I'm back in the media tower at Road Atlanta and clicking away at my keyboard while open practice adds clouds to the cloudless sky over the track. I swear, it was clear and blue before the drifting started, now we've got puffy white clouds everywhere. Coincidence? Probably. Our sharpshooters Yoshi Shindo and Oliver Petalver are still on track right now and I'm going to give you a mix of what they've gotten so far today as well as some more shots from yesterday's practice. Read more...
"Drifting will continue to grow, but that's only if we continue to support drifters on the amateur level, and most importantly, the people who organize the grassroots drifting events. After all, it is those people who are building new drifters and teaching them how to drive." - Antonio Alvendia in Drifting: Sideways from Japan to America
Despite the obvious plug (forgive me), what Antonio said in 2006 is evident five years later.
These grassroots events are where many of the nation's best drifters first made their marks. While Japan was fortunate to have small, frequent drift events, Americans were left to figure out ways to get their tracks open to such a sport.
Now, after years of consistent growth and the expansion of our own small drift events, we've come to see plenty of tracks around the nation become accustomed to drifting. These events have been paramount in molding skilled drifters, some of whom have made it in the big leagues.
However, for many years now, the San Francisco Bay Area hasn't been able to provide a consistent outlet for its "home grown" talent. Sure, the ThunderDrift events are great, but those are nearly two or three hours away from The Bay. Many drivers simply don't want to make a four-to-six-hour round trip. Now they won't have to.
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When I saw the first pictures released of the Mazda Shinari Concept, my immediate thought was Art In Motion. Corny, maybe, but it was an honest reaction. It was so beautiful to me. So, imagine my recent good fortune to get an opportunity to attend a Mazda press event!
At the event, I was given some information concerning what lies ahead for Mazda - the design path (and general mindset) that they will be taking to bring you a Mazda worthy of the 21st century.
As a part of this new direction that Mazda is taking, the Director of Communications briefly highlighted The Shinari. He didn't go into specifics but my mission for MotorMavens was clear - to find as much information about this car as possible. Not to mention, it wouldn't be MotorMavens if I couldn't find good pictures as well, right? Read more...
Formula Drift at Long Beach is just around the corner. Yes, it is already April again. As the MotorMavens Crew gets ready for another season of tire smoking excitement, we wanted to take a look back on the 2010 season and recap the big moments as well as showcase some of the shots that didn't make it into some of the posts. Read more...
Keeping with my current obsession with Group B rally and looking to keep a pattern going, I present to you a compilation video of various Group B cars, and more importantly, the glorious sounds they make. While there are always going to be cars that make wonderful noises that make you feel all tingly inside, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything that is as aurally pleasing as the likes of an Audi Quattro hammering on the rev-limiter. Everything about Group B was absolutely mythic. The speed, the power, the sound, the driving conditions (whether that be the weather itself or the audacity of the crowds). One might even think that the Gods themselves took on the sport, which would explain the talent behind the wheel. But that’s enough rambling from me. Sit back, turn up the volume, and enjoy! (more…)
Drift Union‘s Shawn Browne and Logan Noël make a huge presence everywhere they go and you’re about to find out why. Their driving and style speak for themselves, so there’s no point in me trying to describe this awesome movie. With content from Canada to Southern California, this video is nothing short of amazing. Just know that if you like grassroots drifting, you will love this short film. End of story. (more…)
Not too long ago I attended Fatlace WordUp, a monthly drift practice session in Santa Clara, CA that is only open to drivers and media. While most of the cars in attendance consisted of your average beat-up S13s and AE86s, one machine in particular caught my eye. This loud, sparkly red, slammed 1987 RX7 pickup truck conversion was the center of attention as it attacked corners with massive angle. The car, or truck, belongs to Earl Smith of the Comrades Crew from Washington. He recently moved down to California and this was the first time I saw the project at an event so let's check it out...
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The stance scene in the UK has been around for a while, starting off with Volkswagen owners modifying their cars with the stretched tyre style from Germany... however, it has really taken off over the past few years; more and more high quality cars have been coming out of the woodwork. However, being so involved with drifting, I haven't really had the chance to see much of this scene in the flesh. So, as you can imagine, it was just my luck that UK based members of the wheel fitment specialist website StanceWorks, decided to kick off the year by holding their very first meet on Sunday at Milton Keynes Hockey Stadium. Through threads on other forums, word got out about the meet and a whole host of cars rocked up - well over 50!
The majority of the cars were European, such as Volkswagens and BMWs, and I have to confess I didn't know a lot about them. So I'll keep it short and show you some cars that really stood out for me at the meet! Read more...
