Tag: Piotr wiecek

Formula DRIFT Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight” Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight” Results;

Piotr Wiecek Takes the Event Victory and James Deane is Crowned Champion

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FD-Champ

Long Beach, Calif. – October 14, 2017 – Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras returned to Irwindale Speedway for Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight”. Piotr Wiecek in the Worthhouse / Falken Tire Nissan 240 takes home his first Formula DRIFT victory and clinches Rookie of the Year honors, while his teammate James Deane in the Worthhouse / Falken Tire Nissan 240 clinches his first Formula DRIFT Championship.

Deane completed an impressive season with four event victories and a third place finish at tonight’s finale to secure the championship. His sponsor Falken Tire swept the podium and won the Tire Manufacturer championship for their second consecutive time. Toyota wins their fourth consecutive Manufacturer championship.

“It’s been such an intense weekend at the biggest event I’ve ever competed in with the championship on the line at one of the craziest tracks I’ve ever driven,” said James Deane, 2017 Formula DRIFT champion. “It is also my birthday today so there was just so many emotions and with so many fans coming in from Ireland and Poland, I just wanted to put on a good show. It’s just been a dream season.”

The sold out crowd came for one last Formula DRIFT finale at Irwindale Speedway, which is often referred as the birthplace of US drifting. The Livestream drew over 1 millionviews over the course of the event.

“This was an incredible season that saw the rise of two exceptional international drivers. It’s a testament of the talent in the Series having the best drifters in the world choosing Formula DRIFT to compete,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our 15th season and have some exciting things planned for next year.”

In the Top 4, Vaughn Gittin in the Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR faced off against Daijiro Yoshihara in the Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ. In his chase run, Gittin made contact with the wall giving the win to Yoshihara to move him into the Finals. While in the Great 8, Deane and Aurimas Bakchis, made contact, which Bakchis was deemed at fault. Deane failed to get his car fixed in the allotted time giving his Worthouse teammate the win to put him into the Finals. In the Finals, Yoshihara and Wiecek had a very close battle, but the speed and proximity of Wiecek was too much to overcome. Wiecek takes his first Formula DRIFT victory and secured his Rookie of the Year honors

“I feel amazing,” said Piotr Wiecek, winner of Round 8: Title Fight. “It’s such a great atmosphere and such a great sport. I’d like to thank my whole crew and teammate James. What an unbelievable season.”

For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 8: O’Reilly Auto Parts “Title Fight”

1. Wiecek, Piotr

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

Winner

2. Yoshihara, Dai

Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ

2nd Place

3. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15

3rd Place

4. Gittin, Vaughn

Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

4th Place

5. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

5th Place

6. Pawlak, Justin

Roush Performance Ford Mustang

6th Place

7. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

7th Place

8. Heilbrunn, Alec

Monster BMW E46

8th Place

9. Denofa, Chelsea

BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

9th Place

10. Forsberg, Chris

NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z

10th Place

11. Essa, Michael

Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW E46

11th Place

12. Field, Matt

Falken Tire / Vapetasia / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

12th Place

13. Hohnadell, Alec

Urban Air / Hoonigan / Nexen Tire Nissan 240

13th Place

14. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E92

14th Place

15. Gushi, Ken

GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota 86

15th Place

16. Castro, Jhonnattan

Gerdau Metaldom / Nexen Toyota GT86

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Final Standings

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

651.00 Points

2. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

538.00 Points

3. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

418.00 Points

2017 Manufacturer Championship Final Standings

1. Toyota

923.00 Points

2. Ford

751.00 Points

3. BMW

367.00 Points

4. Dodge

311.00 Points

4. Nissan

294.00 Points

6. Infiniti

174.00 Points

2017 Tire Championship Final Standings

1. Falken

1255.00 Points

2. Nexen

979.00 Points

3. Achilles

877.00 Points

4. Nitto

781.00 Points

5. Hankook

705.00 Points

Deane x Więcek: One Step Closer by Speedhunters

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The speed at which the 2017 Formula Drift season is passing, is frightening. It feels like only a couple of weeks ago that James Deane and Piotr Więcek shared their plan to compete a full FD campaign in 2017, but in reality, it was 10 months back. By the time the Irwindale final comes around in October, it will have been over a year since the decision was made.

From the outside, expectations have been high for the newest team in the paddock. In particular, expectations for what James would achieve in his first season have been astronomical. It hasn’t been quite that straight-forward, but what the Worthouse Drift Team have achieved in what has only ever been intended as a learning year, has far exceeded even their own expectations.

2017 Formula Drift Seattle Speedhunters Worthouse by Paddy McGrath-1

When I caught up with the team in Monroe last week, James was narrowly leading the points standings with Piotr being miles ahead of his nearest rival for Rookie of the Year honours.

2017 Formula Drift Seattle Speedhunters Worthouse by Paddy McGrath-2

The cars had been transported from the previous round in Montreal, all the way back to the Bridges Racing workshop in Huntington Beach, California, before making the long drive north along PCH to Washington state. While at Bridges, both cars were checked over, and in Piotr’s case, repaired after his run in with the wall at the Autodrome St-Eustache.

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Worthouse Drift Team set for Formula DRIFT debut in Long Beach

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Worthouse Drift Team set for Formula DRIFT debut in Long Beach

The new Worthouse Drift Team’s duo of Piotr Więcek and James Deane will make their debut in the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship in Long Beach, CA this weekend aiming to make their mark on the US drifting scene after years of dominating in Europe.

The Worthouse Drift Team is set to take part in all eight rounds of the world’s premier professional drifting competition with a pair of Falken Tire-shod, 900 hp Nissan Silva S15s maintained by Bridges Racing and driven by Piotr Więcek, a 27-year-old Pole and three-time, reigning Polish Drift Masters GP Champion, as well as the 25-year-old James Deane from Ireland, a five-time Irish and European Drift Champion. Continue reading Worthouse Drift Team set for Formula DRIFT debut in Long Beach

The Long Road To Long Beach

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At the time of writing, there’s just one month and 18 days to the first round of the 2017 Formula Drift championship.

While we might have to wait until then, for some, the new season has been underway since the day immediately after the 2016 Irwindale finale, if not earlier, as is the case for this particular story. By now, you’re likely aware of James Deane’s and Piotr Więcek’s intention to contest the entire 2017 FD season; you might also have seen the renders and details of their new cars.

For the newly-formed Worthouse Drift Team, these announcements and reveals may have been the easiest part of the puzzle. The real challenge is in the preparation for competing a full championship on another continent.

2017 James Deane S15 Build Speedhunters Part 02 by Paddy McGrath-19

 

Further to this, there’s the extra challenge of building the two new cars some 2,000 miles apart from each other. The cars for all intents and purposes will be practically identical; the only considerable difference being that James’ car will be right-hand drive while Piotr’s will be left-hand drive. This was a deliberate decision, as it means the team only needs to carry one set of spares from event to event.

It’s also meant that the two new teammates have had to co-design the new cars, with compromises being made along the way. It has also meant a near never-ending stream of phone calls and messages between both sides of the team in Ireland and Poland. To keep things simple, I’ve been following James’ side of the build at Deane Msport while Piotr’s build progresses in Poland.

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