Round 3: Invasion Results; Michael Essa Takes the Victory

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Long Beach, Calif. – June 1, 2013 – Formula DRIFT presented by GoPro returned to Palm Beach International Raceway for Round 3: Invasion. Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama Tire BMW M3 takes the victory and moves into third place overall in the standings.

Round 3: Invasion returned for the third consecutive season to South Florida to a capacity crowd. The fans were treated to exciting on-track action intermingled with the Slammed Society car show and display of cars from the Targa Trophy.

“South Florida continues to prove to be a viable market with another capacity crowd,” stated Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The spirit of competition also continues to rise and is at the highest level it has ever been, which has made an amazing season thus far.”

The skies cleared up for the main event day and the crowds flocked to the venue. The technical track featured a fast entry that proved to be a challenge for some of the drivers with many favorites failing to enter the later rounds of competition. The consolation round pitted Robbie Nishida in the Bridges Racing / Achilles Lexus SC300 against Vaughn Gittin in the Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang. After failing to reach the line after a Competition Timeout following mechanical problems from the previous round, Gittin conceded to give Nishida the win and third place. The final battle pitted Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama Tire BMW M3 against returning champion Daigo Saito in the Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC430, who also won this event last season. The battle was fierce, but Essa took the victory after Saito had a slight error in his chase run. This is Essa’s first Formula DRIFT pro championship podium and victory, which moves him into third place overall in the standings. Saito in the process moves into first place overall with Gittin closely behind him in second place.

“It’s surreal. We started this week with some issues and didn’t qualify well,” said Michael Essa, winner of Round 3: Invasion. “The team put together a solid car and thanks to Yokohama Tire, Bilstein, Garret and the rest of the sponsors we were able to win. We need to keep the momentum going and I can’t wait for the next round.”

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship Presented by GoPro 2013 Standings After Three Rounds
1. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 257 Points
2. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR 244 Points
3. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 241.50 Points
4. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 202 Points
5. Aasbo, Fredric Hankook Tire Scion Racing tC 197.50 Points
6. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 195 Points
7. Moen, Kenneth Lutz Performance / Nexen Tire Nissan 240SX 184 Points
8. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 182.50 Points
9. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire Nissan S14 180.50 Points
10. Bakchis, Aurimas Nexen Tire Nissan S14 166.50 Points
11. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks / Maxxis Scion Racing FR-S 150.50 Points
12. Field, Matt CX Racing / Blacktrax Nissan 240SX 144.50 Points
13. Wang, Forrest Get Nuts Labs Nissan 240SX 136.50 Points
14. DeNofa, Chelsea BC Racing BMW 3 Series 130 Points
15. Nishida, Robbie Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300 127.50 Points
16. Powers, Matt Nitto Tire / Fatlace Nissan S14 119 Points

Round 3: Invasion Event Results
1. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 Winner
2. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 Second Place
3. Nishida, Robbie Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300 Third Place

Manufacturers Championship Standings After Three Rounds
1. Ford 426.50 Points
2. Lexus 414.25 Points
3. Nissan 386 Points
4. Scion 379 Points
5. BMW 371.50 Points

Tire Championship Standings After Three Rounds
1. Falken 461 Points
2. Achilles 417.50 Points
3. Nitto 408 Points
4. Hankook 399.50 Points
5. Yokohama 320.50 Points

Targa Trophy Invasion – Miami to Formula Drift Palm Beach, Florida

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RALLY EVENT DETAILS

Targa Trophy is open to all makes of exotic and specialty sports cars including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Spyker, Mercedes AMG, BMW M, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Audi, Lotus, Viper, Corvette, select European & Japanese imports, classic exotics, muscle cars and unique one-off sports cars.