When most people think of the term car culture, they immediately (and possibly unconsciously) picture particular types of cars in their minds - cars that fit their own personal spectrum of interest. That is car culture’s dirty little secret – it can be extremely balkanized, or broken up into little niches and peer groups.
If you’re into muscle cars, then screw those four bangers. If you're into rotary powered vehicles, then screw those pistons! If you're into road racing and time attack, then screw drifting. If you’re into Formula One, well, screw everybody. If you’ve been around car culture for any length of time, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You also probably know that not everyone feels this way. As we get a bit older and experience some of the great aspects of other car cultures, more and more of us are discovering that we’re all the same under the hood – we're all just car guys.
In the middle of 2009 when we started MotorMavens, we established the site on a basic principle – that everyone’s voice is validated by their passion for the cars and car culture because the one thing that brings the entire spectrum of car culture together is passion. We call it the “passion principle.” Wherever you find some mind blowing interpretation of the automobile and the lifestyle that revolves around it, you also find some passionate person wrenching away – usually with a ton of pride and satisfaction in his/her accomplishments but very little money to show for it. That’s exactly what the MotorMavens Crew searches for; we look for that passion in every possible niche of car culture so that we can broadcast it loud and clear to everyone when we find it.
So, what does all of this have to do with the Mass Appeal Show? It’s simple. When Ken Block and the Gymkhana Grid team approached us to produce a car show at their Ken Block Invitational, we already knew that it would need to be different than what most people might expect. We knew our car show would need to represent the driving principles of MotorMavens... the car show would have to be multi-car-cultural; reflecting the wide spectrum of car culture that we love so much. It would have to have mass appeal - get it? Read more...
Who says you have to put away your car for the winter? The guys at Angled Lines out in Minnesota make the best of their 5º weather in this fun-filled winter drift video. Thanks to Matt Blizel for sending me the link!
It has always interested me to watch the background area of a competition, and all that is involved to bring it to life. Formula D has so many people working, moving, going… There is a full TV show being produced, professional race event taking place, thousands of fans… And yet, it seems like most things move at a different pace in Las Vegas. The cars are still in a rush, but everyone else, everyone behind the scenes…
Once I started editing to this song (Sundriped), I felt the pace change from some of the other videos I have done more recently, so I countered with a different choice of footage out of my stash.
In the last video, I featured Justin Shreeve, Joe Ayala and Yoshi Shindo. In this video, I threw in a quick clip of Abbitt Wilkerson, another Northwest videographer. His older brother, Walker Wilkerson, acquired an FD license at the final Formula D event in Irwindale. Keep an eye out for what Abbitt, Shreeve, myself and the rest of YAER Productions will do for Walker’s upcoming 2011 driver package.
Ian Dillon, of Factory 83, also collaborated with YAER Productions, providing graphics for this and other upcoming edits.
The Formula Drift Finale at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California was mind-blowing. I’ve never seen such aggressive driving, nail-biting tandem battles, or brutal wrecks in one weekend.
This being my first time to Formula D at Irwindale, I had no idea what to expect. I arrived Wednesday night with enough time to head to Long Beach for a few hours with Ross Fairfield and Casey Liston of OMGDRIFT and my good friend, Joe Ayala, to hang out with the likes of Dean Kearney, Eric O’Sullivan, and the rest of the Irish fellows at The Auld Dubliner. It was at this moment that I realized how quickly the 2010 Formula Drift season had flown by. It felt so familiar to be sippin’ on a Guinness surrounded by live music and friends in that Irish pub, though I hadn’t been there since Round 1 in April!
Thursday, Joe and I headed to the track to catch some practice driving, as well as to meet up with more friends. I’m so happy to have made so many new acquaintances in the industry this year. People can hate all they want on professional drifting in all it’s seriousness, but the amount of genuinely good people who congregate at these events is astonishing.
Thursday through Saturday proved to be a grueling test of physical strength as I walked the course day after day, under the hot sun of Southern California, my ears nearly bleeding from the up close action Toyota Speedway has to offer, and covered (more so than ever before) in tiny chunks of spent tire. I was even hit in the eye by a flying piece of tire that was hot enough to burn both my top and bottom eyelids somehow. Haha! That’ll teach me to film burnouts!
Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion to an incredible season of professional drifting, although I’m sad to see it end. All I know is that next year will be bigger and better and I can’t wait! Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the entire MotorMavens Crew for all of your support and the means to accomplish so many of my goals. I couldn’t have done it without your help. Thank you.
