Category: Featured

Formula DRIFT Continues Alliance with Universal Technical Institute

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Formula DRIFT Continues Alliance with Universal Technical Institute;
Annual “Tech and Preview Day” to be Held March 27, 2010

LONG BEACH, Calif. – March 18, 2010 – Formula DRIFT will continue their relationship with Universal Technical Institute. (NYSE: UTI) the “Official Technical School of Formula DRIFT.” UTI is a leading provider of technical education training for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. UTI will host the annual “Tech Day” at their Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. campus, located at 9494 Haven Avenue, on March 27 from 10am to 4pm.

“As part of our continued alliance with Universal Technical Institute, the Official Technical School of Formula DRIFT, UTI and FD are collaborating to bring forth the 2nd Annual UTI / FD Tech Day,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Tech Day is a fun day where fans can come and get a glimpse of the new cars for the 2010 season, meet the new and returning drivers as well as have an open house tour of the top class UTI Rancho Cucamonga campus. It’s been a good off-season but now we are all excited to get the season started and March 27th at UTI will be the unofficial start of the 7th FD season.”

Over 24 of the top Formula DRIFT teams will be bringing out their 2010 competition vehicles for annual technical inspection. This will be the first glimpse of many new vehicles and drivers including Samuel Hubinette’s new Dodge Challenger, Michael Essa’s new BMW 3-series powered by a M5 motor, and the 4-rotor Mazda RX-8 of BMI Racing. At 1pm Nitto Tires will announce their official drive lineup for the 2010 Formula DRIFT season. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet Formula DRIFT drivers, teams and techs, and watch the pre-race inspection live. On hand will be industry displays, food vendors and promotional giveaways (while supplies last) that include Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets. An autograph session with Formula DRIFT pro drivers will be held at 2pm with confirmations from Vaughn Gittin, Jr., Ken Gushi, Dai Yoshihara, and the 2009 champion Chris Forsberg.

For prospective students interested in automotive training, UTI will provide tours and information about its various technician training programs and financial aid. (Financial aid is available for those who qualify.) Instructors and graduates will be available to speak to individuals interested in careers in the automotive industry.

“UTI is honored to continue as the ‘Official Technical School of Formula Drift’ and host Tech Day at our Rancho Cucamonga campus to kick off the 2010 series,” said Mark Harston, events manager at Universal Technical Institute. “The relationship between UTI and Formula Drift is complementary. We are always looking for ways to give back to the community and motorsport enthusiasts, and the open access that Formula Drift has given to them is truly unique. We look forward to working with the series and teams again this year to help advance the sport of drifting, while creating awareness about technician training and careers throughout the industry and motorsports.”

Formula DRIFT Announces Tony Angelo as Technical Manager

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Formula DRIFT Announces Tony Angelo as Technical Manager

Long Beach, Calif. –March 3, 2010 – Formula DRIFT has announced that Tony Angelo will add to his current role and responsibility as a Formula DRIFT judge by also serving as new Technical Manager. The position focuses primarily on competition vehicle compliance and enforcement of Formula DRIFT technical regulations as stated in the Formula DRIFT rulebook.

“Creating a Series that has staff that understands drift cars, how they are built and perform is paramount to our growth and success, so having Tony Angelo on as the Technical Manager is a great step for us,” said Ryan Sage, executive vice-president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Tony has essentially committed to making this a full-time endeavor and he is ready to tackle issues and items that come up at a moment’s notice. Having personally worked with Tony at other capacities has opened my eyes to his ability to be non-bias and objective, which is absolutely necessary for us.”

The Technical Manager position entails many responsibilities with a focus on compliance and eligibility of vehicles according to the rulebook and specific items including recording and maintaining a detailed technical record of each vehicle, assigning Formula DRIFT VID numbers, consulting with Formula DRIFT administrative officials and the Formula DRIFT Chief Steward on rulebook development and modification, and administering mid-season technical inspections. Angelo has also been instrumental in helping to bring new developments to the current rulebook.

“Tony Angelo has been involved with safety and technical inspections of drift cars on many performance levels since 2003,” said Jim Liaw president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “His experience as a driver, builder, and judge makes him qualified to take over this new role. His technical knowledge of the current competition chassis and drifting rules since 2003 as well as his ability to be articulate will help level the playing field across all drive train platforms.”

Additionally, the Technical Manager will be responsible for working with teams to resolve any questions/issues regarding different builds, technical inspections, and writing any technical bulletins. Tony will still serve as one of the three main judges for the 2010 Formula DRIFT Championship season.

Formula DRIFT and YoParts Announce Live Stream Partnership

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Formula DRIFT and YoParts Announce Live Stream Partnership;
Interactive Live Stream Broadcast To Air During All Seven Championship Events

Long Beach, Calif. – March 1, 2010 – Formula DRIFT has announced the application of a new component at all seven rounds of Formula DRIFT, Live Stream. Formula DRIFT has partnered with YoParts.com to bring the first ever comprehensive interactive live stream broadcast to Formula DRIFT fans.

