At yesterday’s media day KTLA Ch. 5 News came down to check out the action. Reporter Gayle Anderson interviewed both 2-time Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust and 2-time Formula DRIFT champion Samuel Hubinette and hyped up this weekend’s season opening event!
Check out the video KTLA – FORMULA DRIFT Look for the Formula DRIFT video in the menu.
Formula DRIFT Prepares to Kick-off the 2009 Championship Season;
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Activities and Drivers Entry List Announced
Long Beach, Calif. – March 31, 2009 – Formula DRIFT prepares to kick-off the 2009 professional championship season with a host of events leading up to the main competition weekend on April 10-11. Round 1: Streets of Long Beach also marks the debut of new cars and drivers and the return of top drifters from around the world.
“The 2009 Formula DRIFT season will be as entertaining and exciting as ever,” says Ryan Sage, vice-president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “In addition to the main event on the 10-11th we have also lined up some great local, fan-friendly events in Long Beach to add to the overall weekend.”
To kick-off the season on Thursday April 9, Formula DRIFT will converge on Downtown Long Beach at 5 PM. The entire roster of drivers and cars will parade from the track into the heart of downtown. The competition vehicles will be on display on Pine and Broadway and fans will have a chance to meet and greet with the drivers. As an added bonus, 2-time Formula DRIFT champion Samuel Hubinette, will be premiering his new DVD “Drift Ya Later,” at Smooth’s Sports Grille. The festivities are free and will go from continue from 5 PM to 9 PM.
After the first day of Formula DRIFT action on Friday, April 10, Hooters on Pine Ave. in Downtown Long Beach will be hosting a reception for the Formula DRIFT teams. Fans are welcome to join in on the festivities with the drivers. The action takes place from 7 PM to 9 PM.
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets are available via the Formula DRIFT website at www.formuladrift.com. Ticket prices start at $28 online for a Saturday reserved seat. Friday, April 10th has been opened to the public as a “Preview Day,” and will feature practice and qualifying. Fans can buy access to Friday’s event for just $5 more. Grandstands 16 and 18 have been expanded this season to give more fans the best view of the action. Taking place during the opening ceremonies on Saturday, April 11, West Coast Customs will be presenting reigning Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust with a custom-built GTO. The presentation will be aired on an upcoming episode of “Street Customs” on the TLC channel. West Coast Customs owner Ryan Friedlinghaus will be handing the keys to Foust exclusively at this event.
New cars and drivers will make their debut at the season opener. The addition of the Top 32 competition format at this event will give the fans the most excitement and action. The drivers will test their limits on the only actual course that takes place on real city streets.
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Entry List
Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11
| Calvin Wan Carl Rydquist Casper Canul Chris Forsberg Chris Kregorian Cody Parkhouse Colin Frost Conrad Grunewald Daijiro Yoshihara Dan Pina Darren McNamara Doug VanDenBrink Eric O’Sullivan Gary Lang Hiro Sumida Ivan Lim Jeff Jones Jodin LeJeune John Russakoff Joon Maeng Justin Pawlak Katsuhiro Ueo Kazu Hayashida Ken Gushi Kenji Yamanaka Kyle Mohan Matt Waldin Matt Powers Michael Essa Michihiro Takatori Patrick Mordaunt Quoc Ly Rhys Millen Robbie Nishida Ron Ewerth Ross Petty Ryan Tuerck Ryuji Miki Samuel Hubinette Stephan Verdier Taka Aono Tanner Foust Tommy Suell Tony Brakohiapa Tyler McQuarrie Vaughn Gittin Jr. Yasu Kondo |
Falken Tire Nissan S15 Silvia City Tire / Kallusive Clothing Nissan 350Z ARK Performance / Frontmann Competitive Corp. Nissan S14.5 NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z Roadster Milano Motorsports / AIT Racing Nissan 350Z LS 1 DMAX / Cooper Tires Nissan S13 Cooper Tires / Sun Auto Nissan 240SX Chevy Corvette Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 Griggs Racing / Paxton Super Chargers Ford Mustang 5.0 Falken Tire / Sears Saturn Sky Privateer Ford Mustang Rockstar Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Subaru STI Spec Clutch / Hinson Super Cars Nissan S13.4 Greddy / OS Giken USA Toyota Cressida Goodyear Racing / Binter Nissan S13 Comp. Turbo / K&N Filters Nissan S13 BF Goodrich / Eneos Oil TBA JSP Fab / Falken Tires Toyota 84 Corolla