NEWSWORTHY> Vegas Pro Am Saturday!!!
Just so you don’t forget! This weekend, you need to head to Las Vegas for the Vegas Pro Am, which is being organized and put on by our friends at VegasDrift! This event is a perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with all the future Formula D drivers before they hit the big show… and if you’re in need of some fresh new gear, make sure to stop by the DSTROYR Booth to get some fastlane fashion, designed by one of the most talented designers on the scene right now, Jon Chase! Drifting is going to take over Las Vegas this weekend; let the battle begin!
:: Jose Gonzalez
NEWSWORTHY> Southeast Drift Pro Am Series
It looks like the new year has brought some exciting news for the east coast drift community! Southeast Drift is teaming up with Formula Drift to bring an east coast qualifier series to Atlanta for a shot at an FD license!
Atlanta, Ga. – February 2, 2010
Southeast Drift will be bringing an all new pro-am championship series to Atlanta in 2010. This five round series will enable up and coming drivers in the southeast region a place to compete for and win their Formula Drift professional license.
The Southeast Drift Championship Pro Am Series will test drivers as they compete at top notch professional level venues. Drivers who are successful here will transition well into Formula D. Details regarding the series will be available in the coming weeks on the southeastdrift.com web site.
“I am very happy with these recent developments. I can not wait to help showcase some of the immense talent in the southeast drifting scene.” said Marcos Ruiz, CEO of Southeast Drift. “Formula D is the leader in professional drifting in the U.S. and Southeast Drift is proud to be a part of it.”
For more information about the series, be sure to check out Southeast Drift’s Official Website.
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
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
VIDEO> AE86 Life with Taka Aono
Taka Aono 2009 Formula D video from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.
When Ross Fairfield told me that his new video featuring Taka Aono and his AE86 was almost complete, I immediately told him to send me the link as soon as it was finished… I couldn’t wait to put this video up on the site, even though I had never before seen it until now. After all, Taka Aono is one of my favorite AE86 drivers ever… he is hardcore, and drives his AE86 with every ounce of commitment and heart that a driver could put into their car or their driving effort.
Taka Aono is one of those drivers that doesn’t need to get on top of the podium at every Formula Drift event in order to have a huge fanbase. Just look… there are plenty of guys who podium all the time, yet fans love to hate them, right? Taka isn’t one of those guys. Taka doesn’t measure his results by the trophies he’s earned or the amount of media exposure he’s gotten. Instead, he concentrates on being there. Taka is out at almost every grassroots drifting event in California, either as a driver or as a judge or an instructor. He focuses his efforts on making a real difference in the grassroots drifting community, and we can see that. We love Taka Aono! Hopefully more of the bigtime drifters follow in Taka’s footsteps and focus more of their efforts on giving back to the grassroots drifting community, building new drifters and helping new drivers come up through the ranks!
Support Taka Aono in 2010! Big ups to Ross Fairfield for choosing to debut this video on Motor Mavens!
:: Antonio Alvendia
VIDEO> Strohmeyer Shoots Pro Am
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! While we’re all celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with our families, we recognize that we’re all very thankful for a lot of great things that have happened in the past year – we’re very thankful to see that our new website has been growing in popularity, and we’re stoked to be getting lots of comments and interaction with more and more of our awesome readers.
After you get your fill of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, take some time to check out this new video from the Formula D Pro Am event this past weekend. It was produced by a new member to the Motor Mavens Crew, videographer Rob Strohmeyer from Las Vegas.
Rob isn’t just a videographer though… he’s a dedicated car guy! He has owned three SR20DET powered S13 coupes and a CA18DET S13 coupe (which he hated BTW haha), a 1994 PEP (Personal Equipment Package) FD3S RX7 with RE Amemiya aero kit, a 350Z with Vertex aero kit and Work VS-XX wheels, a GS400 with a 2JZGTE.
Rob just dropped this edit from the Pro/Am Nationals at Irwindale. I personally think his video has a great mix of action, pit area shots, and some cool dolly work. I think this video definitely captures the vibe of a grassroots event like this Pro Am, and we’re glad to have him as a new member of the crew. Welcome, Rob!
