The Motegi Super Drift Challenge during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach begins tonight at 7pm (PST) and will be aired live on the Driftstream.
More info can be found on FormulaD.com and GPLB.com.
The Motegi Super Drift Challenge during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach begins tonight at 7pm (PST) and will be aired live on the Driftstream.
More info can be found on FormulaD.com and GPLB.com.
Round 2: Road to the Championship at Road Atlanta is about to begin. Opening ceremonies just got underway.
Top 16 Coverage
Foust vs Gushi. The battle of the Scions. Foust pulls away leading Gushi, but Gushi catches up in the horseshoe as Foust leaves a thick cloud of smoke. Gushi leads the 2nd run, Foust pulls door to door with Gushi and towards the last clipping point Foust gets aggressive and pulls close to Gushi…they hit. Gushi spins. Judges deliberate and watch the instant replay. Ken Gushi gets the win.
Forsberg vs Hubinette – Forsberg leads and Hubinette chases really tight and stays close through the first run. Hubinette leads and now Forsberg shadows…Hubinette pulls away after the horseshoe. Too close to call. One More Time.
OMT – Run 1 – Forsberg leads and Hubinette shadows and keeps tight. Hubinette spins in the horseshoe. Hubinette leads and Forsberg chases tight through the entire run. Forsberg moves on to the Great 8.
Yoshihara vs Mordaunt – Dai leads and Mordaunt goes hot into the dirt on the first sweeper. Dai has the advantage going into the 2nd run. Mordaunt leads and Dai follows. Clean run. Dai advances.
Millen vs McNamara – Millen leads and McNamara sticks to Millen, but a little shallower line. Good run by both drivers. DMac leads and Millen chases…first turn collision. Judges watch the instant replay to see what happened. Did Millen go in to hot? Or did DMac slow down dramatically? McNamara gets the win.
Tuerck vs Petty – Tuerck leads and Petty chases. Both with good angle and good line sticking close to one another. Great run. Petty leads and Tuerck sticks close. Another good run by both. This will be a close call. Tuerck moves on.
Gittin vs Maeng – Gittin leads and Maeng chases and sticks close through the horseshoe. Great run. Maeng leads and corrects on the first clipping point, Gittin close. Gittin moves on.
Grunewald vs Pawlak – Grunewald leads and Pawlak follows. Both with mistakes. Pawlak mistake on entry and Grunewald goes wide in the horseshoe. Pawlak leads and creates a gap that Grunewald can’t catch up to on Run 2. Pawlak’s mistake on the first run could not be made up. Grunewald wins.
Essa vs Nishida – Essa leads and has a great run until the end. Nishida with a solid run. Nishida leads and loses grip and straightens up on first turn. Essa moves on.
Another exciting round of competition. Some highlights include Verdier taking out the #1 qualifier and winner of last year’s RD1 LB event, Chris Forsberg, in a close battle. Nishida moving on past Quoc Ly. Gittin easily moving past Kondo. Hubinette edging out Long Beach native Justin Pawlak in one of the most exciting rounds of action. Tony Brakiohiapa beating out Darren McNamara in a close battle. Tuerck moving past Grunewald after Grunewald crashes out. In one of the most anticipated battles Ueo vs Foust – with Foust taking out the Formula DRIFT rookie. Another Rookie Jones after a “One More Time” vs Aono crashes out moving Aono to the Great 8.
And did I mention a visit from UFC lightweight fighter Rampage!
Highlight photos
Foust and Ueo in a tight battle!
More photos after the jump and stay tuned for the GREAT 8
Continue reading LIVE from the Top 16
We’re live at the Streets of Long Beach for Round 1 for the 2009 Formula DRIFT Championship Season. Check out the results page for LIVE results round by round.
More photos after the jump!
Tommy Suell did not make it into today’s competition, but check out what happened during qualifying.