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| Also, by the end of the night, we had a yard sale of parts. You could have a broken wheel, snapped suspensions, thrown bumpers, and, yes, a well used engineer! The carnage at this year's Irwindale Finale was a bitter pill to swallow by many. They or their crews now have wrecked cars to try and salvage during the 2012 off season. |
Vaughn Gittin, Jr., 2010 Formula Drift Champion, 2nd in 2012 Points
“You know, Daigo is a great driver. He's definitely one of the best drivers in the world, Formula Drift is the most competitive series in the world and congratulations to him! We all hoped for a little bit of luck this weekend and it definitely went his way. Overall, he's deserved it and he's driven so hard this year, he's come out swinging. We'll look forward to battling him next year!”
Rhys Millen, 2005 Formula Drift Champion, 3rd in 2012 Points
“Doesn't disturb me that he won, I think he is an incredible driver. Obviously he's got a very good car and he's proven himself in other series to be a Champion. He's a Formula D Rookie, whatever, I have no problem with that. I go do an event around the world and it's my first time, I will be a Rookie regardless of my past experience. But, he's definitely no first time Rookie, he's proven himself overseas and in Japan to be one of the best. And I guess, Vaughn and I should be proud of both our own efforts to be that close even though he is crowned Champion.”
Justin Pawlak, 2012 Tires.com Triple Crown Winner
“You know, Daigo and I have had some altercations this year and you can't take it away from him. He's a solid driver and I'm proud to be known as a driver who could be right next to him. He's got me a couple of times and it's good to have solid drivers like that. It always makes it interesting and it always mixes it up.”
Daijiro Yoshihara, 2011 Formula Drift Champion
“As a fellow Japanese driver, I am happy to call him Champion. It took me 8 years to get a Championship last year, but (Daigo) was able to win the Championship in his first year. It really shows his experience and where we need to go. As a fellow competitor, I am frustrated that I did not win back to back this year. However, he deserved it as he did very well this year.”
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Daigo Saito, 2012 Formula Drift Champion (Translated by Robbie Nishida) “I knew I had a points gap to JR coming into this event. I also know that JR is really, really good here. So, I knew it would be very difficult, but there were a lot of things that happened on the track. I was getting lucky on some parts and also, things were happening out there for me to win. So, I am very happy to win this Championship!” Daigo goes on to mention for 2013, “I know next year, I have to watch myself, so I don't fail. I want to go for a second Championship.” |
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Daigo Saito and the Achilles Radial Formula Drift Team 2012 Formula Drift Champions! |