:: Andy Sapp
More Irwindale Pro Am photos, stories, and videos on MOTOR MAVENS
COVERAGE> Irwindale Pro Am, Part 1
While all the other media people that attended the event (let's be honest; there weren't that many) rushed home to be the first to post photos on their websites, blogs, Twitters, and whatnot... I decided to spend time hanging out with my friends instead. I love that I was able to do this and not feel bad (this would be absolutely unacceptable behaviour if I was writing for a different website). But everyone in the Motor Mavens Crew understands. Hell, some of them were even there with me for all the non-car related stuff we did that weekend... like rolling 30+ heads deep to Dino's in Covina for some spicy grilled chicken; or taking Yoshi on a wild goose chase to meet up with some import models at a cafe in OC; or using trucks and trailers with drift cars loaded onto them to make parking difficult in the small parking lot of Flappy Jacks on Route 66, just so that Ray from Garage Autohero could get his traditional American style Sunday breakfast and complain that coffee in California sucks compared to Seattle's. LOL. Oh yeah, but somehow in between all the chillin we did with all our out of town friends that came to Pro Am, we did somehow manage to squeeze in a little bit of time to take some photos. Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Jtuned Meet at Irwindale ProAm Tomorrow!
SABADO SABADO SABADO!!! Sabado Gigante! Super Meet de Jtuned! By now, I’m sure almost everyone knows that the Formula D PRO AM event is happening TOMORROW at Irwindale Speedway. The best grassroots drifters from all over the nation have made their way to Southern Cali’s 626 area for tomorrow’s big event. Come to Irwindale on Saturday and show your support the grassroots drifters – these guys will become the Formula D stars of tomorrow. Sponsors, this is a good opportunity to scout potential new members for your team! And hey ladies, this is a good opportunity to hook up before these drivers get too famous to acknowledge you! JK.
If you don’t drift, you should still come out to the event. On Saturday, the Irwindale Pro Am will be the location of another Jtuned Super Meet, so make sure to sign up right away! Spots are still available, and you can sign up right here.
The West Coast arm of the Motor Mavens Family will be in attendance also, so you should definitely check the site after the event for our photos and insight into what went on at Pro Am. Our good friends from MotoIQ will also be in attendance shooting photos, so make sure to check their site after the meet too!
:: Motor Mavens
MotoIQ (The best site with technical info about cars that we’ve ever seen)
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CENTER STAGE> Roland Gallagher’s BN Blister S13
Our whole crew has a ton of respect for all the grassroots drivers out there; they are certainly working hard to step their game up and make it into the pro ranks... and for me personally, I think sometimes watching the grassroots guys compete is even more exciting than watching the pro drivers go at it. Some people may be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy?" I know, I know... it may be a bit different to outsiders or to those who are just sitting in the stands... but for those of us who circulate through the pit areas and go to the different shops and hang out with the drivers even outside of track events, it's really inspiring to see the hard work and perseverance of normal, everyday individuals, the grassroots enthusiasts, pay off.
This is what passion is all about. And this is why I think people are crazy when people think drifting is just a fad. Maybe it is for outsiders... but for the people who live and breathe this stuff day in and day out, it couldn't be further from the truth.
One guy who lives and breathes drifting is Roland Gallagher. The first time I saw Roland drive was at Formula D Las Vegas, where he was competing to earn his invite to the Pro Am. I was standing trackside with my younger brother David, and I saw this flash of teal pass me, followed by clouds of billowing white tiresmoke. My eyes followed the tiresmoke and somehow became fixated on his WHEELS which had ridiculously fat lips... I remember muttering "helllll yeah" under my breath, because these days, it's becoming more and more rare to see drift cars with good looking wheels and stance on the FD circuit. Read more...
GALLERY> The Irwindale Experience
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...
WEBMINING> Dead Pirate at Irwindale
Formula D Irwindale Round 7 “Judgement Day” from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the newest video from Formula D Irwindale, which was produced by Ross Fairfield from Dead Pirate Productions in conjunction with our friends at Streetfire.net. I think it’s the best work I’ve seen from Ross thus far, so props to him for continually working to step up his game. That’s what it’s all about… constant improvement and the never ending quest to seek out new angles and new ways to present the “same old subject.”
This video includes some great footage of all the familiar Formula D characters, plus some cameos from some less familiar faces, like our new Motor Maven from Seattle, Yoshi Shindo, at 4:39. Great job Ross – did you get some new equipment or what?
:: Antonio Alvendia
NEWSWORTHY> 2010 Camaro Enters Formula Drift
Apparently all of Conrad's work as a driving instructor at Skip Barber Racing School and his unmistakable presence when driving the Tanaka Racing Corvette in Formula D last year has finally paid off. Let's also not forget - Conrad isn't a stranger to the Formula D podium! We have photos to prove it!
