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Round 7: Final Fight at Irwindale Speedway Results;
Daigo Saito Takes the Event Victory and Michael Essa is Crowned Champion

Long Beach, Calif. – October 13, 2013 – Formula DRIFT presented by GoPro returned to Irwindale Speedway for the final event of the 2013 season. Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 takes the event victory. Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 is crowned champion. Lexus wins the inaugural manufacturer’s championship and Hankook Tire wins the tire championship for 2013.

Round 7: Final Fight at Irwindale Speedway was held in front of a sellout crowd and was the largest motorsport event in the venue’s history. The exciting event marked the end of the tenth season for the Series and was also the most attended for the Series with approximately over 20,000 attendees over the two day event.

“What a way to complete the tenth season with the biggest crowd and probably the biggest motorsport event ever in Irwindale Speedway history,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We are extremely grateful for the fans, sponsors and drivers that have helped grow the series over the ten years and we look forward to many more seasons to come.”

The action unfolded beginning with Michael Essa, who entered the event with the point lead, earning the number one qualifying position giving him a good position into the Top 32 and advancing into the Top 16 where he was unable to continue in the event with a blown motor. This opened the door for Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Nissan 370Z, who entered the event in second place in the standings. Essa secured the championship when Forsberg lost to the 2012 champion, Daigo Saito, in the Great 8. This marks the first time a European vehicle has won the Formula DRIFT championship.

“Coming into this event I wanted to prove that this season wasn’t a fluke and sitting on the sideline wasn’t how I wanted the event to go down, but unfortunately that is what happened tonight,” said Michael Essa, 2013 Formula DRIFT champion. “The Formula DRIFT championship has always been my goal and I am extremely excited. There are so many amazing drivers and teams in the Series and being able to just compete with them is an honor. We are hoping to carry this momentum into the next season and earn more wins.”

The consolation round saw Robbie Nishida in the Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300 against Forrest Wang in the Get Nuts Lab / Achilles Nissan 240SX. Wang got the best of Nishida to earn third place for his first ever Formula DRIFT podium. The final battle pitted Daigo Saito vs Tyler McQuarrie in the Mobil 1 / GoPro Chevrolet Camaro. McQuarrie hit the wall on the second battle to give Saito the event victory.

“To tell the truth I was not really feeling it in practice, but when the battles began and the lights turned on I was able to pull it together when it counted and am happy for the win to end the season,” said Daigo Saito, winner of Round 7: Final Fight. “I had a lot of issues with the car this year and I feel we weren’t able to get the car to the condition I really needed to be more competitive, but coming in third overall is something I am proud and happy about.”

Two new championships were added to the Series that included the tire and manufacturer championship. After seven events for the season, Lexus comes out on top for the inaugural manufacturer championship, while Hankook Tire takes the first tire championship.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship Presented by GoPro 2013 Final Standings After Seven Rounds
1. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 555.50 Points
2. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 538 Points
3. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 510.50 Points
4. Aasbo, Fredric Hankook Tire Scion Racing tC 487.50 Points
5. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 481.00 Points
6. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 425.00 Points
7. Field, Matt CX Racing / Maxxis / Blacktrax Nissan 240SX 407 Points
8. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire Nissan S14 388.50 Points
9. Nishida, Robbie Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300 387.25 Points
10. Bakchis, Aurimas Nexen Tire Nissan S14 379 Points
11. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 333.50 Points
12. Grunewald, Conrad Hankook Tire / Megan Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS 309.50 Points
13. DeNofa, Chelsea BC Racing BMW 3 Series 291.00 Points
13. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks / Maxxis Scion Racing FR-S 291.00 Points
15. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 / GoPro Chevrolet Camaro 290.50 Points
16. Powers, Matt Fatlace / Nitto Tire Nissan 240SX 282.00 Points

Round 7: Final Fight Event Results
1. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 First Place
2. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 / GoPro Chevrolet Camaro Second Place
3. Wang, Forrest Get Nuts Lab / Achilles Nissan 240SX Third Place

Manufacturers Championship Final Standings After Seven Rounds
1. Lexus 975.50 Points
2. Nissan 912.50 Points
3. Ford 906.00 Points
4. Scion 866.50 Points
5. BMW 846.00 Points

Tire Final Championship Standings After Seven Rounds
1. Hankook 1053.50 Points
2. Falken 1008 Points
3. Achilles 973.25 Points
4. Nitto 834.50 Points
5. Yokohama 788 Points

