Formula Drift Round 7 – Irwindale Speedway

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Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale
Ken Gushi in the GReddy Performance Scion FR-S had to face Toshiki Yoshioka in the RS-R Nissan Silvia. Ken Gushi's lead run and the hard wall tap by Yoshioka gave the advantage to Ken. He would move on to the Top 16 while Yoshioka would have to watch the rest of the event with Manabu “Max” Orido, who flew in to watch the finals at Irwindale.
 
Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale
There was something in Matt Field in the CX Racing/Black Trax Nissan 240SX. He utterly dominated Jeremy Lowe in the Enjuku Racing Mazda RX-7. Jeremy hasn't been a slouch this year, but Matt was on a mission!
 

Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale

Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale

After a restart initiated by Walker Wilkerson, JTP once again took off and kept a large distance between them. The Falken sponsored drivers have a huge disparity in power between them, with the Falken Mustangholding the advantage. Walker seems to not have quite found the same performance he had last year since switching to a V8 powered S13 chassis, but this is his first year to get used to the car, too. However, a large hit into the wall during his lead run would really not help his lack of proximity against the Falken Mustang. JTP would move on to the Top 16.
 
Formula Drift Round 7 - IrwindaleFormula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale
The inner bank wall had one hell of a hunger this year. Walker fed it, but it still wasn't enough and Alex Lee in the V8 Toyota Cresta would give it some 4-door sandwich when he led against Tony Angelo in the Scion Racing Scion tC. The worst part was that this was not Alex's first hit, as he dragged against the wall in Top 32 practice as well. He came back in with just enough time to line up against Tony. Lee's car was done and Tony Angelo moves on to the Top 16 by default.
 
Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale
With not much time between events to prepare for larger horsepower, Joon was at a disadvantage against the veteran chassis Go Pro/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Camaro of Tyler McQuarrie. Joon's Lucas Oil/Road Race Engineering Nissan 240SX performed beautifully, though, but wasn't enough to out perform Tyler. While Tyler did hit the wall, it wasn't as devastating as had been seen that day. It also didn't mess up his line or keep him in line, as it was the perfect tap the judges liked to see. McQuarrie would move on to Top 16.
 
Formula Drift Round 7 - Irwindale
This was heartbreaking. While going up against the Ebay Motors Ford Mustang of Tony Brakiohapa, Mike Essa in the GSR/Nitto Tire BMW Z4 shut down as soon as he got off the bank. Many thought it was a hand brake as it looked like he was signalling there. However, it was soon discovered that it was a blown headgasket that had taken Essa out. The BMW Z4 has been a very reliable car since 2011, but today failure finally reared its ugly head. Brakiohapa moves on to the Top 16.

 

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