25 August 2010, for immediate release: Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis, 27, was awarded a Formula Drift professional driver’s license at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after being named champion of the 2010 Vegas Pro Am series on Saturday, 21 August 2010. The final Vegas Pro Am round took place on the same course utilized by the Formula Drift Pro Championship only minutes after the Pro Am finished. Bakchis was awarded the license on the Formula Drift podium after only one season of drifting competitively in amateur events.

A southern California local and seasoned rally driver, Bakchis placed first in two of the four 2010 Vegas Pro Am events and placed third on the 21 August 2010 event. Bakchis began drifting at Adam’s Motorsports Park in Riverside, California in February 2009 after purchasing a 1989 Nissan 240 SX and began competitively drifting after approximately eight months of practice. Bakchis also drove his “underpowered” Nissan to a second place finish at Round 2 of the Top Drift series at Willow Springs International Raceway and to an exciting win at the 2010 XDC Round 2 event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sponsors including 702 Graphics, Clutch Masters, Dstroyr, Godspeed Project, R Rated Motorsports, and Turboimport.com have represented Bakchis throughout the 2010 drift season. A promising driver, Bakchis intends to aggressively compete in the 2011 Formula Drift Pro Championship series.