Formula DRIFT Round 7: Final Fight Ticket Update

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Grandstand and other tickets are no longer available for online purchase for this weekend’s event, but we will be selling standing room GA tickets tomorrow (Friday) at the Irwindale Event Center box office for all those that are planning on coming. You may purchase a 2-Day pass at that time and guarantee your entry for Saturday as well. We will send out another notice on tomorrow night regarding Saturday’s remaining inventory. Any questions, please email [email protected]

Round 7: Final Fight Ticket / Seating / Parking Update

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Formula DRIFT Fan,

For those attending the finale at Irwindale Events Center, as of Thursday, October 10th all Reserved Grandstand seats and Trackside VIP may be sold out. Once those seats are sold out we are offering GA admission tickets for $26, in limited quantities, until we can no longer sell anymore. This number will be based on capacity constraints as dictated by venue officials and the Fire Marshall. These tickets will get you access to the venue, but no guaranteed seats. Additionally, it is quite possible that walk-ups may be denied access to the event if inventory is gone, so we strongly encourage you to buy tickets online while it is still possible. The ticketing link is here: https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3477&cartID=9f1e9b3c-7354-4ed0-9392-c5bf86005f95

Next, due to the increased traffic, Formula DRIFT has also added a secondary parking lots located here:https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zlkBZLtCq1dw.kG-bWnNtwrR4 There will be shuttles servicing this lot and the events center from Noon to Midnight on Saturday only, or you may walk.

If you have any questions feel free drop us an email at [email protected]

Round 6: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway Results

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Round 6: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway Results;
Michael Essa Takes the Victory and the Points Lead

Long Beach, Calif. – September 15, 2013 – Formula DRIFT presented by GoPro entered Texas Motor Speedway for the first time. Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 takes the victory and the lead in the Pro Championship points chase heading into the final competition of the 2013 season.

Round 6: Showdown saw a return to Texas with the first Formula DRIFT event in the Lone Star State since 2005. Texas Motor Speedway hosted the highly anticipated event under the night sky. The new track proved to be challenging as one of the fastest drift tracks on the circuit and one of the most technical for tandem drifting.

The consolation round saw Patrick Mordaunt in the Diamond Lighting / APEXi Lexus SC430 against point leader, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z. Forsberg won the battle to secure third place, but falls to second place overall in the Pro Championship standings with only 15.5 points separating him from the leader. The final battle pitted Essa against Matt Field in the CX Racing / Maxxis / Blacktrax Nissan 240SX. Essa bested Field for his second victory of the season and second straight podium finish to take the event win and lead in the point standings heading into the final competition of the season. This was Field’s first podium finish of his Formula DRIFT career.

“First year here at this track and the course was just insane with sustained speed throughout. It was just crazy out there, but we were able to take home the win,” said Michael Essa, winner of Round 6: Showdown. “Our GSR Autosport BMW E46 with Wisefab suspension and Bilstein suspension along with Yokohama Tires helped make this an amazing event for us. We are leading the points right now by about 15 points heading into Irwindale and we have a shot at the Championship which is not what we expected entering this season with a new car and can’t be more happy with the results.”

Heading into the final competition of the season for Round 7: Final Fight on October 11 – 12, 2013 at Irwindale Speedway. Less than 90 points separate the top six drivers and the championship. Additionally, the inaugural tire and manufacturer championship will be determined at the final competition of the tenth season of Formula DRIFT.

“It is always exciting to hold an event at a new venue and Texas Motor Speedway provided a great place to showcase drifting. The event outcome sets up a competitive finale, ” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With only one competition left in the season, the Championship is up for grabs with the top six drivers vying to be crowed champion.”

Formula DRIFT to Hold a Drift Demo at the Circuit of The Americas on September 21 -22 in Conjunction With American Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championships

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Long Beach, Calif. – September 13, 2013 – Formula DRIFT has been invited to hold a drift demonstration at the Circuit of The Americas in conjunction with American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) and the World Endurance Championships (WEC) on September 21 – 22, 2013.

For the first time drifting will take place at the Circuit of The Americas track in Texas. Formula DRIFT professional drivers will be the first to drift at this new facility, one of the world’s premier racetracks. Tyler McQuarrie, Conrad Grunewald and Michael Essa are all crossover drivers with road racing background, while Justin Pawlak is part of Team Falken Tire that will also be fielding a team in ALMS’s GT Class over the weekend. The drift demonstration will take place during the race weekend for the ALMS and WEC Series.

“We are proud to showcase drifting to the ALMS and WEC fans at Circuit of The Americas and be part of a motorsport filled weekend,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “It is going to be a fantastic sight seeing the guys drift through turns 12-15 and around the iconic observation tower.”

The Formula DRIFT demonstration will take place on Saturday, September 21, from 2:15 PM – 2:35 PM and again on Sunday, September 22, from 9:30 AM – 9:45 AM.