Photos by Jeff Naeyaert & Martin Gonzales
(click any image to view full gallery)
DAY ONE – QUALIFYING
The 2010 Formula Drift season kicked off today in our very own backyard. Over 50 teams made the trip out to Long Beach California for the first qualifying round of the season, and who could blame them? The Streets of Long Beach course has one of the most beautiful backdrops the Formula Drift season has to offer. Built right smack in the middle of downtown Long Beach there is plenty to do prior, during and after competition. If you’re in the area and have the means to make it out…we highly recommend it.
We hit the track early in the morning to pick up our media vest, aka tire facial passes, and started to make our way to the track. If you’re a car nut like the rest of us you’ll agree there’s nothing like a full flavorful whiff of tire smoke in the morning…and that we got plenty of. The cars just keep getting faster with every passing season! Formula Drift has evolved to one of the premier drifting series in the world and continues to attract drivers from all over the globe. All the teams have definitely stepped it up a notch this season in order to keep a leg up on the competition. We saw a good number of new rides including Dai Yoshihara’s LS powered S13, Vaughn Gitten, Jr’s ASD built Mustang and one of the loudest cars out there – Sam Hubinette’s Dodge Charger.
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| Smoke filled mornings FTW! |
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| Rhys letting it all hang out |
Rhys “Mad Skills” Millen piloted the always reliable Red Bull Hyundai Genesis to the top of the qualifying list with a score of 89, with Tyler McQuarrie right on his heels with an 88.3. Here are today’s top 10 qualifiers:
- Rhys Millen – Hyundai Genesis Coupe
- Travis McQuarrie – Nissan 350Z
- Vaughn Gitten, Jr. – Ford Mustang
- Darren McNamera – Saturn Sky
- Tanner Foust – Scion tC
- Ryan Tuerck – Pontiac Solstice
- Fredric Aasbo – Toyota Supra
- Samuel Hubinette – Dodge Challenger
- Justin Pawlak – Ford Mustang
- Chris Forsberg – Nissan 350Z
Follow the link below to the official Formula Drift web-site for the complete list of the 32 teams who will be competing in tomorrow’s event:
FORMULA DRIFT – Round 1 Qualifying Results
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| Fredric Aasbo was very fast in the Japan Auto Toyota Supra |
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| The Rockstar tC and Tanner Faust keeping the crowd entertained |
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| A crashed Hachi is always a sad sight. |
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| The reigning champ picking up right where he left off last season. |
Now we’re gonna wash the tire shavings off our hair and hit the sack. Have to rest up for tomorrow’s main event. Till tomorrow MotoIQ’ers!
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| All that sun…takes a lot out of a guy |
