COVERAGE> Big Guns at Formula D New Jersey
Formula Drift at Wall Speedway in New Jersey was definitely fun to watch. For me, it's always fun to travel and attend all the events in the tour, but this past weekend, I had some other commitments and couldn't make it to New Jersey. Luckily for us all, Larry Chen was out in New Jersey representing MotorMavens and capturing all the action!
Thanks to our friends at YoParts and Belle 1 Communications, we were able to watch Formula D live; the DriftStream live feed was really fun and entertaining! It was like an old school AOL chat room with tons of drifting fans blurting out information and opinions; I was impressed at how many people got involved in the live chat, cheering for (and sometimes clowning) drivers and teams! All in all, it was super fun - and I quite honestly was pretty disappointed that I had to shut down my computer in the middle of the Top 16 so that I could drive to my friend's house for a party/bbq (it was my fault - I should have just driven over there early so I could watch the entire thing at his house).
Wall Speedway is a pretty interesting track. It was originally built for circle track cars, but somehow was able to re-purpose itself for drifting, thanks to a lot of phone calls, legwork, and planning by the Formula Drift staff. Wall Speedway is also the most extreme banking that Formula Drift competition cars run on, with the most extreme sections of the track being 30 degrees - a really big difference in comparison to Irwindale Speedway's 18 degrees of incline. Read more...
Thanks to our friends at YoParts and Belle 1 Communications, we were able to watch Formula D live; the DriftStream live feed was really fun and entertaining! It was like an old school AOL chat room with tons of drifting fans blurting out information and opinions; I was impressed at how many people got involved in the live chat, cheering for (and sometimes clowning) drivers and teams! All in all, it was super fun - and I quite honestly was pretty disappointed that I had to shut down my computer in the middle of the Top 16 so that I could drive to my friend's house for a party/bbq (it was my fault - I should have just driven over there early so I could watch the entire thing at his house).
Wall Speedway is a pretty interesting track. It was originally built for circle track cars, but somehow was able to re-purpose itself for drifting, thanks to a lot of phone calls, legwork, and planning by the Formula Drift staff. Wall Speedway is also the most extreme banking that Formula Drift competition cars run on, with the most extreme sections of the track being 30 degrees - a really big difference in comparison to Irwindale Speedway's 18 degrees of incline. Read more...
COVERAGE> Daijiro Yoshihara’s Triumph in Atlanta
Most of our readers who have been following us on Facebook or Twitter know that the members of the MotorMavens Crew just got back from an exciting Formula Drift weekend at Road Atlanta; we're happy to have been receiving tweets and Facebook messages from everyone all weekend! We're also happy to hear that many of our friends who were unable to make it have been watching the event through our website's live stream. Since most hardcore Formula Drift fans already knew the podium results on the night that it happened, I thought it would be pointless for us to do the same type of play-by-play recap that most other websites will be publishing.
MotorMavens was never intended to be an online newspaper. Instead of focusing on the results, with Daijiro Yoshihara and the Discount Tire S13 taking the win; Vaughn Gittin Jr's Mustang coming in 2nd Place, and Chris Forsberg's NOS Energy 350Z finishing third; I thought I'd take a minute to focus on the importance of Daijiro Yoshihara's win.
Round Two of the Formula Drift Championship was important to Dai's sponsors, because it marked the first-ever win for his title sponsor, Discount Tire. Those who have been following Formula Drift since its beginning might also recall that it was Discount Tire's first podium since 2004, when Calvin Wan took 3rd Place in Sonoma with his Discount Tire RPS13 240SX. (There should be a party breaking out at Discount Tire's Phoenix, Arizona-based offices!)
Formula D Atlanta was also the second FD event in a row that resulted in a 1st Place finish on Falken Tires, which is huge for the massive teal and blue army! I know everyone involved in the Falken drift team is extremely proud of their drivers; winning both events back to back is no easy feat! On the corporate side, I'm sure these wins help justify the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Falken's been spending on drifting for the past few years!
While these milestones might be important to the corporate sponsorship side of Formula Drift, most fans don't care about that at all. What made Daijiro Yoshihara's First Place win significant to the fans is the fact that it proves that the popular, yet "old and outdated Nissan S13 240SX chassis" is able to remain competitive and WIN in professional level Formula D Competition!