Maxxis Tire / LS Auto Nissan S13.5 Mazda USA / Cooper Tire / Bergenholtz Racing Mazda RX8 Driftspeed / Behrman Nissan S15 Maziora / Signal Auto Nissan Silvia S15 RS*R / Toyo Tires Scion tC Maziora / Signal Auto Nissan Silvia S15 Mazda USA / Cooper Tire Mazda RX-8 Tuner Icons / Import Intelligence Nissan 350Z Privateer Nissan S14 Tech Trix Motorsports / DTC Performance Mazda RX-7 Bridges Racing / Toyo Tires Nissan S13 PM Racing / Brian Crower Nissan 240SX Driftspeed / Behrman Nissan S14 Red Bull / RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe Hankook Tire / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z BF Goodrich Tire / Eneos Oil TBA Garage Boso / Falken Tire Nissan S15 Gardella Racing / Mobil 1/ Tomei Pontiac Solstice GXP APEXi / Hankook Tire Mazda RX-7 Mopar / NuFormz Racing TBA Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI Technosquare / OS Giken Toyota AE86 Corolla Rockstar Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Scion tC Toyo Tires / Allegiant Air Toyota AE86 Corolla Cooper Tire / Sam’s Autobody Ford Mustang Falken Tire / GoPro Nissan 350Z Falken Tire / Ford Racing 2010 Mustang GT KAAZ USA Toyota AE86 Corolla |
We are only 5 weeks away of another full season of drifting!! Our first event kicks off on April 10-11, 2009! Here’s Casidi (Coordinator of Operations) counting some hard tickets! She’s mad at me because I kept making her mis-count those some 500 plus tickets…hahaa..
I’ll see everyone in Long Beach…April 10-11, 2009!!! Don’t forget to purchase your tickets!!
– Ceso
Formula DRIFT Prepares for Sixth Professional Championship Season;
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Tickets On-Sale Thursday, February 26
Long Beach, Calif. – February 24, 2009 – Formula DRIFT prepares to begin the sixth professional championship season. Reserved tickets will be available online starting Thursday, February 26 for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 10 and 11. The season opener will feature the world debut of new drift cars, new and returning drivers, and lots more.
“Formula DRIFT is excited to enter its sixth season of competition and we have a lot of new things in store for the fans,” said Jim Liaw, co-founder and president of Formula DRIFT. “We are proud to present the world debut of new competition vehicles at Long Beach including the 2010 Ford Mustang driven by Vaughn Gittin, Jr., the 2010 Dodge Challenger driven by 2-time Formula DRIFT champion, Samuel Hubinette, and the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe driven by World Champion and Formula DRIFT champion, Rhys Millen. In these tough economic times it is great to see that auto manufacturers have chosen Formula DRIFT as one of their main motorsports platforms.”
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach tickets will be available beginning February 26 via the Formula DRIFT website at www.formuladrift.com. Ticket prices start at $28 online with reserved tickets available for Saturday’s competition day. Friday, April 10th has been opened to the public as a “Preview Day,” and will feature practice and qualifying at a minimal cost with purchase of a Saturday “Main Event” ticket. Grandstands 16 and 18 have been expanded this season to give more fans the best view of the action.
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach April 10-11 Ticket Pricing
Saturday, April 11- Reserved Seating
Saturday, April 11 – Reserved Seating + Friday, April 10 – GA
Online / Pre-Sale
$28.00
$32.00
“Even in this tough economy we have managed to keep ticket prices low, while still expanding to a two day format,” said Ryan Sage, co-founder and vice president of marketing for Formula DRIFT. “Reserved tickets allow our fans to never lose their seat so they can walk around at leisure and enjoy what has become one of the most anticipated events of the year in and around Southern California.”
The action begins on April 10th in Long Beach, California and will be held on a section of the famous Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach street course. New cars and drivers will be entering the Series and will make for another exciting season. The addition of Top 32 tandem battle will be sure to challenge the drivers and add to the action. Current back-to-back Formula DRIFT Champion, Tanner Foust and World Champion Rhys Millen make their return on different vehicle platforms and will battle against the best drifters for the Formula DRIFT championship.
Online tickets for Round 1: Streets of Long Beach go on sale this Thursday, February 26! Save money and purchase your tickets in advance online. Visit FormulaDrift.com on Thursday.