I can’t believe its over! The 2010 Formula Drift season went by so quickly! The Wednesday night before Formula Drift Irwindale, Justin Shreeve, myself, and some guys from OMGDRIFT went down to Long Beach to hang out at The Auld Dubliner. At the time, It seriously felt like we were just there for the Formula Drift event held back in April! So much has happened since then. It was so cool seeing almost everyone that I’ve met throughout the entire season come down for one final showdown. The hard fought battles and the high speed drifts at a wall that would eat your soul if it had the chance. Watching the Pro-Am drivers work for their potential spot to compete on the next level in the 2011 Formula Drift season. All of this made for one spectacular event.
MotorMavens literally came from throughout the entire country to cover this event. From the east coast to the west coast, which means lots of coverage. I titled this video “The Prelude” because to me, its just an introduction to all the coverage we will soon be seeing from our fellow photographers and videographers. Enjoy!
While you await the arrival of the awesome Formula Drift coverage we’re about to unveil, check out this trailer for the new Night Moves video from the Canadian drift team, Drift Union. Edited by Shawn Browne, the driver of the purple FC3S, with great drifting from California to Canada, this video is sure to be a hit.
Formula Drift made its yearly stop in Sonoma, California last weekend. I’ve been looking forward to this event, simply because I live less than an hour away and I had a guaranteed bed to sleep in. However, the weekend was not without snags.
Upon my arrival, I found that I was not on the list for media, since KP Race and Victor Moore were unable to make it to Sonoma – this rendered my credentials were void. Therefore, I made the best of my bad luck and decided that if I couldn’t get the really close action shots, I would take a few steps back and shoot a different perspective. The next morning, I drove down to Borrowed Lenses in San Carlos and rented a tilt-shift lens. Over the past few months, my interest in these lenses has grown quite a bit and when I saw Mister Geoff Pitts from Thunder Drift taking photos with one at Formula D Las Vegas, I knew I had to try it. Fate truly couldn’t have presented me with a finer opportunity. Enjoy!
I realize that our readers have been patiently waiting for these new photos from our coverage of the IDRC Finale at California Dragway in Fontana, CA. There were quite a few racers in attendance, and quite a few media outlets out there covering the event, so I'm sure there will be lots of great stories and links out on the internet that include everyone's quarter mile times.
Rather than bringing our readers the same stories as the other guys, I thought I would just publish a few more photos of cars that caught my eye. I'll be the first to admit - I don't know a whole lot about drag racing or Hondas, so if I don't go into as much detail as you might expect from one of my stories about drifting or Japanese nostalgic cars, then please bear with me. Actually, I'd love to invite a Honda Maven to share information with us, and even blog on the site! It would be pretty cool, as I know I certainly have a lot to learn when it comes to drag racing and Hondas... Read more...
Things have been pretty hectic lately for the MotorMavens crew and myself. With work responsibilities as well as travelling around shooting, I haven't had much time to sit down and write this properly. What's crazy is it's only been a little over a week since Wembley and I've already been to Silverstone for the final round of JDM Allstars!
I don't like to do things by halves and I couldn't leave you readers hanging on just one feature. So, while I work on the photos from Silverstone, here are the highlights of what happened on day two of JDM Allstars at Wembley Stadium. Read more...
For the third year in a row JDM Allstars returned once again to the city of London in what can only be described as the landmark event of the series - Wembley Stadium. For reasons I'm not quite sure about, this years round was dubbed "THE BIG SMOKE." But over the weekend it became a very fitting title. In fact as I sit here writing this I'm still coughing and finding the remains of many deceased Federal, Nexen, Kuhmo, Neuton, and whatever other tyre brand you can think of, in my ears and nose.
Wembley is THE event to go to in theJDM Allstars calendar. Drifters from all over Europe and even outside of Europe flock to Wembley to step up to the plate and show their talents in the competition. So bright and early (way too early) Saturday morning, I headed down into London to check out what was going on.
Usually I like to hang around the pits for a while to chat with drivers and friends, but with briefings to attend to and with the large amount of drivers competing, practice had to get underway pretty sharpish and I didn't want to miss out on any of the action. So I made a move out to the track and started shooting. So here are some photos from practice and qualifying! Read more...
