COVERAGE> Formula Drift Long Beach Qualifying
The Formula Drift 2013 season kicked off here in the streets of Long Beach! Every year as the roads in Long Beach get prepped for the Grand Prix, Formula Drift always has the honor of christening the pavement with tires and the air with tire smoke. With many new drivers debuting their car for the first time in pro leagues there are also a lot of returning veteran drivers on the lot. Every year having to outdo themselves a lot of drivers bring new cars and even more horsepower with them to the track. As we bring you live coverage of the weekends events follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, at @MOTORMAVENS and @86Fest, for updates and images of the First Formula Drift competition of the year. Read more...
COVERAGE> 2013 Formula D Tech Day & Car Meet
Formula Drift always holds a Preseason Technical Inspection Day before the annual race season starts. The objection of the tech inspection is to go over each car to verify that all safety equipment and chassis modifications are fair and accounted for. When it comes to building a race car, whether its for drift, drag, road racing or rally, safety has to be a high priority for any team.
Source Interlink Media was the host of this year's tech day. This was a free event to attend for those enthusiasts and fans who want to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers. They had food trucks, free energy drinks, and of course, lots of local car show enthusiasts and their rides in attendance! Read more...
GALLERY> More Scenes From Formula D Las Vegas
This last trip to Las Vegas for Formula Drift was one hell of an eventful weekend. With a new course layout and drastically changing weather, the conditions took a toll on a lot of the teams. There were lots of tire scraps and car parts littered around the track when the day was done, not to mention the plethora of tire smoke from these high horsepower monsters. The sweltering heat and the freak 45 minute rain storm made it an interesting day at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With extremely fast entry speeds and high speed turns, the new course layout took out many cars from the running all weekend long. Read more...
DRIVER SEAT> Longo Scion FRS Tour of LA Drive
With all the attention the new Scion FR-S and Toyota GT86 have been receiving, people have been scouring the internet for photos and information on the exciting new front engine, rear wheel drive sports car platform that has been taking the world by storm. Scion dealers around the nation have been participating in Scion "First 86" unveilings, but the good folks at Longo Toyota/Scion have decided to be proactive in connecting with the newly developing Scion FRS owners community.
While other dealers concentrate on trying to move units, Scion salesman Jeffrey Chang and Longo Scion decided to sponsor the very first Scion FR-S Tour of LA driving event! Lots of great looking cars were in attendance, but I just couldn't take my eyes off the newly built Cusco Scion FRS, which was already outfitted with Toyota emblems, and the full line of Cusco suspension and accessories. Read more...
While other dealers concentrate on trying to move units, Scion salesman Jeffrey Chang and Longo Scion decided to sponsor the very first Scion FR-S Tour of LA driving event! Lots of great looking cars were in attendance, but I just couldn't take my eyes off the newly built Cusco Scion FRS, which was already outfitted with Toyota emblems, and the full line of Cusco suspension and accessories. Read more...
COVERAGE> ‘So You Think You Can Stance’ Contest
When it comes to car shows, judging criteria is usually based on how the car looks or what kinds of modifications it has. Having attended tons of the same old car shows, our good friend Tony Lee from ItsJDMYo had an idea to make a different type of contest within the car scene.
While driving up or down a driveway may seem like a mundane everyday task for most, it obviously requires a certain amount of technique when you have a lowered car. Tony took that idea and decided to make it into a different form of driving competition, with the help of certain friends. Our own Editor-in-Chief Antonio was selected to be the emcee of the event, while judging duties were handled by Yogi from Fatlace, Noel from Canibeat, and ItsJDMYo's own Keychain. Read more...
While driving up or down a driveway may seem like a mundane everyday task for most, it obviously requires a certain amount of technique when you have a lowered car. Tony took that idea and decided to make it into a different form of driving competition, with the help of certain friends. Our own Editor-in-Chief Antonio was selected to be the emcee of the event, while judging duties were handled by Yogi from Fatlace, Noel from Canibeat, and ItsJDMYo's own Keychain. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Montego Blue Miata With Meisters
Fall is arguably one of the most beautiful times of the year in Washington - aside from the rain that is. The normally muted palette caused by an overcast sky suddenly comes to life with bright orange, red and yellow leaves amidst the evergreens that stand fully dressed all year. It's in times like these that the Seattle car community shines; auto enthusiasts like Karim Kerawala keep their rides looking fresh all year round. Where the question of, “Is this your daily driver?”, is met with a slight smirk, because this Montego Blue 1997 Mazda Miata is, in fact, Karim’s daily driver and any other suggestion would be more than absurd - there's no other way to roll. Read more...