Sponsorships aside, winning First Place at Road Atlanta was a huge win for Dai personally. According to Dai, winning in Atlanta "was huge for me. It was my fourth 1st Place win in Formula D, but actually... for me, [winning Formula D Atlanta] was even bigger than the very first time I got 1st place, at in Irwindale in 2006." Read more...
MotorMavens was never intended to be an online newspaper. Instead of focusing on the results, with Daijiro Yoshihara and the Discount Tire S13 taking the win; Vaughn Gittin Jr's Mustang coming in 2nd Place, and Chris Forsberg's NOS Energy 350Z finishing third; I thought I'd take a minute to focus on the importance of Daijiro Yoshihara's win.
Round Two of the Formula Drift Championship was important to Dai's sponsors, because it marked the first-ever win for his title sponsor, Discount Tire. Those who have been following Formula Drift since its beginning might also recall that it was Discount Tire's first podium since 2004, when Calvin Wan took 3rd Place in Sonoma with his Discount Tire RPS13 240SX. (There should be a party breaking out at Discount Tire's Phoenix, Arizona-based offices!)
Formula D Atlanta was also the second FD event in a row that resulted in a 1st Place finish on Falken Tires, which is huge for the massive teal and blue army! I know everyone involved in the Falken drift team is extremely proud of their drivers; winning both events back to back is no easy feat! On the corporate side, I'm sure these wins help justify the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Falken's been spending on drifting for the past few years!
While these milestones might be important to the corporate sponsorship side of Formula Drift, most fans don't care about that at all. What made Daijiro Yoshihara's First Place win significant to the fans is the fact that it proves that the popular, yet "old and outdated Nissan S13 240SX chassis" is able to remain competitive and WIN in professional level Formula D Competition!
Sponsorships aside, winning First Place at Road Atlanta was a huge win for Dai personally. According to Dai, winning in Atlanta "was huge for me. It was my fourth 1st Place win in Formula D, but actually... for me, [winning Formula D Atlanta] was even bigger than the very first time I got 1st place, at in Irwindale in 2006." Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Fun at Long Beach
I know, everyone has been waiting to see our first installment of Formula D Long Beach pics. So have I! We just had to get some other deadlines out of the way before we could begin posting our images from this weekend's Formula Drift event on the Streets of Long Beach!
This past weekend was certainly an exciting one. I was excited to see all the new cars that were debuting at Long Beach, as well as seeing a lot of good friends from different parts of the world, even if it would be only for a brief moment. Unfortunately, when you're working at the event like I am, you're usually hustling about, going from one spot to the next, and you don't have as much time as you'd like to just chill and spend time with good friends. This event was definitely like that for me.
I was trying to juggle shooting photos for the website while overseeing the Motor Mavens Crew's event promotions efforts. Not an easy task! Also, on the Saturday of the event, I was asked to help out with the filming of The Grid, which is a UK-based motorsports television show that airs in 120 countries around the world! And... on top of all that, we debuted the new MotorMavens X DSTROYR "Follow The Leader" shirt at our booth, which was managed by super designer Jon Chase, the creative genius behind the brands DSTROYR and Famous Stars and Straps. I and the entire Motor Mavens Crew definitely had our hustle mode switched ON this weekend! Read more...
This past weekend was certainly an exciting one. I was excited to see all the new cars that were debuting at Long Beach, as well as seeing a lot of good friends from different parts of the world, even if it would be only for a brief moment. Unfortunately, when you're working at the event like I am, you're usually hustling about, going from one spot to the next, and you don't have as much time as you'd like to just chill and spend time with good friends. This event was definitely like that for me.
I was trying to juggle shooting photos for the website while overseeing the Motor Mavens Crew's event promotions efforts. Not an easy task! Also, on the Saturday of the event, I was asked to help out with the filming of The Grid, which is a UK-based motorsports television show that airs in 120 countries around the world! And... on top of all that, we debuted the new MotorMavens X DSTROYR "Follow The Leader" shirt at our booth, which was managed by super designer Jon Chase, the creative genius behind the brands DSTROYR and Famous Stars and Straps. I and the entire Motor Mavens Crew definitely had our hustle mode switched ON this weekend! Read more...
VIDEO> Joshua Herron's FD Year In Review
Formula Drift 2009 from Joshua Herron on Vimeo.
