Formula Drift 2012 - Part 1

Saturday I was in Long Beach for Formula Drift Round 1, it's my third year going and I love it more and more.    Getting a car sideways without slamming into a wall is serious business! Not to mention the hard work that goes into building a car to make it do that.  Here's Part 1 of Formula Drift, a look at some of the drift cars from the competition.

It takes some serious skill to do what these drivers do, one mistake and you and your car are in for a world of hurt. This is a prime example.  Rookie Mike Phillips wrecked his 240 friday afternoon, and as you can see, the front end is destroyed.  The damage extends down the right side of the car, affecting both the skirt and the door. Ouch!  But it takes a seasoned professional to really get the hang of this stuff.

Dai Yoshihara brought his A-game in his V8 powered Discount Tire Nissan 240sx and fought it out with fellow team mate J.T.P. for the win.

Dai ended up taking second, but I personally think he should've won! But that could be my bias talking (he's my favorite driver).

Vaughn Gittin Jr. is one of two "Brostang" drivers for Falken.  He rocks the 2011 Monster Energy Mustang 5.0. Although the livery has been updated and the car does look sick, Gittin ended up knocking himself out of qualifying.  It was a bit of  an upset considering he had done so well the day before.

Justin Pawlak (aka J.T.P.) drives the other Falken Tire Mustang.  He proclaimed that out of all the cars he's drifted in, the mustang is "obviously better."  That definitely feeds into the debate over the V8's encroaching on the sport. Would you go V8 or Turbo?

Every car has cameras mounted all over it, but J.T.P's 'stang was the only one I saw with one THIS BIG.  I bet the photos/video it captured are pretty amazing.  I'd like to look into mounting cameras in the future myself!

One of the more highly anticipated cars to hit the track this year was Ken Gushi's  Greddy Scion FR-S, which had been getting lots of attention over the past few months.  This is the very first look at what the FR-S can do, as Scion's version of the 86 is built for sport.

After making it to the Great Eight on its maiden voyage, I'd say the car is living up to its expectations.  I can't wait to see these on the road! And more from Ken.

But "The Gush" wasn't the only driver with a popular car caught up in the hype.  Newcomer Daigo Saito's Achilles Lexus SC430 (known as a Toyota Soarer in Japan) arrived in the states in March, a car the crowd just couldn't seem to get enough of.

Thanks to 3.4L 2JZ engine pumping out 1200hp, Daigo finished in third place after defeating Matt Powers for the spot.  They don't call his car the V8 Hunter for nothing!

Speaking of Matt Powers, turns out he acquired a new S14 chassis to compete with this year.  Although his car still wears a Rocket Bunny kit, the crazy animal print livery and neon wheels are no more.

The highlighter party may be missing a member, but there's still Matt Field's  240sx.  An explosion of neon green for the wheels, decals and a few other accents on the car.

Even the steering wheel gets some neon action.

As for the two color neon combo Matt sported last year, it looks like the "Purple Puppy" driven by Walker Wilkerson has got that covered this time around.

Out of all the rainbow-rific rides, I think Ryan Tuerk's is probably my favorite.  Looks like somebody spilled like ten buckets of paint on his S13.5.

And it there were ever a car to make a bunch of colors look totally bad ass, it's Ross Petty's BOSO Nissan Silvia S15. That guy slides around the track like a monster!

I'll finish up Part 1 with Jhonnattan Castro's 350z.  Not colorful, not a winner, but he's got a SHARK in his car  and it's wearing a hat.  Your argument is invalid.

Part 2 is next, vendors and display cars.
-Etoria <3