VIDEO> Following An Underdog: Cyrus Martinez
Formula D driver Cyrus Martinez might not have the widest wheels or the lowest car or the coolest graphics in the Formula Drift series, but he sure has a whole lot of heart, and people love him for that. He started off as an AE86 Corolla driver, and worked his way up through the ranks, eventually earning his spot in the Formula D series with the Megan Racing drift team. It’s great to see that Cyrus is doing a good job of advancing through the rankings too, with his name being hyped up through the loudspeakers during several exciting tandem battles with top ranked Formula D drivers.
With help from longtime drifting videographer “Camera Steve” Reyes, Cyrus has released a year-end video full of highlights from the season, including some pretty cool footage of Cyrus crashing into walls and such! (more…)
OH SNAP> Taka Aono’s AE86 Turbo at Road Atlanta
In continuing with our celebration of 8-6 Day, I wanted to bring back this shot I took of Taka Aono at Road Atlanta earlier this year. Seeing this car still compete at a top level in professional drifting really adds to the excitement and the theater (theatre?) of the event. As much fun as it is seeing two high-horsepower Goliaths battle it out, replacing one of those monsters with a David only makes things more interesting. This might be why the AE86 is still a crowd favorite, well over 20 years after its inception. Read more...
VIDEO> Formula Drift Palm Beach Brings Challenge
MotorMavens | TANDEM OF DIE | Formula Drift Palm Beach from MotorMavens Dotcom on Vimeo.
During Formula Drift‘s first Florida event last weekend, there were many bobbles, a few spins, and even a couple of wrecks. The new layout on Palm Beach International Raceway proved to be a challenge for drivers, event organizers, and media personnel alike. The slippery track was slightly technical, with a high speed and high angle entry, and rounded off with a smoky finish. (more…)
COVERAGE> Falken Tires Sweep Formula D Florida!
For the first time Formula DRIFT history, the war was brought to the battlegrounds in Florida at the Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR). Locals got to witness a "Battle of the Mustangs" as Justin "JTP" Pawlak took another victory this year in his Falken Tires Ford Mustang against last year's champion, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. and his Monster Energy/Falken Tires Ford Mustang. Darren McNamara (who qualified 2nd) and his Falken Tire Saturn Sky ended up in 3rd place after defeating number one qualifier Chris Forsberg and his NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z. Florida was very very good to Falken Tires! In fact, Florida was very good - period. Read more...
GARAGE LIFE> JSP Fab K24A Powered AE86 Build
When it comes to drifting, whether it's professional, grassroots, or even street, the AE86 Toyota Corolla GT-S is one of the most iconic cars around. The AE86 'hachi roku' and its 4AGE engine are a staple when it comes to drifting. However some more adventurous and fabrication savvy people have opted to swap in different engines. Not everyone is a fan of cross platform engine swaps, but I think pulling off a swap from a pure engineering standpoint is a feat of its own. One of the most desired AE86 cross platform swaps is the F20C/F22C engine from the Honda S2000 as it is one of the most powerful 4 cylinder N/A (normally aspirated) engines available.
About a week ago, JSP Fab's John Russakoff contacted me about an exclusive update to his Megan Racing/Nexen Tire Formula Drift competition car. For those of you who don't know John, he is one of the first in the AE86 community to perform a F20C engine swap into the AE86 Toyota Corolla Chassis - stateside at least. He has once again broken the cross platform swap barrier by putting a Honda K-Series front wheel drive engine into the AE86 while retaining the RWD platform. Going to be the very first fully completed and running K-Series AE86 in the US (and maybe even the world), he definitely had some hurdles to jump over when it came to engineering and fabrication. Read more...
About a week ago, JSP Fab's John Russakoff contacted me about an exclusive update to his Megan Racing/Nexen Tire Formula Drift competition car. For those of you who don't know John, he is one of the first in the AE86 community to perform a F20C engine swap into the AE86 Toyota Corolla Chassis - stateside at least. He has once again broken the cross platform swap barrier by putting a Honda K-Series front wheel drive engine into the AE86 while retaining the RWD platform. Going to be the very first fully completed and running K-Series AE86 in the US (and maybe even the world), he definitely had some hurdles to jump over when it came to engineering and fabrication. Read more...