While 2009 may have come and gone, Joshua Herron dug through hours upon hours of footage to give us one last glimpse at what the ’09 Formula Drift season held in store for us. This video is amazing on so many different levels. The cinematography is top-notch, it is jam-packed with unreleased footage, transitions through three songs – each with a unique vibe, and it does it all seamlessly. The last segment definitely feels like a throwback to the old skate videos I grew up with.
Amazing work on this video, Mr. Herron! I’m going to go watch it again (and again, and again)!!!
:: Andy Sapp
GALLERY> The Irwindale Experience
Since I'm new to MotorMavens, most people don't know much background info on me. I was born and raised in the Northwest, so every time I visit California, it becomes a great adventure. The final round in the Formula Drift series was my very first visit to Irwindale. From the hot weather and good looking girls, I could tell I was in for a real treat! Not to mention all the sick cars that California has!
When I arrived at LAX on Thursday, I got my rental car and drove straight into L.A. traffic to get to Irwindale Speedway, working my way though all that traffic while trying to find a good radio station to listen to. I finally arrived at the Speedway about 45 minutes later.
Walking though the pits, watching all the vendors getting set up for the event, I noticed the pit area is so much bigger than the one we have at Evergreen Speedway where Round 5 was held . This was a subtle hint that more vendors and drivers would be attending this event than the one at Evergreen.
Another thing that I noticed was the weather. Seattle summer includes two months of decent heat and sun after which it's back to the infamous rain season that happens to have started a couple of weeks ago. So, even though I caught myself wiping sweat off my forehead every few minutes, I was enjoying every minute of the sun. I wish it was like this in the Northwest.
Fast forward to the opening day of the Final round of Formula Drift. I got there bright and early to start taking photos and meet lots of new people. Since I'm pretty new to MotorMavens, a lot of people didn't know my name or my face. I took that as the perfect opportunity to introduce myself to the locals. The attitude that California people have is really great! Everyone was friendly and awesome to hang out with! Read more...
When I arrived at LAX on Thursday, I got my rental car and drove straight into L.A. traffic to get to Irwindale Speedway, working my way though all that traffic while trying to find a good radio station to listen to. I finally arrived at the Speedway about 45 minutes later.
Walking though the pits, watching all the vendors getting set up for the event, I noticed the pit area is so much bigger than the one we have at Evergreen Speedway where Round 5 was held . This was a subtle hint that more vendors and drivers would be attending this event than the one at Evergreen.
Another thing that I noticed was the weather. Seattle summer includes two months of decent heat and sun after which it's back to the infamous rain season that happens to have started a couple of weeks ago. So, even though I caught myself wiping sweat off my forehead every few minutes, I was enjoying every minute of the sun. I wish it was like this in the Northwest.
Fast forward to the opening day of the Final round of Formula Drift. I got there bright and early to start taking photos and meet lots of new people. Since I'm pretty new to MotorMavens, a lot of people didn't know my name or my face. I took that as the perfect opportunity to introduce myself to the locals. The attitude that California people have is really great! Everyone was friendly and awesome to hang out with! Read more...
VIDEO> The Chris Forsberg Story
“Chris Forsberg: Where I came From” Presented by NOS Energy Drink from NOS Energy Drink on Vimeo.
I just received a link to this video where Formula D driver Chris Forsberg gives a heartfelt explanation of his roots in drifting and where he came from, not to mention what types of trials and tribulations he and his crew had to endure to become the first successful privateer team in the Formula Drift series.
I love hearing about and reading stories of underdogs who worked hard and persevered through tough times to make it to the top. Chris’s story is one of those… it’s pretty compelling.
Chris is now leading the points in both the Formula D championship and the Tires.com Triple Crown (in case you didn’t know, it’s another points championship with a cash award, which is why people are running those huge stickers on their windshields). If Chris wins at Irwindale, he will be the first driver to do both on his way to his first Formula D title. IF Chris wins, it will also be the first time that a drifter with no other motorsports background become the champion. We will find out soon enough, THIS WEEKEND Oct. 15-16 at Irwindale Speedway for the Formula D Finale!
See you there! Make sure to stop by the Eat Sleep Race booth to get some Motor Mavens stickers and t-shirts!
