Category: Press Releases

Nitto Tires Continues Support of Formula DRIFT for Seventh Consecutive Season

News

Posted on

February 23, 2012

Long Beach, Calif. – February 23, 2012 – Formula DRIFT is proud to re-sign Nitto Tires as a Major Sponsor for the 2012 Pro Championship Series.

Nitto Tire will be on-site at each event as a sponsor of the Series as well as competing with their drift team. The Nitto team will compete on the NT05 tire.

“Nitto Tire is proud to continue its support for Formula DRIFT for the seventh season,” said Harry Kong, Marketing and Events Specialist for Nitto Tire. “This motorsport combines competiveness with excitement for both automotive enthusiasts and the general public. For 2012, Nitto will continue to use the Nitto NT05 as the tire of choice for the drift due to its predictability and durability under drifting environments. As a major sponsor, Nitto Tire will be integrated into 14 episodes of the Formula DRIFT TV broadcast on NBC Sports as well as a contributor to Formula DRIFT’s successful live-stream coverage. As the popularity of this motorsport grows, our fan base grows with it. Currently with over 1.2 million fans on the Nitto Tire Facebook page, we have a large outreach to help bring the excitement of drifting to our fans.”

For 2012, Nitto will be sponsoring Joon Maeng with the Nitto Tire / Mazda RX-8, Matt Powers with Need for Speed / Nitto Tire S14, Michael Essa with the GSR Autosport / Nitto Tire Z4, and lastly a new addition to the Nitto Tire team, Toshiki Yoshioka with the RS-R / Nitto Tire S15.

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Tickets On-Sale

News

Posted on

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Tickets On-Sale;
Ninth Season of Competition Begins on April 6-7, 2012

Long Beach, Calif. – February 15, 2012 – Formula DRIFT prepares to begin the ninth professional championship season. Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 6-7 tickets are now on-sale and can be purchased online via the Formula DRIFT website, www.formuladrift.com.

“We are especially excited to kick-off another season in Long Beach,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “This will be our fifth consecutive year utilizing the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course, which is the only street course in the Championship. With new drivers, new competition vehicles and non-stop drifting action we are expecting another sell-out crowd.”

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach will feature the championship defense for Daijiro Yoshihara, the debut of the Scion Racing FR-S driven by Ken Gushi, and the introduction of a new judge to the Series. New drivers and vehicles will make their debut at this season opener including 2011 Formula Drift Asia Champion Daigo Saito leading the international charge of drivers from 14 nations.

Tickets are now available for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 6-7, including reserved seating, 2-day ticket packages, and VIP tickets. Tickets can be purchased through http://formulad.com/schedule/tickets/, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office. Ticket prices start at $28 online with reserved tickets available for Saturday’s competition day. 2-day packages are also available along with VIP ticket packages. Save on additional fees by purchasing your ticket at the Long Beach Convention Center box office directly.

Formula DRIFT Announces Kevin Wells as Technical Manager

News

Posted on
photo courtesy of Larry Chen

Long Beach, Calif. – November 9, 2011 – Formula DRIFT announced during the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas last week that Kevin Wells would take over the duties of Technical Manager for the Series, replacing Tony Angelo.

Wells brings to Formula DRIFT a wealth of experience as the former crew chief of Chris Forsberg Racing. During his tenure there, he received such honors as Crew Chief of the Year 3 times, 10 podiums, 5 wins, and 1 Formula DRIFT championship.

“We are eager to have Kevin Wells as our new technical manager,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Kevin brings a ton of mechanical and technical knowledge to Formula DRIFT and we welcome him to this side of the Series.”

Wells will replace former technical manager Tony Angelo, who will be returning to the Series as a driver. His primary duties will include the writing and enforcement of the technical regulations, develop new regulations, work together with a soon to be created technical committee, and more. Wells will travel with the Series and various FD international events including the Formula DRIFT Asia Championship to uphold the Formula DRIFT technical standards.

“I am excited and honored to take on this new role and set of responsibilities,” said Kevin Wells, new Formula DRIFT technical manager. “I’ve been involved with this emerging motorsport for a long time and will use my knowledge and expertise to help grow it even further to create a competitive, fair, and safe competitive field for the Series.”

Wells will begin his duties immediately as the teams begin preparing for the 2012 season, which begins on April 6-7, 2012 on the Streets of Long Beach. Wells will have dedicated tech hours at the Formula DRIFT office and can be reached via email at [email protected].

