Formula D Driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard Scores Decisive Win at Oregon Trail Rally

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Formula DRIFT driver and Samuel Hubinette Racing teammate Andrew Comrie-Picard took the victory at the Oregon Trail Rally this past weekend.

Portland, Oregon (ACP RACING) – North American Rally Champion Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and the NOS Energy Rally Team won the long and difficult Oregon Trail Rally this weekend, scoring victory with a strong and steady drive in an event that saw both close competition and some major crashes. The team led almost the entire event on the way to the win.

“It’s a great result,” said Comrie-Picard, “everything went according to our strategy and the win is an important one at this point in the season. It’s great that the car, the team, and our partners are all working so well.”

Comrie-Picard and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey, in their NOS Energy Mitsubishi on BFGoodrich tires, started off the three-day event with a strong performance at Portland International Raceway and took a narrow lead into the first night over rivals Ken Block (Ford/Pirelli), Dave Mirra (Subaru/BFGoodrich), and Antoine L’Estage (Mitsubishi/Yokohama).

Early on the second day of competition, in the Hood River region of Oregon, Block set two fastest times and briefly overhauled Comrie-Picard for the lead, but on the next stage rolled the car and was unable to continue. The same corner had claimed Mirra with a roll earlier in the day. L’Estage cracked a wheel and dropped back in the field but was able to claw back to third place overall by the end of the competition.

William Bacon, in a Mitsubishi Evolution similar to Comrie-Picard’s, put in a steady and fast drive with no major problems to finish second, 44 seconds off the winning time.

“We just went out with a pace in mind and stuck to the plan,” said co-driver Wimpey, “we pushed a bit on the first night to get the lead then paced ourselves for the next two days to be where we needed to be at the end.”

The event included a wide variety of road characters and surfaces, from tarmac and mixed tarmac stages on Friday, to twisty, technical, and rough gravel stages on Saturday, to very fast, smooth, and silty stages on Sunday. Hot weather tested the endurance of cars and teams.

The result vaults Comrie-Picard past Block and into to a tie for fourth place with Dave Mirra in the Rally America Championship.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

Formula DRIFT on FOX5 Atlanta News Tonight

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Fox 5 Atlanta came to Road Atlanta to check out some of the drifting action today. They wanted to gather a few of the champions together so Chris Forsberg, Tanner Foust, and Samuel Hubinette put on a show for the cameras. Co-Founder Jim Liaw was also interviewed to explain the history of the sport and what Formula DRIFT is all about. If you’re in the Atlanta area be sure to check out the footage during the news broadcast around 6:50 PM, 10:45 PM or 11:20 PM time frame.

Don’t miss out on one of the most exciting events of the season tomorrow and Saturday.
For more info – Round 2: Road to the Championship

Formula DRIFT Invades Hollywood Recap

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Last night the IZOD Indycar Series invited Formula DRIFT to participate in the “Race to the Party” event in Hollywood. Hollywood Blvd was shut down in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre and the Kodak Theatre and thousands of fans gathered to watch Formula DRIFT vehicles do a demonstration, Indycar pit stop challenge, and a special performance by Camp Freddy.

The fans were blown away by the drifting action of drivers Joon Maeng – Full Tilt Poker / Nitto Tires Mazda RX-8, Justin Pawlak – Falken Mazda RX-7, Michael Essa – Nitto Tires BMW 335i, Mike Whiddett – Need for Speed Mazda RX-8, and Samuel Hubinette – SHR Dodge Challenger.

BFGoodrich Tires Announces 2010 Formula DRIFT Lineup

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BFGoodrich® Tires Announces 2010 Formula Drift Lineup

* Samuel Hübinette Racing and Team Drift Emporium choose BFGoodrich
g-Force(tm) T/A®KDW tires for 2010 Formula Drift season

GREENVILLE, S.C. – April 8, 2010 – BFGoodrich Tires is proud to announce its 2010
Formula Drift series lineup, featuring two of the top teams on BFGoodrich
g-Force T/AKDW tires – Samuel Hübinette Racing and Team Drift Emporium. This season
marks seven years that BFGoodrich Tires has supported Formula D, known as “the”
series for drifting in the United States.

