Tag: Chris Forsberg

Formula DRIFT Evergreen Speedway 2016 by Super Street Magazine

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Event victor Odi Bakchis in the ARK Performance Genesis and third placer Ken Gushi in the Greddy 86 shake up the points chase

370Z Genesis Coupe Final

You won’t be blamed for thinking the race for points in the 2016 Formula DRIFT Championship was over after Round 5 at Autodrome Saint-Eustache in Canada last month. Going into Round 6 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., just outside of Seattle, a total of nine drivers bogarted the 15 podium spots up to that point, the three drivers at the top of the standings taking the lion’s share of wins, places and shows – with 2010 series champion Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR earning two wins (at Road Atlanta and Wall Speedway), 2015 champ Fredric Aasbo in the Rockstar Energy Scion tC claiming two wins (at Orlando Speed World and Saint-Eustache) and a runner up (at Long Beach), and 2009 and 2014 champ Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Nissan 370Z picking up two second-place finishes (at Wall and Saint Eustache) as well as two third-place finishes (in Atlanta and Orlando).

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Formula DRIFT Round 6: Throwdown Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 6: Throwdown Results;
Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis Takes the Victory to Shake Up the Standings

FD-RD6-podium-600w

Long Beach, Calif. – August 6, 2016 – Formula DRIFT presented by BlackVue returned to Monroe, Washington for the sixth round of competition. Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in the Ark Performance / Feal Suspension / Falken Tire Hyundai Genesis is Victorious.

Evergreen Speedway hosted Round 6: Throwdown in the Pacific Northwest. The action packed event showcased some of the closest battles to date. The competition was fierce as many of the high ranked drivers were taken out early in the competition opening the door for the other drivers to move up in the standings. With two events remaining in the 2016 Pro Championship season less than 55 points separate the top four drivers.

“It was awesome to treat the capacity crowd to an amazing weekend of competition, during one of the busiest event weekends in the region.” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT.

The highly competitive event saw a shake up in the Pro Championship standings with Vaughn Gittin, who qualified first and was on top of the standings heading into Round 6, lose in the Top 16, which opened the door for the other drivers as Gittin moves down to third place overall by only 15 points. 2-time champion, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z faced Matt Coffman in the Coffman Racing Nissan 240 in the semi-finals. Forsberg edged out the young driver to advance to the Finals. Ken Gushi in the GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota 86 met Bakchis in the semi-finals. Bakchis outdrove his opponent to move to the Finals. Errors on Forsberg’s run helped give Bakchis his first victory of the season. Forsberg’s second place finish moves him into the lead by 5 points over Fredric Aasbo.

“I’m really happy with the win. It’s been a lot of work on our part and with our sponsors Ark Performance, Feal Suspension, and Falken Tire,” said Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis, winner of Round 6: Throwdown. “I really want to keep this momentum going into the next round and am excited for the rest of the season.”

The 2016 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship will continue to Round 7: Showdown on September 9-10, 2016 at Texas Motor Speedway. For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaD, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 6: Throwdown Event Results
1. Bakchis, Aurimas Ark Performance / Feal Suspension / Falken Hyundai Genesis Winner
2. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z 2nd Place
3. Gushi, Ken GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota 86 3rd Place
4. Coffman, Matt Coffman Racing Nissan 240 4th Place
5. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 Chevy Camaro 5th Place
6. Aasbo, Fredric Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota tC 6th Place
7. Foust, Tanner Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire Volkswagen Passat 7th Place
8. Kearney, Dean Oracle Lighting Dodge Viper 8th Place
9. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 9th Place
10. Field, Matt Falken Tire / Driftcave Motorsports Nissan 240 10th Place
11. Yoshihara, Dai Falken Tire / Turn 14 Subaru BRZ 11th Place
12. Moen, Kenny Team Boost Lock BMW M3 12th Place
13. Wang, Forrest Get Nuts Lab / Hankook Tire Nissan 240 13th Place
14. Nishida, Robbie Achilles Radial Infiniti G37 14th Place
15. Hohnadell, Alec Enjuku / Get Nuts Lab / Nexen Tire Nissan 240 15th Place
16. Castro, Jhonnattan Gerdau Meltadom / Nexen Tire Toyota 86 16th Place

2016 Formula DRIFT Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 6 Events
1. Forsberg, Chris
NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z
419.00 Points
2. Aasbo, Fredric Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota tC 414.00 Points
3. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 404.00 Points

2016 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 6 Events
1. SR by Toyota 737.00 Points
2. Ford 565.00 Points
3. Nissan 558.00 Points
4. BMW 389.00 Points
5. Mazda 245.00 Points
6. Chevrolet 222.00 Points
7. Dodge 203.00 Points
8. Infiniti 190.00 Points
9. Lexus 122.00 Points

2016 Tire Championship Standings After 6 Events
1. Nexen 796.00 Points
2. Falken 750.00 Points
3. Hankook 682.00 Points
4. Nitto 593.00 Points
5. Achilles 521.00 Points
7. GT Radial 320.00 Points

Reflecting On True North By Speedhunters

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Larry_Chen_Speedhunters_2016_Formula_Drift_Canada_01-1200x800

My recent visit to Autodrome St-Eustache in Montreal, Canada, for Formula Drift was a little different in that it was not an exhibition event. That’s right, for the first time ever a Formula Drift Pro round was held outside of the United States.