COVERAGE> The Formula D Atlanta Experience Pt. 2
Keeping our coverage of Round 2 of Formula Drift at Road Atlanta coming, we bring you more photos of the Pro Am rounds as well as the main event. Road Atlanta is a unique venue in that it is a world class road course that sees everything from the likes of Le Mans prototype cars to your neighbor who enjoys exercising his right foot every now and again. The Formula Drift weekend is no different - you get a mix of high-dollar, corporate-backed monster machines competing door to door with a backyard creation that you saw built from the ground up on your local forum. Read more...
GALLERY> Formula Drift Review in Pictures
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...
COVERAGE> IDRC Draggers vs Drifters at Fontana
This weekend, the members of the MotorMavens Crew were straight up hustlin. (When are we not?) As a collective, we spread out to cover FIVE events in different geographic parts of the world. In Southern Cali, the first event we hit up was the IDRC Finale at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. We knew this weekend was going to be hot... real hot. At California Speedway, deep in the Inland Empire, the temperatures reached 107 degrees, but on the track it felt even hotter, with heat bouncing up off the tarmac, penetrating through sunblock and clothing to sizzle the skin of event goers. To be honest, hardly anyone from the MotorMavens collective was super excited to bake in the sun on Labor Day weekend. We wanted to chill out in the air conditioned comfort of our homes, or head to the beach to hang out and enjoy all the beautiful scenery of Southern Cali's last days of summer.
However, a couple weeks ago, we received a call from DSPORT Magazine's Marketing Director, Tobin Honda, asking for MotorMavens help in promoting the event, and we made a commitment. In the automotive aftermarket industry, there are often times when people make a lot of promises, but they don't have much follow through... Motor Mavens tries not to be like that. Since we're always out at events speaking to car owners and such, we made a concerted effort to promote the car show and the drag event, and we were extremely happy to see many of our good friends in attendance, showing their support! Read more...
However, a couple weeks ago, we received a call from DSPORT Magazine's Marketing Director, Tobin Honda, asking for MotorMavens help in promoting the event, and we made a commitment. In the automotive aftermarket industry, there are often times when people make a lot of promises, but they don't have much follow through... Motor Mavens tries not to be like that. Since we're always out at events speaking to car owners and such, we made a concerted effort to promote the car show and the drag event, and we were extremely happy to see many of our good friends in attendance, showing their support! Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Tech Day at UTI
There sure were a lot of car events to hit up this weekend in Southern California, and the Formula D season hasn't even started yet. Man, it's going to be a super hectic year for sure. On Saturday morning, Formula Drift held their annual pre-season tech inspection at Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. This tech inspection is open to the public, and it gives drifting fans an up close and personal glimpse at the cars that will be running in the series before the season starts.
For those who don't know, Universal Technical Institute is a mechanic's training school, located out in the IE (Inland Empire), right across the street from the old Falken Tire headquarters, and right next to Kumho on Sixth Street and Haven. I've had an increasingly extremely full personal calendar, filled with things I need to do and places I need to be... and this weekend was no different. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't even make it out to the tech day myself, so I am super appreciative that new MotorMavens contributors Horacio Flores and Mike Kim (no, not the Mike Kim from UrbanRacer) offered to go to UTI and see what was going on. Thanks a lot guys! Enough about these details though - let's have a look at the cars! Read more...
For those who don't know, Universal Technical Institute is a mechanic's training school, located out in the IE (Inland Empire), right across the street from the old Falken Tire headquarters, and right next to Kumho on Sixth Street and Haven. I've had an increasingly extremely full personal calendar, filled with things I need to do and places I need to be... and this weekend was no different. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't even make it out to the tech day myself, so I am super appreciative that new MotorMavens contributors Horacio Flores and Mike Kim (no, not the Mike Kim from UrbanRacer) offered to go to UTI and see what was going on. Thanks a lot guys! Enough about these details though - let's have a look at the cars! Read more...
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.1
Independence Day weekend was certainly a busy for those of us in Southern California. There were so many parties and car events to go to, it was really difficult choosing what to do this weekend. While many of my other friends spent the 4th of July having BBQs or enjoying the cool breeze in Huntington Beach, Drift Day organizer Naoki Kobayashi talked my friends and I into making the long, long trek out to the National Orange Show (NOS) Center in San Bernardino, CA for the Megan Racing Drift Competition.
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...
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...
