Category: Press Releases

Formula DRIFT Enacts Pre-Seeding Format Due to Inclement Weather

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 8, 2016 – In a rare move today, Formula DRIFT was forced to enact a never been used before provision of the Sporting Regulations that allows Formula DRIFT to forgo Qualifying in the face of inclement weather or the inability to start or finish Qualifying.

Formula DRIFT is not unfamiliar with rainy conditions as six of seven rounds were completed in such conditions in 2015. However, given the volume of rain, the variable surface conditions of the street course, combined with being a public street, made for treacherous conditions in general. Adding that walls surround the course added another level of risk, in which the Series did not want to take in light of making sure that all 32 drivers were ready for competition tomorrow, whatever the conditions may be. The decision was made shortly after Top 32 Practice started when as many as seven consecutive drivers wrecked into the walls of outside zone two. This rare occurrence caused Formula DRIFT to go on Rain Delay and call a drivers meeting with teams to discuss the options that would best suite the drivers and fans.

“We spoke to the teams and the large majority felt it was better to have a full field of 32 drivers tomorrow than risk wrecks that would not be fixable due to the damage cause by the walls or have drivers with double zero’s that would disallow them to be placed in the bracket”, says Kevin Wells, Competition Director of Formula DRIFT. “Being that we had exactly 32 cars in competition, no one would be left out and so that seemed to be the prudent thing to do. We want the drivers to have a voice. The majority spoke and we answered.”

The show did not end there, however. Formula DRIFT opened up the track for open practice and under much less stressed conditions; fans at the event and watching the live stream were treated to an open tandem practice ahead of tomorrow’s event. All 32 drivers are set to go and ready to kick off Round 1 of 8 tomorrow on the streets of Long Beach.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com, www.NetworkA.com, and www.Sportsrocket.com. Find Formula DRIFT on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT Announces Partnership with Network A to Launch First Digital and Mobile Channel Dedicated Exclusively to Drifting

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 6, 2016 – Formula DRIFT presented by BlackVue has announced a partnership with Network A (www.networka.com), the leading global action-sports channel, to launch the first digital and mobile channel dedicated exclusively to drifting. The Formula DRIFT channel will feature livestreams of all of the North American events as well as select events from Japan and around the world. It will also offer a full line-up of highlights, interviews, classics, and original programming featuring the greatest drift drivers and cars. The livestreams, video-on-demand, syndication, and social-platform video distribution will all be powered by the Sportsrocket media platform.

“We are very excited to join forces with Network A on this new initiative for fans of Formula DRIFT,” said vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT, Ryan Sage. “The partnership will usher in a new era of access and programming innovation for our sport.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Formula Drift to bring exclusive access to the most entertaining series in motorsports, said Brian Bedol, CEO of Sportsrocket, the parent company of Network A. “Network A audiences have asked us for more drift programming, and this was an opportunity to step up in a big way. Our Sportsrocket sports media platform allows us to provide big-league level services to emerging organizations like Formula DRIFT.”

The channel will officially launch later this spring, but will provide a preview through www.formulad.com and www.NetworkA.com for the launch of the 2016 season from the Streets of Long Beach, April 8 and 9.

For more information visit: www.formulad.com, www.NetworkA.com , and www.Sportsrocket.com . Find Formula DRIFT on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT Announces Blackvue Bonus Prize Money

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 5, 2016 – Formula DRIFT presented by BlackVue has announced that it will offer $25,000 additional dollars in prize money to the any driver that wins three specific events. Those events will be Long Beach, Evergreen Speedway and Wall Speedway.

“The new Blackvue relationship has allowed us to invest further in developing the series and this additional prize purse is one of the many things that people will see this year,” said Jim Liaw, President and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT. “Blackvue will also be giving cameras to each podium winner this year.” Formula DRIFT Round 1, Long Beach kick-offs this weekend, April 8-9. The sell-out event showcases the world’s best drifters competing on the wall-to-wall course of the Long Beach Grand Prix street track. All festivities are open to the public and each day will also be broadcast live at www.formulad.com/live.