While not everyone on the grid made it up to Québec for the event, the majority of the Pro field – and especially those teams chasing championship points – were there. Here is a collection of my favorite images from the round with a little bit of commentary littered throughout. Enjoy!

Larry_Chen_Speedhunters_2016_Formula_Drift_Canada_02

 

I get non-stop requests to post more photos of Mad Mike, but as you guys probably know, the past two events have not been so kind to the Kiwi drifter. Mike blew a motor in Jersey, and it seems he just can’t catch a break this year. I love the Miata that he built, but I think it’s time to bring out the TCP Magic-built FD3S RX-7 from Japan. What do you guys think?

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Formula DRIFT Round 5: True North Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 5: True North Results;
Fredric Aasbo Takes the Win to Move Within 3 Points of the Championship Lead

FD-RD5-Podium-600w

Long Beach, Calif. – July 16, 2016 – Formula DRIFT presented by BlackVue held their first international event as part of the Pro Championship in Canada at Autodrome St-Eustache. Fredric Aasbo in the Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Scion tC took the victory and moves within 3 points of the leader in the standings with only three events remaining in the 2016 season.

In one of the most action packed and competitive rounds of competition, Round 5: True North brought the top drifting talent in the world into Canada to a sold out crowd. The Livestream drew over 360,000 views.

“For our first international Pro Championship event we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “We are proud to have brought international drifting stars such as Fredric Aasbo from Norway, Mike Whiddett from New Zealand, Dean Kearney from Ireland, Charles Ng from China, Robbie Nishida from Japan, and many more into Canada. The drivers drove their hearts out tonight and put on one amazing event.”

The event culminated into a highly competitive Top 4 battle that saw four drivers all within striking distance of the championship. Odi Bakchis in the ARK Performance / Feal Suspension / Falken Tire Hyundai Genesis faced current champion, Fredric Aasbo. Bakchis had a bobble in his chase run that helped move the champion into the Finals. 2-time champion, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z met the 2010 champion, Vaughn Gittin in the Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR in the semi-finals. Forsberg got his revenge from Round 4 and outdrove his opponent to make it to the finals and onto the podium for his fourth consecutive time this season. Aasbo and Forsberg put it all on the line in the Finals with a very close and competitive battle. Aasbo’s consistency throughout the evening proved to be the deciding factor as he took advantage on a slight mistake from Forsberg to take the victory, his third podium this season, and moves within 3 points of the point leader, Gittin. Bakchis moves up to the fourth spot overall.

“Wow! What an amazing night!,” said Fredric Aasbo, winner of Round 5: True North. “Some of the most diehard and knowledgeable drift fans are out here in Montreal. We were able to scrape through the battles. What an amazing win for the team.”

Round 5: True North Event Results
1. Aasbo, Fredric Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota tC Winner
2. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z 2nd Place
3. Bakchis, Aurimas Ark Performance / Feal Suspension / Falken Hyundai Genesis 3rd Place
4. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 4th Place
5. Wang, Forrest Get Nuts Lab / Hankook Tire Nissan 240 5th Place
6. Tuerck, Ryan Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Tire SR by Toyota FR-S 6th Place
7. Yoshihara, Dai Falken Tire / Turn 14 Subaru BRZ 7th Place
8. Coffman, Matt Coffman Racing Nissan 240 8th Place
9. Pawlak, Justin Roush Performance Ford Mustang 9th Place
10. DeNofa, Chelsea BC Racing / GT Radial BMW 10th Place
11. Hohnadell, Alec Enjuku / Get Nuts Lab / Nexen Tire Nissan 240 11th Place
12. Goodin, Pat ISR Performance / BC Racing / Falken Tire Nissan 240 12th Place
13. Stoneback, Geoff CFR / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z 13th Place
14. Gushi, Ken GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota 86 14th Place
15. Kearney, Dean Oracle Lighting Dodge Viper 15th Place
16. Moore, Cameron Cameron Moore Drift / Lexus SC300 16th Place

2016 Formula DRIFT Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 5 Events
1. Gittin, Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 365.00 Points
2. Aasbo, Fredric Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire SR by Toyota tC 362.00 Points
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z 335.00 Points

2016 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 5 Events
1. SR by Toyota 617.00 Points
2. Ford 508.00 Points
3. Nissan 456.00 Points
4. BMW 351.00 Points
5. Mazda 208.00 Points
6. Chevrolet 169.00 Points
7. Dodge 153.00 Points
8. Infiniti 138.00 Points
9. Lexus 104.00 Points

2016 Tire Championship Standings After 5 Events
1. Nexen 676.00 Points
2. Falken 576.00 Points
3. Hankook 563.00 Points
4. Nitto 535.00 Points
5. Achilles 436.00 Points
7. GT Radial 284.00 Points