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Well, Daigo would only fight for first place if he could get his car repaired in time. Because Vaughn had forfeited his run, Daigo could no longer request more time than the 5 minutes allowed by the Competition Time Out. After Bryan Bridges realized it, he quickly made a call to his crew at the trailer to bring every right side rear part they could and a welder just in case. It ended up they would need that welder, some duct tape, and some other miscellaneous parts. In just 5 minutes, the team was able to get Daigo’s Lexus sufficiently repaired to allow him back out to battle against Mike Essa!
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With his door shut like a stock car on a Saturday night short track special, Daigo Saito took his wounded Achilles Radial Lexus SC430 and drove its wheels off. Looks like his days at the Drift Matsuri with his missile cars paid off because Daigo was nearly able to keep up with Mike Essa’s less wounded GSR Autosport/Yokohama Tire BMW M3. Even if the judges wouldn’t favor him, Daigo could still look at this as a victory for his team as none of them gave up. They took his destroyed car and brought it back to a condition to allow him to battle the GSR Autosport M3!
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Mike Essa, on the other hand, could look at a second place as a victory as well. Even a second place finish would be his best career result as a Professional driver in Formula Drift. It would also make this the best points result for a BMW chassis in FD as well and yet BMW still does not sponsor a driver. This despite using drifting in their ads and faking a World Record drift on a wet course and in a circle.
Both drivers would drive their hearts out and drive to the best of and above their abilities. While it would be great to try and give them both a win of some sort; feelings don't apply in drifting. We have a winner for Formula Drift Round 3 at Palm Beach International Raceway.
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| Third Place will go to Robbie Nishida! His best result in some time and is a result of Vaughn Gittin, Jr. still not being able to get his car repaired enough to be safely run.
Many conspiracy theorists speculate that Vaughn took out Daigo for maximum points. If that were true, why did he not drive for Third Place? That would further minimize his points loss, wouldn't you think? |
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| With a wrecked car, Daigo Saito takes Second Place! With so much positive camber on the right side of the car, it was a wonder he drove it at all! Getting second is a victory, though a bitter one. |
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| Well, with Daigo taking Second, that can mean only one thing! Tony Angelo takes the win!
I'm kidding! Mike Essa, with hard driving and excellent performance through the entire event, takes First Place for Round 3 at Palm Beach International Raceway! |
Current Top 5 Driver Points Standings after 3 Rounds
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1
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257.00
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2
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244.00
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-13.00
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3
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241.50
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-15.50
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4
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202.00
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-55.00
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5
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197.50
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-59.50
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Current Tire Manufacturer Top 5 Points after 3 Rounds
| 1. | Falken | 461.00 |
| 2. | Achilles | 417.50 |
| 3. | Nitto | 408.00 |
| 4. | Hankook | 399.50 |
| 5. | Yokohama | 320.50 |
Current Vehicle Manufacturer Top 5 Points after 3 Rounds
| 1. | Ford | 426.50 |
| 2. | Lexus | 414.25 |
| 3. | Nissan | 386.00 |
| 4. | Scion | 379.00 |
| 5. | BMW | 371.50 |