Tickets are now available for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 8-9, including reserved seating, 2-day ticket packages, and VIP tickets. Tickets can be purchased through www.formuladrift.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT Announces 2016 CBS Sports Network Television Schedule

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Long Beach, Calif. – March 22, 2016 – Formula DRIFT presented by BlackVue has announced its 2016 CBS Sports Network television schedule. “Formula DRIFT” will begin on Sunday, May 15 at 5:30 PM (ET). The fast paced action featuring bracketed head-to-head match-ups will anchor the coverage and be featured across 12 episodes. Coverage will also include an additional 8 shows of the behind-the-scenes program, “Formula DRIFT Insider.”

“We had a phenomenal opening year with CBS Sports Network,” said Ryan Sage, Vice President and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT. “With awesome primetime original airings and well placed re-airs, CBS Sports Network has become an incredible partner to the Series and a destination for Formula DRIFT fans.”

The “Formula DRIFT” schedule adds to CBS Sports Network’s robust lineup of motorsports programming, which includes more than 350 hours of coverage throughout the year. The program will consist of live to tape coverage of each of the eight rounds of the Pro Championship including the newly added Canadian round of competition along with eight additional episodes of “Formula DRIFT Insider.”

CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

The 2016 Formula DRIFT Championship begins on April 9-10 in Long Beach, CA. Tickets can be purchased through www.formulad.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Long Beach Convention Center box office.

For more information visit: www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Nexen Tire Announces Partnerships with Formula Drift and Scion Racing by Toyota

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Nexen Tire Announces Partnerships with Formula Drift and Scion Racing by Toyota

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Diamond Bar, CA, Mar. 17, 2016 – Nexen Tire America has announced an official two-year partnership with Formula Drift as a Major Sponsor for the 2016 and 2017 race seasons. The sponsorship will include signage on Formula Drift live stream, on track signage, and video commercials both onsite and on CBS Sports coverage.

Nexen Tire has also reached agreement with Scion Racing by Toyota and will be represented by its top two drivers. Driving for Nexen will be 2015 Formula Drift Champion Fredric Aasbo with Rockstar Energy Papadakis Racing and driving the Scion Racing by Toyota tC. Also representing Nexen is 2015 Formula Drift runner-up Ken Gushi with Greddy Performance and driving the Scion Racing by Toyota 86.

Additionally, Nexen has signed two-time Formula Drift Champion Tanner Foust with Rockstar Energy. Foust will be competing in a VW Passat R.

“We are making a long-term investment in motorsports to help increase our brand awareness and image,” said James Kwon, Nexen Tire America CEO. “Formula Drift is a great avenue for us to showcase our Ultra High Performance line of products while creating engagement with our fans and consumers.”

President and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT Jim Liaw comments on the partnership with Nexen. “We are excited to have Nexen Tire return as a major partner in Formula DRIFT. Nexen has made great advancements globally since the last time they were in the Series and this is reflected by their commitment to the 2016 and 2017 championship season, and with the signing of some of the best Formula DRIFT drivers and teams. We are looking forward to this partnership for the coming years.”

The Formula Drift investment is just a piece of Nexen’s new push into the motorsports arena. The company has launched a new Extreme Ultra High Performance tire which it will use for competition. The N’fera SUR4 is a UTQG 200 tire designed for Formula Drift, SCCA and Time Trials is available immediately in 20 sizes. The SUR4 has optimal grip performance and response with minimal performance drop under extreme conditions.

To manage its latest push into motorsports, Nexen has hired Paul Jho as Senior Motorsports Manager to lead the Formula Drift team and the roll out of the N’fera SUR4 to the market. “We are looking forward to a very competitive season with Frederic Aasbo, Ken Gushi and Tanner Foust as our new ambassadors in Formula Drift,” said Jho. “There is no better way to showcase our cutting-edge technology and performance of the new N’Fera SUR4 tires than to witness our drivers place podium after podium this coming season.”