Two-time Formula D champion Samuel “The Crazy Swede” Hübinette is coming off an
impressive fourth place finish in 2009, with plans to take his new Dodge Challenger
to the top in 2010. The Challenger’s Mopar engine pushes out in excess of 865
horsepower and promises to be a crowd favorite. Hübinette recently formed his own
racing operation, Samuel Hübinette Racing, and added veteran rally driver and
Formula D newcomer Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard to the team. Comrie-Picard will take
the wheel of the famed Dodge Viper SRT10 that Hübinette piloted to a Formula D
championship in 2005 and 2006. Both vehicles will sport BFGoodrich g-Force T/AKDW
tires during all seven rounds of Formula D action.

“Our new team, with the addition of the Challenger and ACP, has a lot of potential
this year and we’re excited to finally get this season started,” said Hübinette.
“We feel confident that our BFGoodrich tires will lead us to the podium as they did
in 2006, 2007 2008 and 2009.”

“If you thought watching the Viper scream around each turn for the last couple years
was exciting, wait until the Challenger joins in on the action,” said Roberts
Kukainis, motorsports manager, BFGoodrich Tires. “The BFGoodrich g-Force T/AKDW
tire has proved that is has what it takes to come in hot at the entry point and hug
each and every turn that these tricky Formula D courses offer. The BFGoodrich
g-ForceKDW tire is a great bolt-on performance fit for Hubinette’s 865hp Dodge
Challenger muscle car and we’re excited to be part of what promises to be a great
season.”

Team Drift Emporium has put together yet another impressive team that includes 2008
Formula D “Rookie of the Year” Michihiro Takatori, Formula D rookie Forrest Wang,
drifting veteran Jodin LeJeune and experienced motorsports pro Ron Ewerth. Each of
the team’s four vehicles will be wrapped with BFGoodrich g-Force T/AKDW tires.

Michihiro Takatori will be back behind the wheel of his Nissan Silvia S15 and has an
extensive international drifting resume making him a top contender in 2010.
Takatori was Formula D’s 2008 “Rookie of the Year,” he placed second in the 2008
Triple Crown and has had a number of great eight and top four finishers.

Forrest Wang will be making his Formula D debut in 2010. He will be piloting Drift
Emporium’s hot Lexus SC430. With top finishes in D1GP and numerous wins along the
west coast, Wang is far from a rookie and looks to make a name for himself in the
Formula Drift Championship series.

With extensive drifting experience, Jodin LeJeune has competed for more than two
years in the NOPI Drift Series. His high entry speed consistently places him at the
top of the qualifying charts. In 2010, LeJeune will pilot his blue Nissan
Motorsports-sponsored Stillen supercharged Titan V8-powered Infiniti G35 Coupe.

Ron Ewerth has been involved in professional motorsports for more than 25 years and
has competed in the NOPI Drift Series for the past two years. Ewerth will pilot his
orange Nissan Motorsports-sponsored Stillen supercharged Titan V8-powered Infiniti
G35 Coupe in 2010.

“The Drift Emporium team always puts on a good show and they have a great chance to
really make some noise this year with the return of Takatori, LeJeune and Ewerth and
the addition of Wang,” added Kukainis. “BFGoodrich is proud to partner with them
again in 2010.”

BFGoodrich Tires’ g-Force T/AKDW tire is the ultimate go-to ultra high-performance
tire. With more than 80 sizes to fit 15 to 24 inch wheels, the BFGoodrich g-Force
T/AKDW covers more car, truck and SUV fitments than any other Ultra-High Performance
(UHP) tire line. The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A®KDW tire features the highest level of
balanced wet or dry performance in the industry, providing stability in rain or
shine, using a double compound silica reinforced tread and unidirectional tread
design.

Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 35 years, BFGoodrich® Tires is
involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag,
desert, dirt, rally and extreme rock crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combine
technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a
high-performance tire for every type of vehicle. Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at
www.BFGoodrichTires.com. In 2009, BFGoodrich Tires
developed a gathering place for auto enthusiasts to celebrate the thrill of GO
through an online community, Nation of GO, where people with a passion for driving
can celebrate and share what they love to do best at
www.NationofGo.com.

Samuel Hubinette Racing, Announces Two-Car Team for 2010

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Hübinette Forms
Samuel Hübinette Racing,
Announces Two-Car Team for 2010

1st rendering of Hubinette Racing Dodge Drift Challenger

Newport Coast, Calif. (SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING) — Two-time Formula DRIFT (FD)
champion Samuel Hübinette is returning to the FD series with a new factory-backed
Dodge team in 2010.

After six successful seasons with the NuFormz Mopar/BFGoodrich team, Samuel
Hübinette is moving on to a new chapter in his illustrious career. Hübinette will
strike out on his own in 2010, forming his own racing operation, Samuel Hübinette
Racing (SHR). With support from sponsors including Dodge and BFG, Hübinette’s SHR
organization will field a two-car team for the 2010 FD season.

“This is a new chapter for us,” said Hübinette. “I’m very excited to be back in
competition and to take on a new role as team owner this year.”

The veteran Hübinette will drift his new Dodge Challenger, while FD newcomer Andrew
“ACP” Comrie-Picard will take the wheel of the team’s familiar Dodge Viper SRT10.
“We’re looking at a strong year and a strong team for 2010,” said Hübinette. “We’re
pleased to bring the Dodge Challenger into the series, while still showing off the
capabilities of the Dodge Viper. I’m excited to see what ACP can accomplish.”
Comrie-Picard is an accomplished rally driver who won the 2009 North American Rally
Championship. Both Hübinette and Comrie-Picard will be competing on BFGoodrich g-Force T/AKDW tires.

Turning the wrenches for both Comrie-Picard’s SHR-Dodge/BFG Viper and Hübinette’s
Challenger is Brad Manka. The SHR crew chief maintained Hübinette’s NuFormz Viper
during the 2008 and 2009 FD campaigns.

Hübinette has competed in the FD Series under the NuFormz Racing banner since the
series’ inception in 2004, capturing two championships in his first three seasons.
Hübinette to date owns the most wins (nine) of any FD Series driver.
The two-time FD champion was dealt an enormous blow when NuFormz team owner Shaun
Carlson passed away suddenly last October. Hübinette will carry on in memory of his
departed friend and colleague.

“Shaun’s tragic death was a shock to us all,” said Hübinette. “We hope to do him
proud out there this season.”

ABOUT SAMUEL HÜBINETTE

A native Swede, Hübinette has been living and competing in the United States since
2001. He became a US citizen in 2006. When he isn’t drifting, Hübinette is also a working stunt driver in car commercials and in Hollywood productions including the Fast and the Furious franchise, Crank2, and the upcoming film Knight and Day. Hübinette developed a taste for speed in his native Sweden, where he earned a reputation for pushing snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars to their limits. He competed as a driver in Touring Car racing on a team for Volvo from 1997 through 2000 and worked for Volvo Cars for nine years as a stunt driver and test driver in product development for the company. He has also worked as a performance driving instructor, including a three-year stint at the Skip Barber Racing School, where he was a member of the elite Special Product Group. Last year Samuel became a “specialist reserved officer” with LAPD.

SHR Partners: Dodge, BFGoodrich, Mopar, Eibach, Weld Racing, AIT, Sparco, K&N, AEM, Stack Performance, ES Motorsports, Royal Purple, Wilwood, Tilton Engineering, Os Giken, ITI Performance, Magnaflow, Azunia Tequila, APR, and more to come!

For more info visit Toxic Drift