NEWSWORTHY> The Mighty FC Returns to FD
Yes, the rumors are true. The green FC3S RX7 that we all know and love is returning to Formula D competition!
A lot of our Facebook friends have been talking about this for a couple days already… but I just figured I should probably post this on the website too, since there are a lot of people out there who read our blog, but aren’t necessarily in the know about the latest news in the world of Formula Drift. Yes again… contrary to popular belief, there are still people out there who aren’t checking Facebook every five seconds. It suddenly dawned on me when I casually mentioned the FC’s return to a friend of mine today, and he was like, “Whaaaaaaat?! No wayyyyy!”
I just got off the phone with Justin Pawlak, the driver of this awesome green rotary monster. Even though he and Bergenholtz Racing have parted ways in the professional drifting world, Justin is quick to dispel any rumors in the mill by saying, “Ron and I are definitely still cool. In fact, I just spoke to him on the phone earlier today. We just have different ideas and figured it would be best to go split the team up.”
While their timing is certainly less than perfect, with the 2010 Formula D season approaching very, very quickly… I’m sure both JTP and Ron B will make it happen for both of their respective drift teams. Justin says, “Ya know what? I just realized I had more qualifying points than anyone else in the 2009 Formula D season.” He’s sure to make a strong statement this year, whether he has solid financial backing or not.
And Ron Bergenholtz? Well, if anyone has any doubts about Bergenholtz Racing’s ability to have a strong presence in Formula D this year, let me just remind you that he (and his brother Ed) didn’t win all those NHRA Wally awards and get inducted into the NHRA Museum for nothing. In professional drag racing, Bergenholtz Racing proved that an underdog actually can compete against (and beat) competitors with big dollar corporate funding. As long as there’s a will, there’s a way.
Bergenholtz Racing will be revealing their official plans for 2010 on Thursday, along with publicly announcing the new driver they’ve signed to pilot their blue Mazdaspeed RX8.
If you’re a fan of JTP and his FC3S, and you want to help him find sponsors for the 2010 season, please visit Justin Pawlak’s Official Blog by clicking this link. Justin says, “Please don’t mind the ghetto GoDaddy banner, cause my webpage was FREE. haha. I might have a ghetto banner on my blog, but at least I got REAL VOLKS on my car.”
Hell yeah, Justin. Word.
:: Antonio Alvendia
WEBMINING> Savanna GT/Mazda RX3 Memories
I’m mad, seriously. Christmas weekend it is, but man….I can’t hold back this level of hurt. Friends of mine can vouch for the level of anger I experience when seeing a Mazda RX3. When I let mine go up for sale, I thought it might feel good to let something move on… WRONG. I now fully regret the transaction and wish life had a rewind button like that of a DVD player – call it seller’s remorse.
While I’m watching this video, gritting my teeth and wiping tears from my eyes, you can enjoy viewing this beautiful Mazda Savanna GT as it graces the country side roads of Japan. Take a closer look at the interior shots, and wish upon many stars that I may one day accomplish supreme levels of cool when building my next old school Mazda. Recaro front seats and Burberry-esque cloth covered rear seats. Observe the fresh RS Watanabe wheels which appear to be somewhere in the realm of 14 inches with a healthy tire side wall. Awesome fender mirrors? Check. Front lip with aero? Absolutely. If you own an RX3, please use this footage as a template and do not… I repeat, DO NOT sell your RX3. Unless of course I come knocking at your door inquiring about it. Then and ONLY then is it permissible. **sniff sniff**
: : Edward Uche
COVERAGE> More Scenes From Irwindale Pro Am
COVERAGE> Old Skool & Rotary Turkey Day Run
What happens when you combine a national holiday and time off work with family and friends? ...a well devised plan for a cruise, that's what. During my Thanksgiving festivities this past week, I couldn't help but squirm with anticipation for this weekend's big rotary event, RX7Club.com's annual "Turkey Run." The meeting location launching the rotary/old skool massive would be RX3 owner and MMA trainer Savant Young's Fight Academy in Pasadena CA. There were so many varieties of cars to be seen; RX2s, RX3s, FCs, FDs, Miatas, and even Toyota TE21s and S13s.
Keeping up with the latest in grassroots events, the members of the Southern Cali Motor Mavens Crew were on a mission to bring our viewers a look into the organic Los Angeles car culture. Witness. Read more...
WEBMINING> Ebisu Summer Drift Matsuri 2009
This video of the 2009 Summer Drift Matsuri at the famed Ebisu Circuit is just plain awesome. It’s got tons of variety in cars and courses and lots of high speed fly-bys. I haven’t been to Ebisu yet personally, but by the looks of this video, it’s no wonder everyone is so crazy about Ebisu. I can’t wait to go!
Check it out!
::Justin Shreeve
WEBMINING> Nikko Circuit in the Rain
Nikko Circuit: Part 2 from David Dizzle on Vimeo.
As the gloomy rainy season begins for many of us, I thought I’d post up a cool rainy drift video, reminding us that the rain isn’t all that bad… it saves tires!
Chasers, Mark IIs, Soarers, Silvias, 180SXs, Skylines, Levins, Truenos and RX7s… I stumbled across this gem on Vimeo recently, featuring lots of awesome Japanese cars at the famous Nikko Circuit. The entire three-part series is viewable on MayDayGarage.com, check it out!
