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Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Tickets On-Sale; Eleventh Season of Competition Begins on April 4-5, 2014

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Long Beach, Calif. – January 29, 2014 – Formula DRIFT kicks off the eleventh season of competition beginning with Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 4-5. Tickets are now on-sale and can be purchased online via the Formula DRIFT website, www.formuladrift.com.

“This will be our seventh consecutive year drifting on the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With the new season brings new cars and new drivers to the Series and we are excited to kick off the action in April to another sell out audience.”

To satisfy the demand for seating over 2,000 reserved tickets seats have been added to the venue to ensure that fans can sit and enjoy the action. Tickets are available online for purchase with the option to select from any of the available grandstands. A new VIP experience is also being added for purchase. The FD VIP Experience will grant access to preferred seats in grandstand 18, a track-walk during opening ceremonies where fans will be inches away from the drivers, a line pass for the autograph session and a signature Formula DRIFT credential. No matter where fans sit they can also expect to see every inch of the course with the newly updated, massive jumbotrons at the facility.

Tickets are now available for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 4-5, including reserved seating, 2-day ticket packages, and VIP tickets and can be purchased through www.formuladrift.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office. Ticket prices start at $35 online with all seats reserved for Saturday’s competition day.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach will feature the championship defense for Michael Essa and top contenders Chris Forsberg, Daigo Saito, Fredric Aasbo and Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in addition to new drivers and vehicles that will make their debut at the season opener. The season kickoff will also showcase the new Offset Kings car show.

Formula DRIFT Announces 2014 Pro Championship Global Schedule

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January 23, 2014

Formula DRIFT Announces 2014 Pro Championship Global Schedule 

Long Beach, Calif. – January 23, 2014 – Formula DRIFT has announced their 2014 Pro Championship Global Schedule. The new schedule will lay the foundation for the 2015 World Championship.

The official 2014 Pro Championship Global Schedule will consist of seven events through the United States along with global events taking place in Japan and Australia. Two invitational stand-alone events have also been added to the schedule.

Four selected Pro Championship events will feature the newly created Pro2 category with Round 3 at newly added venue Homestead Miami Speedway, Round 6 at Texas Motor Speedway, Round 7 at Irwindale Speedway and one more event to be determined at a later date.

Complete schedule listed below.

Asia Round 1 – Pathum Thani Speedway, Thailand – January 18-19

Round 1 – Streets of Long Beach – Long Beach, CA – April 4-5

Invitational: Streets of Long Beach (Super Drift Challenge part of the Long Beach GP) – Long Beach, CA – April 11-12

Round 2 – Road to the Championship – Road Atlanta – Atlanta, GA – May 9-10

Round 3 – Invasion – Homestead Miami Speedway – Miami, FL – May 30-31

Round 4 – The Gauntlet – Wall Speedway – Wall, NJ – June 20-21

Asia Round 2 – Fuji Speedway, Japan – July 5-6

Round 5 – Throwdown – Evergreen Speedway – Monroe, WA – July 18-19

Invitational: Autodrome St. Eustache – August 30-31

Round 6 – Showdown – Texas Motor Speedway – September 12-13

Round 7 – Title Fight – Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – Irwindale, CA – October 10-11

Asia Round 3 – Sydney Motorsports Park, Australia – October 18-19

*global schedule subject to change

“We are proud to continue with the eleventh season of Formula DRIFT and excited to make steps to grow the sport internationally,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “This season will solidify the Series as the worldwide leader for our sport.”

The Formula DRIFT website is currently being updated with tickets for select events now available to purchase online.

Formula DRIFT Announces 10-Year Anniversary Book in Partnership With Performance Publication Media Group

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December 19, 2013

Formula DRIFT Announces 10-Year Anniversary Book in Partnership With Performance Publication Media Group 