:: Antonio Alvendia
COVERAGE> Seibon Customer Appreciation Day
Living close to the beach, as I’m sure you are aware, certainly has its fair share of advantages, most of which I’ve grown numb to. Sure, I can enjoy a nice dip in the ocean every now and then, but dealing with the crowds and limited parking associated with a day at the beach does start to annoy after awhile. So much so that, despite living mere minutes from the ocean, I prefer to spend my free time sitting in the comfort of my home watching reruns of Dr. Who.
One of the many benefits of beach living I now take for granted is the constant cooling effect of the ocean breeze. The weather in my ‘hood is always mild and pleasant, and if I ever see the thermometer crack 80, I panic and feel that my life, if not the world, will immediately come to a global warming-induced end. Moderate weather is good weather, and it is for that reason I humbly suggest that carbon fiber goods manufacturer Seibon ditch its grounds in Walnut, CA and move west towards the ocean.
Seibon just so happened to hold its Customer Appreciation Day smack dab in the middle of a heat wave. As the hills across California burned to the ground, the ground at Seibon was cooking me alive with an ambient air temperature of 108 degrees. The acres of asphalt surrounding Seibon’s warehouse trapped this heat, melting my shoes and roasting my feet in the process. The sky-high temperatures made me want to cry like a little girl and run home, but as I made the hour-long trek from the beach to the 626, I did my best to man up and tough it out. Read more...
One of the many benefits of beach living I now take for granted is the constant cooling effect of the ocean breeze. The weather in my ‘hood is always mild and pleasant, and if I ever see the thermometer crack 80, I panic and feel that my life, if not the world, will immediately come to a global warming-induced end. Moderate weather is good weather, and it is for that reason I humbly suggest that carbon fiber goods manufacturer Seibon ditch its grounds in Walnut, CA and move west towards the ocean.
Seibon just so happened to hold its Customer Appreciation Day smack dab in the middle of a heat wave. As the hills across California burned to the ground, the ground at Seibon was cooking me alive with an ambient air temperature of 108 degrees. The acres of asphalt surrounding Seibon’s warehouse trapped this heat, melting my shoes and roasting my feet in the process. The sky-high temperatures made me want to cry like a little girl and run home, but as I made the hour-long trek from the beach to the 626, I did my best to man up and tough it out. Read more...
VIDEO> Herron's Breaking Point
Joshua Herron just dropped his edit from one of my favorite stops on the Formula Drift tour: Seattle’s Evergreen Speedway. Josh’s videos are getting better and better with each drop. Keep an eye out for some Mavens up in the mix!
Great work Josh!!!
:: Andy Sapp
COVERAGE> Formula D Seattle, Part 3
I'm sure many of you have been waiting for my photos and stories from Formula D Seattle, so I apologize to our readers for uploading these kind of late. It's been a pretty hectic weekend. There was plenty of drama at Formula D on Saturday, and I apparently added to it by pissing off the Formula D safety steward while grabbing a quick shot of Dai Yoshihara's smashed Lexus IS350 as it was getting loaded up onto a tow truck and pulled off the track.
It's a long story, but in a nutshell, the Formula D/SCCA guy Randy Hembrey got pissed off at me and pulled my hard card on Saturday (competition day), which allows me to get track access for shooting photos. This was definitely a problem, as I was expected to produce good images that weekend (I was shooting the event for clients, who helped pay my way to get up to Seattle). I had a hell of a time trying to get photos for the rest of the day, especially without access to the hot areas, but I still managed to get some photos somehow.
So here it is... Formula D Seattle through my eyes. Read more...
It's a long story, but in a nutshell, the Formula D/SCCA guy Randy Hembrey got pissed off at me and pulled my hard card on Saturday (competition day), which allows me to get track access for shooting photos. This was definitely a problem, as I was expected to produce good images that weekend (I was shooting the event for clients, who helped pay my way to get up to Seattle). I had a hell of a time trying to get photos for the rest of the day, especially without access to the hot areas, but I still managed to get some photos somehow.
So here it is... Formula D Seattle through my eyes. Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Brings Heat to Vegas, Part 2
Continuing our Motor Mavens Coverage on Formula D Las Vegas... many of the fans and media members seem to have been focused on only the Top 32 tandem competition, but those who braved the Vegas heat earlier in the day were treated to some pretty exciting tsuisou action from the Formula D Pro Am drivers. Props go out to all the Pro Am drivers for coming up through the ranks and doin it big! Read more...
