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Formula DRIFT 2010 Round 2: Road to the Championship Results

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Daijiro Yoshihara Takes the Victory and the Lead in the Tires.com Triple Crown

Long Beach, Calif. – May 8, 2010 – Formula DRIFT returned to the site of the inaugural event at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Road to the Championship. Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 takes the victory and the lead in the first event of the Tires.com Triple Crown.

For the seventh straight season, Formula DRIFT brought drifting back to Road Atlanta and provided exciting action for all the die-hard drift fans in the South. The thousands of fans that came to watch the event were treated to great weather as temperatures dropped dramatically for the main event day. The competition was as exciting as ever with the drivers pushing the limits of their vehicles through one of the best courses for drifting.

“It all started over seven years ago here at Road Atlanta,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Each year the drivers and teams have stepped it up and the level of competition is as tight as it has ever been. This is a great sign of the constant evolution of this still emerging sport.”

Round 2: Road to the Championship showcased intense tandem action that kept fans in their seats throughout the day and into the evening for the final battle. The consolation round for third place was between champion Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Nissan 350Z and Michael Essa in the Nitto Tires / GSR Autosport BMW 350R. Essa made it the furthest in his career after failing to make the Top 32 during Round 1. Forsberg showcased why he is the current champion and why he won the the event at Road Atlanta last season by beating out Essa for third place. Daijiro Yoshihara earned the victory with solid driving throughout the weekend and made his way to the Tires.com Triple Crown leaderboard. The final battle was between Yoshihara and winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the Monster Energy / Falken Tires Ford Mustang with Yoshihara edging his way past his Falken Tires teammate. Gittin found the podium for the second consecutive event and retains the lead in the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship points standings.

“I am so excited to be back in the game,” said Daijiro Yoshihara, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “I haven’t been on the podium for two years and I proved to myself that I can compete once again in Formula DRIFT. Formula DRIFT is the most competitive series in the world and it feels great to be on top. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my sponsors at Discount Tire, Falken Tire, KW Suspension, Sparco, and the crew at SPD Metal Works.”

The action continues on June 4-5, 2010 for Round 3: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway in New Jersey. Tickets are available on-line. For more information and details visit the Formula DRIFT website at: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2010 Point Standings

1. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang 199 Points
2. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 162 Points
3. Millen, Rhys RMR / Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe 158 Points
4. Foust, Tanner Rockstar Energy Scion TC 148 Points
5. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / CFR Nissan 350Z 137 Points
6. Tuerck, Ryan Mobil 1 / Maxxis Tire / Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice 136 Points
7. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire Saturn Sky 123 Points
8. Hubinette, Samuel SHR-Dodge / BF Goodrich Dodge Challenger 120 Points
9. Mordaunt, Patrick Brian Crower / PM Racing Nissan 350Z 117 Points
10. Grunewald, Conrad Hankook Tire / GM Performance Chevrolet Camaro 93.50 Points
11. Gushi, Ken Scion Racing / RS*R Scion TC 86.50 Points
12. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Tire Mazda RX-7 81 Points
13. Pawlak, Justin Ford Racing / Falken Tire Ford Mustang 80.50 Points
14. Maeng, Joon Full Tilt Poker / Mazda / Nitto Mazda RX-8 80.25 Points
15. Petty, Ross Falken Tire / Garage Boso Nissan S15 79 Points
16. Verdier, Stephan Royal Purple / Crawford Performance / Cooper Subaru STI 78.75 Points
16. Wang, Forest BF Goodrich / Drift Emporium Infiniti G35 78.75 Points

Round 2: Road to the Championship Event Results

1. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 1st Place
2. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang 2nd Place
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z 3rd Place

Tires.com Triple Crown – Event 1 of 3

1. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 106 Points
2. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang 91 Points
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z 81 Points

Over 70,000 Tune-in to the Drift Stream for the Formula DRIFT 2010 Season Opener

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 26, 2010 – Formula DRIFT launched the new Drift Stream with YoParts.com at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach with over 70,000 fans tuning in to watch the event live.

The Drift Stream debuted to rave reviews from drifting fans across the globe after the announcement was made last month of the partnership of Formula DRIFT and YoParts.com to bring live interactive streaming to the 2010 Pro Championship season. The Drift Stream debuted at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach with over 45,000 unique visitors watching live over the weekend. The Formula DRIFT fans consumed over 1.6 million minutes of action in the 2-day event weekend.

“The Drift Stream was a huge success and we look forward to bringing all the Formula DRIFT action to the fans worldwide this season,” said Ryan Sage, co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Fans are not only able to watch via the Formula DRIFT website, but can also embed the Drift Stream to their social networking sites and blogs, and even watch live on select mobile devices. Formula DRIFT will reach a fans across the globe and bring all the action right to them.”

Fans watched on multiple websites and mobile devices that included the Formula DRIFT website, Facebook, and various personal websites and blogs. Viewers watched from over 128 countries with the country of Norway leading the way with over 5000 fans cheering and watching their countryman Fredrick Aasbo make his official Formula DRIFT debut and finishing fourth place overall at the event. 25,000 unique visitors also utilized the “On-Demand” feature of the Drift Stream player to watch all of the action from both Friday and Saturday’s event.

“Overall we are excited to bring the Formula DRIFT experience to a worldwide audience in a way that would encapsulate a live look and feel and it was made possible through the support of Formula DRIFT, Belle-1 Communications, Mishimoto Automotive, Royal Purple and Need for Speed,” said Tom Masiero, co-founder of YoParts.com. “We were able to make that happen and are excited about creating a better viewing experience each event for the Formula DRIFT fan base.”

The Drift Stream will continue at Round 2: Road to the Championship on May 7-8 in Braselton, GA when Formula DRIFT returns to Road Atlanta. Last season Round 2 proved to be one of the most entertaining and exciting events of the season with Formula DRIFT champion Chris Forsberg taking the victory on his way to the championship.

For more info visit DriftStream

Formula DRIFT Releases Codes and Applications for This Weekend’s Live Stream

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Formula DRIFT Releases Codes and Applications for This Weekend’s Live Stream

Long Beach, Calif. – April 7, 2010 – Formula DRIFT has released the codes and applications for the YoParts live stream that will go live this weekend at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 9-10.

Last month Formula DRIFT announced a ground breaking relationship with YoParts to live stream the Formula DRIFT events in entirety from the first driver to qualify to the last tandem battle on Saturday. The first round of Formula DRIFT takes place this weekend April 9-10 on the historic Long Beach Grand Prix Street Course. Formula DRIFT and YoParts have invested in cutting-edge technology, different avenues, and social applications to view the live stream. The following are different ways fans, media, webmasters, teams and just about everyone can view the live stream.

1. Live on the Formula DRIFT Website home page and on the landing page www.formulad.com/live

2. Facebook Application

3. Mobile Application– Just load the URL into your applicable mobile phone’s browser or Text “yo” to 53000

4. Direct landing page on Live Stream host website: Live Stream Website

Any webmasters that are interested in the Direct Iframe Embed and custom sizing for their particular website can contact [email protected]

Coverage commences on Friday, April 9th at 12pm for the first session of qualifying during Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 9-10 on www.formuladrift.com.

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.