:: Justin Shreeve
COVERAGE> Sevenstock Rotary Festival, Pt.1
In fact, one of the dedicated RX7 owners in attendance was our own Calvin Wan, who flew down to LA with his wife just for one day because they scored some super cheap plane tickets to Orange County for only $29 on Southwest! After picking them up at the airport, we went to eat dim sum at Capital Seafood in Irvine before heading to the show. I suppose the entire day had a "rotary theme" because Calvin noticed that even the plates that our dim sum was served in were round and triangular in shape, just like the rotor inside a 13B. Crazy. Read more...
VIDEO> Evergreen Drift Round 4
Evergreen Drift Round 4 from MotorMavens Dotcom on Vimeo.
Hey guys, it’s Justin again. Last Sunday, I visited Monroe, Washington for Round 4 of the Evergreen Drift series. The final round saw a lot of upsets as some drivers weren’t able to attend and others were plagued with car troubles. Overall, it was an exciting day, making for lots of good footage.
For more information regarding the Evergreen Drift series, please visit EvergreenDrift.com.
:: Justin Shreeve
WEBMINING>Team Battle:Drift by Stephen Brooks
Team Battle:Drift from Stephen Brooks on Vimeo.
I’ve been checking out Stephen Brooks’ work lately on Vimeo. The man from the land of tea and crumpets makes great videos, but this one really stood out to me in particular. It was shot during a team drift event (hence the name) at the Norfolk Arena, which is about 2.5 hours North of London.
Although I’m not too keen on the song choice, I think it matched the content of the video very well. Beyond that, I feel like this piece does a great job to portray all the emotions behind the scenes of a drift event. Don’t worry though, there’s great drifting footage as well!
::Justin Shreeve
COVERAGE> Slide Assassins Sunday Session
Even though I was still exhausted and burnt from our skin cancerous Saturday in Fontana, I somehow dragged myself out of bed and prepared my camera gear for yet another day at the track. While I found it extremely hard to pry myself from the ice cold air conditioning blasting throughout my house, I reminded myself that I made a commitment to show up. My friend Luke Pakula kept dropping me friendly reminders about the event the Slide Assassins guys were throwing at Irwindale Speedway, so I wanted to come through and show support of their event, on behalf of the Motor Mavens crew.
After all, the Motor Mavens movement is all about supporting grassroots drifting! Everyone on our team does their best to show how much we genuinely care about the scene by being out there as much as we possibly can. Actions speak louder than words, so hopefully people will notice that our site doesn't only cover the big events like Formula D and All Star Bash... Motor Mavens shows love by shining a light on some of the smaller events as well. And luckily for us, some of the grassroots drifters have been showing us love back!
We just can't tell you enough how much it means to us when we see people showing their support of the site by rocking our stickers on their cars, by leaving comments on our blog posts, by reposting our links onto different forums, blogs, Facebook and Twitter pages! It is especially means a lot to us when people voice their support when they see us at events. We love that people appreciate our site, because we put a whole lot of heart and hard work into it! Read more...
WEBMINING> We love 1980s Japanese Cars!
We at MotorMavens have a strong affinity for 1980s Japanese cars, and it’s easy to see why – techno-angular design, generous use of turbos, and an excess of electronic gizmos. All of these could be found on light, affordable RWD sports coupes. In a few short years front-drive cars would take over, but this video captures some of the best machines of the heyday: the Mitsubishi Starion, Toyota AE86 twins, R30 Nissan Skyline and Mazda FC RX-7, all captured in their natural environment.
:: Ben Hsu
CARSPOTTING> We Dig Northwest Style!
COVERAGE> All Star Bash Weekend Pt.3
So here you go... enjoy the photos! Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Brings Heat to Vegas, Part 3
In the pit area right before qualifying, the Apex'i crew was busy at work - either their differential or ring and pinion seized up, because the rear wheels on Ryuji Miki's FD3s wouldn't spin at all - they were completely locked up! The Apex'i crew always seems to be working tirelessly, as we always see them working on their cars on the side of the track.
In this photo, we see Jeren Walker from DSPORT Magazine offering to lend a helping hand, so that the Apex'i crew could get the car back on track and Miki could qualify. Jeren works for a magazine - he wasn't hired to help Apex'i; he had nothing to gain from getting down and dirty, helping to get Miki's car back on track. Yet he willingly volunteered to help, because that's what people do from the grassroots drifting scene. Wait... Apex'i..? Grassroots? Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Brings Heat to Vegas, Part 2
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.2
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.1
You don't have to say it; we know what you're thinking. Megan Racing? Yes, we're talking about THAT Megan Racing. Working with Naoki from Drift Day, Megan Racing has decided to show its support of grassroots drifters, by throwing a fully catered drifting competition (thanks for the tacos, Megan Racing!), complete with a two thousand dollar purse for the winners. (Although, we didn't stick around til the end, so we weren't sure if they actually gave out money to the winners, or just a really expensive handbag.) Either way, we think it's great that a company with products catering to the grassroots drifting community would actually give back to the grassroots drifting community by putting together an event like this! Read more...
WEBMINING> D1GP Miami, shot by Floridaracing.org
Thankfully, with the help of our friend Google, we were able to find images posted on a forum by one of the guys from Floridaracing.org. (We've seen some of these guys at the track before - whenever we see them at the track, we see them with multiple Canon DSLR bodies and some huge Canon lenses.) We were searching the internet for photos for a few days, and the ones found on Floridaracing.org's album seem to be the best photos we've found from D1 Miami thus far. Props, guys! Read more...