Thanks to Andrew and Conrad from CG Racing, we're able to present you with these sneak peek photos! 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
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 Drift Seattle, Part 1
However, some teams had a longer day at the track than others... when I arrived to the Formula D pit area, I noticed Robbie Nishida's Dynamic Autosports/Hankook Tire 350Z up on jackstands, in the dusty, dirt covered pit area of Evergreen Speedway. Apparently, just a few minutes before I arrived, Robbie's 350Z made contact with the wall on one of his practice runs, severely damaging the left side of his car. Above is a photo of the car, with hood, fender, and suspension off... as the Dynamic team hustles to collect parts to repair the car in time for tomorrow's main qualifying session. Read more...
VIDEO> Toshiki Yoshioka X AntonioE86 on RiceboyTV
Take a look back at this RiceboyTV video highlighting legendary AE86 driver Toshiki Yoshioka. This video dropped just after Yoshioka’s win at Formula Drift Las Vegas last year. You should recognize another equally legendary AE86′er… Antonio Alvendia interviewing Yoshioka as he gives some insight as to why his hachiroku is so fast and competitive. I had the pleasure of meeting Yoshioka at D1 in Chicago this past weekend and I have to say, the fact that he gives his trophies to his sponsors is truly amazing! It is that kind of selfless dedication and team effort that I think we can all take cue from.
:: Andy Sapp
WEBMINING> DeadPirates x Tommy Suell’s AE86
Tommy Suell 2009 from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.
We were looking at the Vegas Drift site just the other day, where they apparently posted up this new video from our buddy Ross Fairfield from Dead Pirates Productions. We’re still processing images from ASB, keep checking back for updates soooooon!!!
:: Motor Mavens
VIDEO> Battle of the Beards, Vegas Edition
Okay, you’ve seen Josh’s video already; now Will Roegge adds yet another classic to his collection with this Formula Drift Las Vegas video. This video really delivers a smooth feel which is very different from his friend Joshua Herron’s Las Vegas video. It’s cool to see how two people can capture the same event and come up with two different renditions of it! Keep up the good work guys!
P.s If you pay attention you can see me in the video! Lol
:: Dax Rodriguez
VIDEO> Touge Heroes. The Remix!
Just in case you haven’t seen this video yet…you really need to sit down and watch. This new remixed version of Touge Heroes Volume One takes footage from Formula Drift Red Bull Championship and other parts of the DVD and remixes it with a fresh new soundtrack and editing. Even though this video is approximately an hour shorter then the DVD, it still manages to bring a lot of excitement. If you haven’t picked up the full length DVD, you can do so at Touge Heroes website.
:: Dax Rodriguez
VIDEO> Team Falken Rolls Dice in Vegas
Check out the latest Falken Tire video that my homie Skylar Smith produced at Formula Drift Vegas. High production value, awesome cars and lots of smoke…what more can you ask for? This video speaks for itself, so take a look and let us know what you think!
PS: How many of you can spot the Motor Mavens sticker in the video? Better watch it carefully!
:: Dax Rodriguez
COVERAGE> Formula D Brings Heat to Vegas, Part 2
COVERAGE> Formula D Brings Heat to Vegas, Pt 1
As a member of the media with a trackside photo pass, I remember being extremely uncomfortable because of Formula D safety rules requiring us to wear long pants instead of shorts at the track. However, just think about what the drivers must be feeling like - wearing full fire suits and Nomex underwear and HELMETS, sitting inside hot cars without air conditioning; with hot metal roofs working like a broiler due to the lack of headliners and insulation in a professional drift car.
Nevertheless, the crowd at Formula D remained upbeat and excited, due to the level of driving prowess they were treated to. Vegas drift fans are hardcore! Regardless of the heat, these fans were down to sit outside in the stands, sweating and cheering as their favorite professional drifters slid past them, dousing the grandstands in a bath of tire dust. Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Foust and Scion Win Formula D LV!
Congratulations to Tanner Foust for successfully battling the 120 degree heat and every single competitor he faced in tandem competition to win top honors at Formula D Las Vegas this weekend!
When you think about it, this is actually a historic feat – this is the very first time that a Scion has taken home a First Place trophy at Formula D! Whether it’s Tanner’s incredible skill behind the wheel or the 850 million horsepower TRD Nascar V8 engine that powers his Rockstar Scion TC, Tanner and his team have done an incredible job of building, testing and tuning a car that produces results for their sponsors. Props on the win guys!
Make sure to stay tuned to MotorMavens.com for more photos from Formula D Las Vegas!
PS: Scion, Rockstar, Hankook, AEM, and any other sponsors… you know who to contact for the best photos of the event! LOL 
:: Antonio Alvendia
More MotorMavens coverage from Formula D Las Vegas