Formula DRIFT Round 7: Title Fight Results

News

Posted on

Formula DRIFT Round 7: Title Fight Results;
Daijiro Yoshihara Wins the Championship and Tyler McQuarrie Takes the Event Victory

Long Beach, Calif. – October 8, 2011 – Formula DRIFT returned to the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for the final event of the 2011 season. Daijiro Yoshihara in the America’s Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 won the championship, while Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z took the event victory.

Round 7: Title Fight concluded the most successful season in Formula DRIFT history. The sold out crowd eclipsed attendance records for the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale and is now the largest Formula DRIFT event in history.

“First of all we would like to congratulate Dai on his first championship. He has worked hard for over 8 years and has consistently had good results and its awesome to see it pay off for him,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “You couldn’t script the finals to be any better capping off the season with excitement and drama and ending on a high note to a sell out crowd to be the largest drifting event we have ever produced.”

With the championship decided in the Final 4 competition, the event was far from over. Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z defeated Darren McNamara in the consolation round to secure third place for the event and also move him up into third place overall. The final battle of the evening pitted Rhys Millen in the Redbull / Hankook Hyundai Genesis Coupe against Tyler McQuarrie. After an intense battle McQuarrie took the victory moving himself up to finish in the fifth standing position for the season.

“To win in Irwindale is massive for any driver and to do it under the circumstances surrounding this week is incredible,” stated Tyler McQuarrie, winner of Round 7: Title Fight. “This victory paints a better picture and gives me the momentum heading into the off-season.”

The results of the event could only be described as the ultimate finish to crown a champion. This event was the closest and most competitive chase for the championship in Formula DRIFT history, with 5 drivers entering with a chance at the title. Rookie of the year honors went to Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis. Many scenarios played out with such a close gap in the point standings. Daijiro Yoshihara entered with the point lead and was taken out early in the Top 16 opening the door for the others to take the championship. Yet, the stars were aligned for Yoshihara and by a narrow margin he was able to hold onto the lead to win the 2011 Formula DRIFT Championship along with the Tires.com Triple Crown. Marking the first time in Series history that the champion also wins the bonus prize.

“It’s a great feeling and a dream come true,” said Daijiro Yoshihara, 2011 Formula DRIFT champion. “After 8 years of driving it finally paid off. I owe a lot to my team and sponsors. My new goal will be to defend the championship and win it outright during the event.”

FD Round 7: Title Fight Ticket Buyers Have Chance to Win Prizes

News

Posted on

Formula DRIFT Tickets On-Sale for Finale;
Round 7: Title Fight Ticket Buyers Have Chance to Win Prizes

Long Beach, Calif. – September 14, 2011 – Formula DRIFT prepares for what many are anticipating as the largest event in Formula Drift history with the finale at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Round 7: Title Fight ending one of the most exciting seasons to date on October 7-8. Tickets are on-sale now.

“Round 7: Title Fight is slated to be the largest drift event in our history and we are on pace for another capacity crowd,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “To encourage fans to purchase their tickets early and guarantee their spot at the Finale we have partnered with a few of our sponsors to give away some great prizes to lucky pre-sale ticket buyers.”

Along with the purchase of tickets, Formula DRIFT will be holding a contest for all pre-sale ticket buyers.

For those that purchase 2-day Reserved Grandstand Tickets, the following prizes will be raffled off:

– Twenty five (25) individuals will receive one (1) Trident mobile phone or iPad case each.
– One (1) individual will receive a Falken Tire/HPI R/C drift car
– One (1) individual will receive a set of four (4) Enkei Fujin wheels plus one (1) set of matching Nitto Tires.

For those that purchase VIP Tickets:

– One (1) individual will receive two (2) tickets to the Formula DRIFT Awards Banquet being held on October 9, 2011 with one (1) night hotel stay at the official banquet hotel. Winner must be 18 or older to qualify.
– One (1) individual will receive an $800 credit toward any set of Falken Tires redeemable at any America’s Tire / Discount Tire location. Labor costs not included.

Winners will be announced on September 26 on the Formula DRIFT website, www.formuladrift.com. Prizes have no cash value. More prizes to be announced at a later date. Each ticket purchased counts as one raffle ticket.

Tickets are available for Round 7: Title Fight on October 7-8, including reserved seating, 2-day ticket packages, and VIP tickets. Tickets can be purchased through www.formuladrift.com. Ticket prices start at $26 online.