The Live Stream will feature hours of live Formula DRIFT action both on and off the track. The Live Stream will capture all the moments throughout the Formula DRIFT schedule and during practice, qualifying, Top 32 competition, and also a special presentation of Top 16 using Live Pack Technology. Live Pack Technology enables Formula DRIFT to do live remote coverage from anywhere on the track including in-pit, post-tandem battle, on-grid, and even live from the drivers’ seats. “This is a major announcement for Formula DRIFT. Tom and Zak at YoParts have made this possible and we are really excited to bring this technology to our events,” said Ryan Sage VP and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “This is a perfect technology for our demographic given the web savvy and knowledgeable nature of our audience.”

In addition, consumer viewing of the stream will be as comprehensive as the coverage. Fans will be able to watch the same camera shots and angles that are seen on the Formula DRIFT television show, enjoy chatting live with other fans with real-time messaging via Twitter and Facebook, and have the ability to select different available feeds both audio and visual. For fans on the road or at the show, there will also be a Live Stream application for web based cellular phones, such as the iPhone and Android. Another component of the Live Stream is the ability to watch segments of the race, “On Demand.”

“YoParts.com is excited about the opportunity to use these cutting edge technologies to bring the Formula DRIFT fans non-stop action during the Formula DRIFT weekends. Our main goal is to show the exciting, “behind the scenes, “ action of a Formula DRIFT weekend,” said Tom Masiero Co-Founder of YoParts.com. “YoParts would also like to thank Frank Maguire and the team at Race Day Media for making this all possible.”

The Live Stream is available for sponsors with both traditional advertising deliverables such as in-show units and features and non-traditional advertising such as moving graphics, banners, video widgets, and interactive polls. Teams and drivers also have the ability to give more recognition to their sponsors with strategically placed cameras in the teams’ pit area giving fans the ability to watch them behind the scenes on a specific channel of the Live Stream at anytime during the event weekend.

Formula DRIFT has created a built-in functionality on the home page of the website to host the Live Stream, and in addition, Formula DRIFT and YoParts will have the content made available via embed code to share on websites or social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook.

The first Live Stream broadcast will air during Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 9-10 on www.formuladrift.com.

FD Launches New Website and Releases Archived Television Shows from Years Past

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Formula DRIFT Launches New Website and Releases Archived Television Shows from Years Past

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Long Beach, Calif. – February 18, 2010 – Formula DRIFT has revamped the company’s current website, www.formuladrift.com, with updates to current features as well as adding a new component to the website, “FDTV”.

The Formula DRIFT website redesign includes updated streaming news and press releases on the homepage, further optimization of the Pro Championship schedule component, and integration of Twitter updates from the Series and featured guests.

One of the most robust new features integrates a new video player on the homepage that incorporates both Vimeo and YouTube videos proprietary to Formula DRIFT. The viewer also acts as a player and browser for Formula DRIFT TV shows that have aired on G4, ESPN2, and SPEED. Formula DRIFT will progressively release TV shows to the player and fans can watch those shows directly from the Formula DRIFT website. The 2005 season featured on G4 has just been released and subsequent years will be released throughout the season.

“We are really happy to put out our older content for fans to view. In this age, DVDs just didn’t make sense for us and why let all the old shows collect dust after the shows have served the purpose both domestically and internationally,” said Ryan Sage, executive vice-president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We believe this type of content engagement with fans and our content will not only increase our website traffic, but more importantly give new fans a look at the history of this amazing sport through the over 80 shows that we have produced. We also have huge plans to announce in the near future regarding for the new player on our homepage and how that will interface with our new content distribution outlook.”

The updated All Access Pass section, which will host this content also allows members to view exclusive content to the website including image galleries and wallpaper downloads. The main element of All Access is the new FDTV, which will feature archived episodes of Formula DRIFT programming beginning with the 2005 season. Featured episodes will be added monthly throughout the season. Membership for All Access is free.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets are available via the Formula DRIFT website at www.formuladrift.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office. Ticket prices start at $27 online with reserved tickets available for Saturday’s competition day. 2-day packages are also available along with VIP ticket packages.

FD Tickets On-Sale for RD 1: Streets of Long Beach

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For Immediate Release

February 9, 2010

Formula DRIFT Tickets On-Sale for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach;
Seventh Championship Season Set to Begin

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Long Beach, Calif. – February 9, 2010 – Formula DRIFT prepares to begin the seventh professional championship season. Tickets are now available for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 9 and 10, including reserved seating, 2-day ticket packages, and VIP tickets.

“What has turned into one of the most anticipated events annually in Long Beach, Formula DRIFT, has put tickets online today for the first round of the seven stop national championship,” said Ryan Sage, executive vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Now in our 4th year at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course, over 50 of the world’s top drifters will be in action at what has turned into a sell-out event year after year.”

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets are available via the Formula DRIFT website at www.formuladrift.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office. Ticket prices start at $27 online with reserved tickets available for Saturday’s competition day. 2-day packages are also available along with VIP ticket packages.

The action begins on April 9th in Long Beach, California and will be held on Turns 9, 10, and 11 of the famous Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach street course. New cars and drivers will be entering the Series and will make for another exciting season. Current champion Chris Forsberg looks to defend his title against returning past champions Tanner Foust, Rhys Millen, and Samuel Hubinette and top drivers Vaughn Gittin Jr., Ryan Tuerck, and the rest of the talented roster of drivers.