Tag: drifting

Daijiro Yoshihara Makes Drastic Career Move To Mixed Martial Arts

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Press Release

Los Angeles – April 1, 2013

2011 Formula Drift champion Daijiro Yoshihara shocks the world to become the first champion professional drift driver to make a career move to mixed martial arts (MMA).  The Japanese native Yoshihara has been training with former MMA champion Josh Barnett for some time now.  Daijiro has competed in Formula Drift since 2004 and became the series champion in 2011.  He was turned onto MMA when he met Barnett who is an avid drifting fan.  “I was totally hooked.  Drifting is exciting and where my roots are but I think MMA is where my future is.” Yoshihara states.

After several months of training Daijiro finally made the decision to dedicate his professional career to MMA and retire from drifting.  Josh Barnett has been by his side all through the transition and he calls Daijiro “a natural”.  Daijiro also got an opportunity to spar with one of the Gracies in a jiu-jitsu match and he completely overwhelmed his opponent.  “I’ve always respected Gracie jiu-jitsu but they were no match for the speed and balance I’ve achieved through professional driving. My left foot clutch kick is pretty gnarly.” claims Daijiro.

The award winning Behind the Smoke webseries on GTChannel has followed Daijiro’s drifting career for the past 2 seasons but will continue to cover Daijiro even though GTChannel is an automotive channel on Youtube.  GTChannel’s Executive Producer Taro Koki says, “No matter where Dai goes his fans will follow him so Behind the Smoke will continue to capture Dai on and off the mat from now on.” A new episode of Behind the Smoke is scheduled to be released every Monday.

Although no opponent has been announced yet.  Yoshihara looks to train hard and dedicate himself to fighting for hereon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX_G8OqIH-w&feature=share&list=UUQjJzFttHxRQPlqpoWnQOpw[/youtube]

Formula DRIFT Announces Partnership with Dailymotion to create web series, Battle Tested

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For Immediate Release 

March 29th, 2013 

Formula DRIFT Announces Partnership with Dailymotion to create web series, Battle Tested

Long Beach, Calif. – March 29th, 2013 – Formula DRIFT has announced a new partnership with Dailymotion via the creation of a web series called, Battle Tested. The series will highlight the search for a Formula DRIFT championship through the eyes of each rounds winner and showcase behind the scenes exclusive footage that has not been seen before.

“This is going to be a very cool project. Along with Dailymotion’s continued support with broadcasting our live stream, we have now added this web series as an additional part of the story for race to the Championship in 2013,” says Ryan Sage, Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT.

“Dailymotion is very excited to be partnering with Formula DRIFT. Between live streaming the events and co-producing the exclusive behind-the-scenes series, Battle Tested, we feel Dailymotion can be an integral component in helping to grow the popularity of this thrilling new sport,” says Anthony Layser, Senior Editor of Dailymotion.

Battle Tested will debut on Dailymotion the week leading up to the first event in Long Beach, April 12-13th and will feature 2011 series Champion, Daijiro Yoshihara.

For more information on Formula DRIFT, visit: www.formulad.com.

Streetwise Drift – EGGZ-TREME Drift Day

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Link to the flyer for sharing Here
March 30th EGGZ-TREME Drift Day and Car Corral
Facebook events page HERE
( THIS EVENT WILL BE LIVE STREAMED ONLINE )
Drift Day Driver Reg – 75.00  
Competition Driver 125.00
Driver sign in 7:30 AM
Track Hot@ 9:30 AM -6:30

Driver Registration Link
HERE  

A Full day of Drifting and car show fun is coming up on March 30th!
@
METROLINA EXPO 
7100 Statesville RD
Charlotte NC
Spectator and Car Corral Gates open @ 10AM
Indoor VIP Car Corral Space is First come first Serve
General Admission 10.00
Kids 12 and under in free
Indoor and Secure Lot Car Corral Parking +5.00

Features
All Day Drifting

Tandem Competition
Ride Along’s
Indoor Paddock
Huge Covered Car Corral
Vendor Row
Music
Check out the Facebook Event Page for news and updates about the event.
Car Corral
Inddoor VIP Space
(First come first serve)
All car clubs and individuals welcome:
STANCED
EXOTICS
IMPORT
DOMESTIC
EURO
MINI TRUKS
CUSTOM 4×4
BIKES

If you have a large club and would like to secure space for your members please click  here to reserve space.

Gates open 10AM – 6:30PM
Spread the word!

Media Request : [email protected]
Volunteer: [email protected]

Bakchis Announces Partnership with the United States Air Force

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Bakchis Announces Partnership with the United States Air Force

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Rancho Cucamonga, CA – Aurimas Bakchis “Odi” announced today that he will be partnering with the United States Air Force for the 2013 drift season.  Bakchis will be competing in each of the seven Formula Drift USA events as a partner with the United States Air Force in his LS3-powered Nexen Tire Nissan 240SX.

The United States Air Force is entering into the 5th season as a sponsor of the Formula Drift series, and Bakchis will be one of the drivers sponsored for the 2013 season.  Regarding his new sponsor Bakchis stated “I had a great experience teaching a U.S. Air Force Airman to drift during the Drift into the Blue series in 2012.  It was truly a pleasure to work with the U.S. Air Force in that capacity and now I am grateful to continue working with such a committed group of people.  I look forward to continuing to work with an established organization that values teamwork and technology since these are my mantra for how I approach drifting.”

The Formula Drift USA season begins in Long Beach, California in April 2013.  This will be Bakchis’ debut event as a partner of the United States Air Force and Bakchis is confident that the 2013 drift season will be promising with the support of such committed sponsors.

Additional information regarding Bakchis and his drift program can be found at www.bakchismotorsports.com.

Written by Amy Bakchis

SEMA News – March 2013: Jim Liaw Discusses Racing Youth

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Excerpt from article

According to Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula Drift, economics play a huge factor in youth motorsports involvement.

“Motorsports participants skew older in most cases because motorsports are more expensive than sports like surfing, basketball or even golf,” Liaw explained. “An older individual tends to have more disposable income. Yes, there are a lot of young drivers in development—kids that are go-karting, young drivers going through development series such as F2000, Indy Lights, etc.—but they are rare and few and are funded by family money.”

Along with the motorsports mentioned above, drifting not only remains a favorite of young performance enthusiasts, but has also developed a cultural following.

“Cost of entry is low,” said Liaw. “Participants are much younger. If you look at the profiles of Formula Drift Pro Drivers, they range from 21–39, representing a dozen countries and multiple ethnicities. The majority of them have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, which shows that they are social-media savvy and are early adaptors to these new technologies. In 2012, we had 38 drivers commit to the entire tour, showing that most of them consider Formula Drift a major priority—if not the priority—in their driving careers.”

CLICK HERE for the full story.