Start Venue & Finish Venue

Start location – Lamborghini Miami/Prestige Imports
Final destination – Formula Drift Palm Beach

Official After Party

Event Entry Fee – $300 + $15 svc fee

  • RALLY EVENT FEE INCLUDES
  • Entry fee covers 2 VIP FD Access tickets with exclusive Targa Trophy VIP seating (driver and navigator)
  • Targa Trophy Rally – Miami to Palm Beach, FL
  • 2 Targa Trophy x Us Versus Them Special Edition Event T-Shirts
  • Targa Trophy x Formula Drift Special Event Sticker Kit
  • Vehicle on display at exclusive Targa Trophy car show inside FD paddok
  • Targa Trophy x FD Gift Bag for driver & navigator

+ much much more TBA

Click here for more information

ProAm – Vegas Drift – Round 3 Info.

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VegasProAm Rd#3
June 16th 2012
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Drag Strip Lot
Registration Fee $150.00
Drivers Registers HERE

Series Champion Receives
* A Formula Drift Pro License
* 1 set of CP Pistons (some restrictions apply)
* Deep Discount on Carrillo Rods
* 2 Belle 1 Communications Formula Drift Freq Programed Motorola UHF Radios
* Feal Suspension “Upgrade/Re-valveing Service”

Series 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Receives
* A Formula Drift Pro License

Series Contingency Sponsorship Award
* The top 3 drivers that participate in the GodSpeed Contingency program will receive store credit in the amounts of $800.00 in for first place, $400 for second and $200 for third

Round 3 Event Prizes
* VegasProAm Trophies will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place

The Retaks Insane Entry Award
$50.00 cash to the driver with the most Insane Qualifying Entry Run

1st Place
* Brian Crower is awarding $300.00 Gift Certificate
* HPS Silicone Hoses is awarding $100.00 Gift Certificate
* RETAKS is awarding a $100.00 Gift Certificate
* Dstroyr $100.00 Gift Certificate
* Feal Suspension $100 “Service” Gift Certificate
* Baker Precision is awarding a $50.00 Gift Certificate

2nd Place
* HPS Silicone Hoses is awarding $60.00 Gift Certificate
* Baker Precision is awarding a $50.00 Gift Certificate
* RETAKS is awarding a $50.00 Gift Certificate
* Dstroyr $75.00 Gift Certificate

3rd Place
* Baker Precision is awarding a $50.00 Gift Certificate
* HPS Silicone Hoses is awarding $40.00 Gift Certificate
* Dstroyr $50.00 Gift Certificate

Media
We are limiting media personal to professionals/semi professionals that have good legitimate equipment. I.e. Point and shoot cameras will not be allowed track media credentials.

Daigo Saito is Victorious at Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway

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Daigo Saito is Victorious at Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway;
Pawlak Remains in the Pro Championship Points Lead

Long Beach, Calif. – June 2, 2012 – Formula DRIFT returned to Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway for the second consecutive year. Rookie Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 takes the victory and closes in on the points leader Justin Pawlak in the Falken Tire Ford Mustang.

Round 3: Invasion saw an increase in attendance in the second year of competition at Palm Beach International Raceway. The Driftstream saw over 200,000 viewers in a 24 hour period.

“We’re happy to be able to run the original track configuration due to the improvements by Palm Beach International Raceway which made for an improved event for the fans,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Additional grandstands were brought in to accommodate for the increase in fan attendance. The dedication and investment by the venue shows their support for our Series and look forward to returning next season.”

Points leader and winner of last year’s Palm Beach event, Justin Pawlak and the 2011 Formula DRIFT Champion, Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan 240SX faced off in a battle for third place. Yoshihara took the win after Pawlak spun out on his chase run and moves into third place overall. The final match of evening pitted Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z against Formula DRIFT rookie Daigo Saito. After a close battle Saito was crowned the winner and has now found the podium for the third consecutive event and increases his chances to win the coveted rookie of the year honors.

“This is the first time being in Formula DRIFT and I was able to take the victory and am extremely happy about that,” said Daigo Saito, winner of Round 3: Invasion. “I want to thank everyone and my sponsor Achilles Tire. All my runs weren’t perfect, but I am happy with the final outcome.”

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 4: The Gauntlet on June 22-23, 2012 at Wall Speedway.