Formula DRIFT Announces the Inaugural Formula DRIFT UAE Invitational Competition
Formula DRIFT Announces the Inaugural Formula DRIFT UAE Invitational Competition;
Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Host Event on February 25, 2011
Long Beach, Calif. – November 18, 2010 – Formula DRIFT Holdings, LLC; operators of the Formula DRIFT Championship and Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management; operators of the Yas Marina Circuit have announced a deal to bring the Inaugural Formula DRIFT UAE Invitational Competition to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 25, 2011.
“The partnership with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management is a perfect fit to introduce the Formula DRIFT UAE Invitational Competition,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Even though drifting has been to the UAE before, we are excited to bring a world class combination of the world’s most advanced circuit along with the world’s leading drifting series.”
“I am delighted that motorsports fans in Abu Dhabi and the UAE will get to experience the spectacle of Formula DRIFT at Yas,” said Richard Cregan, Chief Executive Officer of Yas Marina Circuit. “Drifting will add a new dimension to the range of motorsports offered here and I believe it will attract a large following, just as drag racing has.”
Eight of the top drivers and cars from Formula DRIFT, will showcase world class drifting in competition format to the Persian Gulf region. The 8 drivers include 2-time Formula DRIFT champion and 3-time X-Games Gold Medalist Tanner Foust, 2010 Formula DRIFT rookie of the year and past Scandinavian champion, Fredric Aasbo, 2009 Formula DRIFT champion, Chris Forsberg, Darren McNamara, Ryan Tuerck, and Daijiro Yoshihara. The final two drivers will be announced at a later date.
As the premier professional drifting championship in North America, Formula DRIFT has helped bring drifting around world including South America, South East Asia, and now the Middle East. For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com
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Ryan Tuerck Profile on Red Bull Motorsports
Formula DRIFT driver Ryan Tuerck recently had his profile posted on the Red Bull Motorsports Website. Check it out HERE
Profile
Ryan Tuerck has always loved the so-called “Extreme Sports.” At a young age he got into BMX and Motocross. At nine, his father bought him his first dirtbike and at ten he started racing motocross. As he progressed through the amateur ranks he had countless podium finishes. The highlight of his amateur career was placing seventh at Lorreta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals.
When he turned 16, he received his professional license from the AMA and got the opportunity to travel Canada racing the professional Canadian Nationals at 17. His highlights included a 5th in the 125cc Canadian Nationals Championship as well as qualifying for Budds Creek and Unadilla in the AMA Motocross Nationals. Though Ryan’s motocross career was looking promising, he was forced to stop due to personal reasons.
Ryan gained a lot of interest in cars once he turned 16. When he stopped racing motorcycles, he bought his first car, a 1990 Ford Mustang. Feeling the need to challenge himself, he would get his car sideways pulling away from stop signs and slide around in empty parking lots near his home. After a year, Ryan found out on the internet that sliding your car around was actually a real sport.
In 2003, Ryan went to his first formal Drift event at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ where he met future “Drift Alliance” teammates Tony Angelo, Chris Forsberg, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Ryan did very well, winning the competition. Success continued, and Ryan was constantly spending all his money upgrading his car to handle better and to make more power.
In 2005, Ryan Competed in two rounds of Formula Drift where he did well enough to get noticed by a few sponsors. In 2006, Ryan competed in the entire Formula Drift series with help from his Drift Alliance brothers, Cooper Tires, Discount Tire, and 240SX Motoring. Ryan did very well his rookie season with a sixth place finish at the Sonoma round. He also captured the 2005 and 2006 Canadian Drifting championships.
In 2007 Ryan moved to California with Angelo and started “Team Snakebite”; together they ran the whole Formula Drift season independently with help from sponsors. He finished the season 15th in points. In 2009, Ryan finished runner-up in the Formula Drift championship, sandwiching the season with wins in the season-opening event in Long Beach and the season finale in Irwindale.
