[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ST2rD28lcI[/youtube]
Tag: Michael Essa
Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge Results
Long Beach, Calif. – April 21, 2013 – Formula DRIFT hosted the inaugural Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge during the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Matt Powers in the Fatlace / Nitto Tire Nissan S14 took the event victory.
The inaugural Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge brought motorsports action under the lights for the first time in 39 years during the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Sixteen of the top Formula DRIFT drivers competed for a $25,000 prize purse.
“To have been able to bring professional drifting competition to the masses during the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is remarkable,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “To do it for the first time under the lights of the famous Long Beach street course is something special.”
The action under the lights gave a new dynamic for the drivers with ever changing track temperatures along with the plumes of white smoke under the fluorescent lights proved to be challenging. Fredric Aasbo in the Hankook Tire Scion Racing tC in the Final 4 battle hit the outside of clipping zone 2 damaging his vehicle and failing to continue in the competition taking home fourth place. Walker Wilkerson in the Achilles Radial / Fueled Racing Nissan S14 automatically took the third spot with Aasbo out in the Top 4. Powers battled the number one qualifier Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama Tire BMW M3 in an exciting Finals match and edged out Essa to take home the inaugural victory.
“The final battle with Essa was super sick,” stated Matt Powers, winner of the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge. “I would have been happy with second place, but am stoked and looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship presented by GoPro continues at Round 2: Road to the Championship at Road Atlanta on May 10-11, 2013.
Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge Results
Winner – Matt Powers
2nd Place – Michael Essa
3rd Place – Walker Wilkerson
4th Place – Fredric Aasbo
BILSTEIN Spokesperson Jessi Combs To Sign Autographs With Michael Essa at Round 1
Jessi Combs, spokesperson for BILSTEIN’s “Lower it Right” campaign, will be on hand to meet fans, sign autographs and talk shop on Saturday, April 13 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm in the GSR Paddock Area of the Long Beach street circuit. GSR’s co-owner and Formula Drift driver, Michael Essa will also be on hand for this exciting event sponsored by BILSTEIN and GSR. Attendees will have the chance to win raffle prizes and take home free posters autographed by both Combs and Essa.
“We’re thrilled to work with GSR Autosport Racing and Jessi Combs,” said Steven Beaty, Aftermarket and Motorsport President of BILSTEIN. “Jessi’s hands-on skills, along with her genuine passion for motorsports, make her a perfect fit to represent our brand.”
Jessi Combs is co-host of Velocity’s All Girls Garage and Overhaulin’ as well as AOL’s video series The List: 1001 Car Things To Do Before You Die on Autoblog.com. Previous appearances include Mythbusters, Two Guys Garage, TruckU and co-host of Xtreme 4×4 on Spike. Her automotive skills were honed in Laramie, WY at WyoTech where she graduated with a degree in Custom Automotive Fabrication. As spokesperson for BILSTEIN, Jessi helps educate enthusiasts about the importance of lowering their ride with top-quality suspension components from the world’s leader in shock absorbers.
BILSTEIN has partnered with GSR Autosport Racing for the 2013 Formula Drift season for both sponsorship and technical assistance. The two companies have worked together to build a BILSTEIN Motorsport MDS (Modular Damping System) specifically for the GSR Formula Drift BMW E46 M3 that will be driven by GSR co-owner, Michael Essa at it’s debut at the season opener in Long Beach.
“We’re absolutely excited to be working with BILSTEIN on our drift program,” said Nick Richards, President of GSR Autosport. “We have a lot of experience with BILSTEIN products from our road racing and street tuning business. The products are really second to none when it comes to outright performance and they have a storied past of success that backs that up.”
2013 marks the 8th consecutive year that Formula DRIFT has taken over the famous street course exactly one week prior to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Utilizing turns 9, 10 and 11 of the Grand Prix course, the Formula DRIFT drivers negotiate the turns with lots of sideways action and high-speed entries resulting in non-stop action that only Formula DRIFT can deliver. Gates are open to the public starting Friday, April 12 from 12pm to 5pm and again on Saturday, April 13 from 10am to 6pm.
GSR Autosport & Michael Essa: Open House X Launch Party
GSR Autosport is holding a launch party and open house at their shop in Lake Forest, CA this weekend for the launch of their new Formula DRIFT car for the 2013 Pro Championship Season and to introduce some of their new sponsors. For more information, visit them on Facebook.
Yokohama Tire Corporation Slides into Action with 2013 Drifting Program
Yokohama Tire Corporation Slides into Action with 2013 Drifting Program
Tire maker will partner with three Formula Drift teams this season and spotlight tires such as the ADVAN Neova® AD08 and S.drive®
FULLERTON, CA (March 5, 2013) – Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) announced today it will participate as a Formula Drift tire supplier for the second consecutive year and will partner with three teams for the 2013 season. Matt Johnson, YTC performance marketing supervisor, said drivers will run on ADVAN Neova® AD08 and S.drive® tires during the seven-event series, which starts April 12-13 at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.
Two new teams will join the Yokohama family in 2013 – the GSR Autosport BMW E46 piloted by Michael Essa, and the GTNET Tomei Powered Subaru BRZ driven by Toshiki Yoshioka. The Apex-I Lexus SC430 returns from 2012 with Pat Mordaunt behind the wheel.
“Yoshioka is a veteran drift competitor who started with Yokohama in the D1 Grand Prix in Japan during 2003 and is back with Yokohama to contend for podiums once again,” said Johnson. “He is a past Formula D winner, and will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the third consecutive year.”
Nick Richards, president of GSR Autosport, said, “we have a long history with Yokohama tires that comes from years of running a broad array of road-racing programs. Yokohama has a well-earned reputation of winning at the highest levels of motorsport, and as the level of competition continues to rise in drifting, partnering with the best is critical to fielding a winning team.”
“We have a variety of marketing programs,” said Fred Koplin, YTC director of marketing communications, “from sports sponsorships to television, but Formula Drift gives us exposure to a passionate audience of young enthusiasts that may not see a lot of other marketing initiatives.”
Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the all-new AVID Ascend® – the first mass-market tire using Yokohama’s breakthrough orange oil technology – as well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
Contact: Bill Groak, PCGCampbell, 424/903-3640, [email protected]
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