My recent trip to Las Vegas for round 5 of Formula Drift was one of minimal luxuries. Joe Ayala and I could only afford one night in a hotel and a rental car was out of the question. Day one, we got up around noon, grabbed some “breakfast” at the Blueberry Hill next to the hotel, and began our journey to the track at around two. The trek consisted of roughly 2-3 miles, on foot, in 108 degree weather. Luckily for us, we found a shopping cart to carry our backpacks, camera cases, laptop bags, and of course my skateboard. Before long, we had covered the cart in MotorMavens cards (gotta represent) and found fun stuff to do on the way, such as drifting and dirt dropping the cart on the side of Las Vegas Blvd. Joe and I had fun overall, but boy were we glad when an old woman (with a legit mustache) stopped and asked us if we needed a ride. She drove us about a quarter of a mile to the gift shop of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, complaining the whole time about how she would be late to work. Haha!
Anyone will tell you that there’s really no way to describe a trip to FD Vegas other than “hot.” I had a great time making new acquaintances, like when my buddy Josh Herron took us by Forrest Wang‘s shop to BS and look at all his rad cars. I also had fun catching up with friends, like when the amazing Drew Fishbein and Ross Fairfield from OMGDrift let Joe and I stay in their hotel room because 18andFamousAbbitt Wilkerson was too busy napping to answer his door. Haha!
Regarding the video, I apologize for taking so long to finish it. The song I chose has a small introduction that requires specific footage to go with the audio. Hobo and I had arranged beforehand to film what I needed while in Vegas. Unfortunately, the lovely security team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was very strict about when and who could drive in or out of the gates, so we just couldn’t make it happen. That being said, I had to acquire the help of up-and-coming photographer, videographer, actor, and stunt driver Joe Ayala to finish the timeline.
Special thanks to Jason at ContourHD for hooking us up with the cameras. These things are a blast to use! Definitely one of the most fun moments of the trip was running around the grid, sticking cameras on cars. Thanks again!
Abbitt Wilkerson needs no introduction. You know who he is. 18 and famous. Haha! Anyway, check out his new cut from Formula Drift Round 4 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Better late than never and definitely worth the wait. This video has great energy and had me excited from beginning to end. With plenty of creative shots and a surprisingly appropriate song choice, I couldn’t be happier with this video. Good work, Abbitt!
Last weekend’s Formula Drift Seattle event at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington was unforgettable. Tons of familiar faces and unusually warm weather made for the best FD experience I’ve ever had. Since I’ve been shooting at this location so much lately, I was able to take my time and really enjoy the event, rather than scrambling to get shots.
Last weekend also marked a milestone for me, as it had been one year since shooting my first FD event with a media pass. FD Seattle ’09 was also when I met quite a few friends in the industry, such as Antonio Alvendia, Larry Chen, Drew Fishbein, Ross Fairfield, Will Roegge, and Josh Herron, among many others. Last year around this time, I knew next to no one and now I can comfortably say I feel at home in the professional and grassroots drifting communities.
With this video, I chose to take a much lighter approach than last year as a representation of the comfort and relaxation I now feel among my fellow videographers, photographers, and drivers who congregate for these great events.
This year, I also met a guy named Jason from ContourHD/VHoldr, who was nice enough to let me test out a couple of his HD 1080p wearable/mountable POV cameras for some of the shots!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me along the way, especially the MotorMavens Crew, Formula Drift, Evergreen Drift, and KP Race. Without all the love, it just wouldn’t be worth it.
Formula D Round 2 Atlanta has been a subject of the past now, but our boy Justin Shreeve had extra footage and decided to make a sequel to his original FD Atlanta video. In my opinion Justin did a great job showing the great experience a Formula D event can have on someone. These events are more than just the cars and drifting to me. It’s about the people, friends, vendors, and of course the girls! I’m not going to lie though, that clip of Daijiro Yoshihara dirt dropping was sick! Great job Justin Michael Shreeve!
I’m beginning to notice a trend. It seems as though during my adventures with Formula Drift there is never any down time, sleep, boring moments, or lack of awesome activities to shoot.
For me, Formula Drift Atlanta this year began with a cross country journey involving three layovers and an entire day of flying. After losing three hours, getting no sleep, and feeling noticeably more sick, I touched down in a little town they call Atlanta, Georgia. Just kidding! That place is huge!
This being my first time visiting Georgia, I was sure to soak it all in. The hot, humid air and enormous, flying insects were easily overshadowed by the incredible scenery, delicious sweet tea, and of course that good ol’ Southern hospitality. (more…)
So yesterday I was sitting at my desk, cleaning up my external hard drive. I realized I’ve got TONS of extra footage of Formula Drift Long Beach and quite a bit of footage from the Fatlace OneOfOne Showcase that didn’t make it into the final edit.
My girl had the car for the day, and I wasn’t getting anything else done… so I decided to make another edit. This one has a much lighter vibe than the first, with no color grading and very little audio work; just lots of familiar faces, pretty cars, and loud engines.
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