Long Beach, Calif. – December 19, 2013 – Formula DRIFT has announced a print collaboration with Performance Publication Media Group to release a 10-Year Anniversary Book. Book to go on pre-sale before the Holiday season with deliveries to begin before the start of the 2014 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship season. Formula DRIFT is set to release a 10-Year Anniversary Book in partnership with the Performance Publications Media Group, publishers of Performance Auto & Sound magazine (PASMAG). The 11″x9″ perfect bound book features a “rubberized” gate fold cover with 128 acid-free, archival-quality pages inside. The past 10 years of action will be showcased with stunning photography and curated by well-known photographer, Larry Chen. “We are honored to be working with Formula DRIFT and Larry Chen to produce such an exiting product,” commented Tim Rutledge, Group Publisher and CEO of the Performance Publications Media Group. “With high production values and special extras, we’re confident the 10-Year Anniversary Book will be a true collector’s item for the loyal Formula DRIFT fans across North America.” The 10-Year Anniversary Book will be available in a limited quantity. Only 2,000 numbered copies will be printed, and the custom die-cut sleeve will include 10 limited edition Formula DRIFT trading cards. “This project is something that we are very proud of,” stated Ryan Sage, vice-president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “To document the Series like this after having made it through ten wonderful seasons, for us, is quite humbling and we are excited to share the special captured moments through this limited edition book.” Pre-orders for this book can be made online at http://fd10.pasmag.com for $39.99 plus $10 shipping and handling. Copies of the 10-Year Anniversary Book will begin shipping the first week of March, 2014. As a special bonus, all orders will include a one-year membership to PASMAG (a $24 value).

Formula DRIFT Announces Formula DRIFT Japan

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December 17, 2013

Formula DRIFT Announces Formula DRIFT Japan

Long Beach, Calif. – December 17, 2013 – Formula DRIFT announced today another step in global expansion with the introduction of Formula DRIFT Japan. The venture with MSC Co, Ltd is set to be a three-year deal beginning in 2014.

“It’s very exciting to be taking our brand to the birthplace of drifting with MSC. MSC is a reputable company that has been involved in drifting for many years. We feel that this is a great way to expand our brand as it fits with our global aspirations,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT.

Starting in 2014, Formula DRIFT Japan will hold two competition events as a pre-cursor to the Formula DRIFT Japan Championship in 2015, with one of the events being held a points round of the Formula DRIFT Asia Championship. In 2015, Formula DRIFT has plans to expand the brand to a minimum of four events that will comprise an actual championship. The plan for 2016 will also be a minimum of a four-event championship.

Japanese motor sport icons Nobuteru Taniguchi and Max Orido have committed to judging the events, notwithstanding any other racing obligations. The three-year plan will include a groundbreaking marketing and promotions campaign never done before in Japanese drifting such as a weekly television show, live stream of the event competitions and a media partnership with Kotsu Times.

“MSC has been a long time partner with Formula Drift since its start and we are thrilled to be working with the global brand of drifting in Japan. With the support of the new generation media networks, we are aimed to grow as spectacular motorsports events. Please look forward to our events” said Kaz Iwata, founder of MSC Co, Ltd

Formula DRIFT Japan details will be announced at the official launch at the 2014 Osaka Auto Messe in February.

[PRESS RELEASE] Formula DRIFT Surpasses a Million Fans on Facebook

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November 25, 2013

Formula DRIFT Surpasses a Million Fans on Facebook

Long Beach, Calif.  November 25, 2013.  Formula DRIFT is celebrating a milestone after its Facebook page achieved over 1 million likes from its fans around the world. The Formula DRIFT Facebook page (www.facebook.com/formuladrift) provides information on the Series, drivers and more.

“We would like to thank our fans for supporting the Series and helping our Facebook page organically grow to reach over 1 million fans,  said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Our young tech savvy fans challenge those of other motorsports for being the most active and engaging fans on social media.

Growth to 1 million Facebook fans has been done organically without the help of social media agencies, purchases of “likes or special Facebook promotions. Additionally, the fan count from Formula DRIFT Asia Facebook page was not taken into account, which currently has over 100,000 Facebook fans.

Comparatively, to other motorsport Facebook pages, Formula DRIFT ranks amongst the top for quantity of fans. NASCAR currently has 3,711,205 fans, Formula 1 has 1,448,735, World Rally Championship (WRC) has 1,074,102 and IndyCar with 173,531 fans on Facebook.

During Formula DRIFT event weekends the Formula DRIFT Facebook page receives over 2 million impressions. The Facebook platform is a key component in Formula DRIFT’ cross-media portfolio, which also includes Twitter and Instagram.