”
” Adrien Brody Academy Award winning actor in 2002 for his role in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist.” Other on-screen credits include, “King Kong,” “The Village,” “The Jacket,” “The Brothers Bloom,” “Darjeeling Limited,” and “Summer of Sam.”
” Anthony Anderson Television and film actor currently starring in the television drama series “Law & Order” as Det. Kevin Bernard. Film credits include “Transformers,” “Hustle & Flow,” “The Departed,” “Me, Myself & Irene,” and “Romeo Must Die.”
” Brian Austin Green Film and television actor best known for his roles on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Beverly Hills 90210” as David Silver and “Freddie.”
” Christian Slater Film and television actor currently starring on ABC’s new crime drama “The Forgotten” and was the lead role on NBC’s “My Own Worst Enemy.” On-screen credits include “Windtalkers,” “3000 Miles to Graceland,” and “Robin Hood.”
” Jesse McCartney Recording artist best known for hits including “Beautiful Soul,” and “Leavin’.” Recipient of the ASCAR Pop Music Award for Song of the Year (2008).
” Keanu Reeves Actor whose films include “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Matrix, I, II & III” “The Replacements,” “Speed,” “Walk in the Clouds,” “My Own Private Idaho,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”
” Patrick Warburton Film and television actor currently starring in the hit CBS comedy “Rules of Engagement”. Also most recognized from the hit NBC comedy “Seinfeld” as “Puddy” and the ABC hit comedy “Less than Perfect.” Film credits include “Bee Movie,” “Underdog,” “Scream 3,” and “Men in Black 2.”
” Tika Sumpter Television and on-screen actress best known for her role as Layla Williamson on “One Life to Live.” Tika just completed filming her co-starring role in “Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming” due out this year.
” Tony Hawk Iconic pro skateboarder who landed the first-ever 900 at the 1999 X-Games. He is also president of Tony Hawk Inc., and regularly appears on television and films. Also hosts a weekly show on Sirius XM satellite radio network.
” Zachary Levi Film and television actor best known for his roles in the action-comedy television series “Chuck” as Chuck Bartowski and ABC’s comedy series “Less than Perfect.” On-screen credits include “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” and “Stuntmen.”
Vying for a win in the “Pro” category is returning champion of the 2009 “Celebrity” category Keanu Reeves who is set to race against the pros, including Jimmy Vasser, 1996 CART Champion for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing and current IRL Team Owner and Toyota dealer; Steve Millen, Toyota MTEG Champion (1986 and 1988), IMSA GT Champion (1992 and 1994) and founder of STILLEN; Tanner Foust, Formula Drift champion and X Games Rally Gold Medalist; and Marty Nothstein, Olympic gold medalist, American professional road bicycle racer and track cyclist.
The Southern California Toyota Dealer seat is being filled by Chris Ashworth, Vice President & Partner of Toyota of North Hollywood. Rounding out the field are charity auction winners Jerry Westlund and Dave Pasant, who each won the opportunity to race in exchange for donations they made in two different charity auctions.
“As the crown jewel of celebrity race events for more than three decades, the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race continues to attract the most adventurous celebrities and professional racers,” said Les Unger, Toyota’s national motorsports manager. “Throughout the history of this event we’ve managed to transform our favorite celebrities into high-speed racers, while also changing the lives of children in need.”
Toyota will donate $5,000 to “Racing for Kids” in the name of each celebrity racer, and another $5,000 to the winning racer’s charity of choice. Racing for Kids is a national non-profit program benefiting children’s hospitals in Long Beach and Orange County, Calif. On behalf of the race and its participants, Toyota has donated more than $1.8 million to various children’s hospitals since 1991.
Finally, a $15,000 donation is made in conjunction with the 13th annual “PEOPLE Pole Award.” Sponsored by PEOPLE magazine, the award honors the pole-position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying session on Friday, April 16.
Somewhere along the way it all got twisted. Somehow, car shows devolved from gatherings of the talented and inspired into mad assemblies of competitive lust. Representing your crew and area code, working towards a magazine photo shoot and cheap sponsorships. Darkened convention center halls, fog machines and girls seeking the MTV lottery.
Remember when shows were about getting together with people from across town, county and state, and checking the local flavor? When cats took time to explain how they did a wire tuck instead of telling you to Google it? We remember those days. And we’re bringing them back. One/One isn’t reinventing the car show; it’s refining it. Come see how at the opening round of the 2010 Formula D season, April 9-10, at the Long Beach Grand Prix.
One/One will be showcasing 4 of today’s top builders from Southern California in an open forum, taking questions from the audience. No pretense. All passion. Sharing ideas, passing knowledge. The infamous PJ Bonafacio and his classic cars, Brandon from Bowls, San Diego’s own, Auto Fashion, and Judson Bryan from JDM EGO. They’ll all be displaying their latest creations and will be around to talk about their builds.
We’ll have awards. Everyone appreciates recognition for their efforts, even better if it helps offset some of the build costs. But trophies aren’t what car shows are about. Don’t think we’re just trippin’ on nostalgia. We’ve got the latest goods from the hottest hands. We’ve got DJs you HAVE heard of. We’re Bringing the Ruckus, one of the most contemporary trends out of L.A., via Japan. And the Gallery, where you can see VIP, Classic, Time Attack/Drift, and Flushed cars. 150 Spots where we’ll divide the cars up by style. If you’re a team wanting to display together, we can do that too. There will also be a Motorcycle/Ruckus category. Limited space is available for car show competitors and teams. We’ll be hand selecting “the best of the best” from each region on the Formula Drift Tour. Please tell us about your love for your car and we hope to see you at the next event. Even if you don’t make it into the show due to limited space, we’d still love to meet you and talk to you at the show. We love cars too, and we’ll be at every show, personally.
Pre-registration starts today. $35 per car which includes 2 tickets to both the show and drift event. $20 per ruckus which includes 1 ticket.
Last season during Round 4: All In Wealth TV came to film an episode of their show focused on Formula DRIFT. The episode airs this Sunday March 7 at 7PM (EST). It will periodically air on their network, but be sure to check your local listings – More info HERE.
