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Formula DRIFT Round 2: Road to the Championship Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 2: Road to the Championship;
Daijiro Yoshihara Takes the Victory and Lead in the Point Standings

Long Beach, Calif. – May 9, 2011 – Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 takes the victory and leads the points standings in the Pro Championship and Tires.com Triple Crown. Darren McNamara in the Falken Tire Saturn Sky places second and Toshiki Yoshioka rounds out the podium in third in the Retaks Nissan S13.

Round 2: Road to the Championship brought fans from all across the South East region together to watch an exciting round of competition. Road Atlanta hosted the event for the 8th consecutive year of Formula DRIFT.

“The championship chase heats up at Road Atlanta,” says Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Over the past 8 seasons the crowd has grown each year and because of that we are proud to announce a 3-year extension at this venue. We started here 8 years ago and look forward to continuing through 2013 where we will celebrate our 10th season.”

Toshiki Yoshioka found the podium again after a one year hiatus and placed in 3rd beating John Russakoff in the consolation round. The finals pitted Falken Tire teammates Daijiro Yoshihara and Darren McNamara. With consistent driving Yoshihara again found the podium this season and won his second consecutive victory at Road Atlanta. With this victory Yoshihara moves into 1st place overall in the Pro Championship standings and takes the lead in the chase for the Tires.com Triple Crown.

“The crowd was so crazy. I love this place,” said Daijiro Yoshihara, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “I’m so happy to win at one of my favorite tracks in front of such a great crowd.”

The 2011 Pro Championship season continues for the first time in Florida for Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway on June 3-4. Tickets are available to purchase online now.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Breaks Attendance Record

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 21, 2011 – Formula DRIFT made history during the first event of the 8th season of competition, as Round 1: Streets of Long Beach became the most attended drift competition in the history of the Series. Over 16,000 fans came to the near capacity event, outdrawing previous events.

Previously, the 2010 Formula DRIFT season finale, the Red Bull Drifting World Championship held by Formula DRIFT, and the original D1 Exhibition Match produced by Formula DRIFT co-founders Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage were some of the most attended drifting events.

“The first event of the 2011 Formula DRIFT Championship season was a tremendous success, and we thank the fans for their enthusiastic support of the Series,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Formula DRIFT is dedicated to providing the best drifting competition and entertainment in the world and we look forward to the rest of the season.”

Adding to the success of the first event, DriftStream, Formula DRIFT’s live webcast, reached over 289,000 unique IPs over the Friday and Saturday broadcast. DirecTV also captured the event in 3D with an air-date to be announced. The FD TV team filmed all the action in HD for the Formula DRIFT television program that will air on the VERSUS network in the US and various international networks starting August 14.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Results;
Justin Pawlak Takes the Victory at the Season Opener

Long Beach, Calif. – April 10, 2011 – Justin Pawlak in the Falken Tire Ford Mustang earns the victory at the first event of the 2011 Formula DRIFT season. Matt Powers in the Need for Speed Nissan S14 takes second place with Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Nissan S13 rounding out the podium in third place.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach provided fans with action and excitement through the weekend. The debut of new vehicles and new drivers added to the anticipation for the new season. The Driftstream brought live coverage to fans watching at home.

“With any new season comes change, so seeing fresh faces to the podium is a part of that,” says Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The level of driving skill continues to elevate. It is a sign that the 2011 season will be as competitive as ever. I would not be surprised to see more upsets and new faces to the podium.”

Justin Pawlak finds the top of the podium for the very first time in his career. Pawlak remained consistent through the rounds advancing to the Finals against Matt Powers. His consistency paid off and Pawlak was able to secure the victory. The consolation round pitted Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 against 2009 Formula DRIFT champion, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z.

“I owe it all to the guys at ASD and Falken Tire for this victory. Without them this could not have been possible,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. “This victory feels unreal. I have worked so hard for this and can’t believe I’m on top to start out the season.”

The 2011 Pro Championship season continues for Round 2: Road to the Championship at Road Atlanta on May 6-7. Tickets are available to purchase online now.

2011 Pro Championship Standings

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Tickets Still On-Sale

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Tickets are still available to purchase for Tomorrow’s Round 1: Streets of Long Beach event. Save money and make your purchase online. Today’s Qualifying Round was just a glimpse of the excitement to come when the Top 32 drivers battle to take the first victory of the season.

Saturday Main Event Tickets can be purchased HERE.

VIP Tickets can be purchased HERE.

The Formula DRIFT Driftstream Continues into the 2011 Season

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The Formula DRIFT Driftstream Continues into the 2011 Season;
New Features to Debut at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 8-9, 2011

Long Beach, Calif. – April 8, 2011 – After a very successful 2010 Pro Championship season and two International events for the Driftstream, Formula DRIFT will continue providing live coverage through the online platform. New features will be implemented for the 2011 season.

During the 2010 season over 1,000,000 viewers tuned in to watch the live action unfold over the 7 Pro Championship events. The combined traffic for both the Formula DRIFT UAE Invitational at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and the Formula DRIFT Global Challenge at the Qatar Racing Club topped 95,000 in only 8 hours of on-track action. Over 1 million minutes were watched during these 2 events that aired in the United States in the early hours of the day. During the Qatar event, the Driftstream also implemented for the first time live color commentary from the 2010 Formula DRIFT champion, Chris Forsberg as he gave his expert commentary during the action and interacted with fans.

“The Driftstream has been a tremendous addition to our program and has provided all of the action of a live event directly to the fans,” said Ryan Sage, vice-president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to continuing the success of the Driftstream throughout the 2011 season, while constantly looking for ways to improve the program for the fans.”

The Driftstream will continue to innovate itself and will introduce new features for the 2011 Pro Championship season. GoPro cameras will be utilized to allow interaction between fans and Formula DRIFT drivers and celebrity guests. A new Facebook application will also be launched this season. The new features will debut on April 8-9 during Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. New sponsors for the season include Need for Speed, Nitto Tires, GoPro, Enkei, ACT, Kenda Tires, Motegi Racing and Mishimoto.

The Driftstream can be watched through: www.justin.tv/driftstream, www.driftstream.tv, www.formulad.com/live, and www.facebook.com/formuladrift. The Driftstream will begin airing the Round 1: Streets of Long Beach action at 11:30 (PST) on April 8-9.For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com