Check out the latest edit by super talented Cinematographer Will Roegge.  In this piece we get to know a little bit more about Team Need For Speed Drift drivers Matt Powers and Mad Mike Whiddett.  Scroll down and enjoy!

Ever since round 1 at Long Beach there has been guesing and speculation on who would be Formula D’s TV Partner for the 2009 Season.  I litterally just got the press release a few moments ago and it looks like Formula D will be joining Indy Car on VERSUS this year!  It looks like it will be broadcasted in Hi-Def as well!  Check out the press release below

Press Release:

For Immediate Release

May 1, 2009

Formula DRIFT Announces Comprehensive TV Deal with VERSUS
LONG BEACH, Calif. - May 1, 2009 - Formula DRIFT announces a comprehensive race programming schedule with VERSUS in which Drifting, the fastest-growing motorsport, will slide into more than 75 million U.S. homes. The seven-stop Formula DRIFT Championship Series programs will air over fourteen Sundays during the 2 PM (EST) / 11 AM (PST) time slot beginning Sunday, August 30.

Each episode will showcase all the on- and off-track action as the world’s top drift drivers battle for the coveted title of Formula DRIFT Champion. The first episode, airing on August 30, will feature a comprehensive overview of the sport and drivers. Viewers will then experience Round 1 “The Streets of Long Beach” and all of the events leading up to the final episode showcasing the Formula DRIFT Championship Finale from Irwindale, California on November 29. Each episode will re-air the week following the initial airing.

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Series will be shot in HiDef and will focus on all the head-to-head action, technology, equipment and the personalities and behind-the-scenes drama. Check your local listings or visit the Formula DRIFT website at www.formuladrift.com for more information.

“We are very pleased to showcase the Series and the sport on VERSUS, the fastest growing sports cable network in the country,” says Ryan Sage, VP of Marketing and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT. “On VERSUS, we are able to showcase our teams and drivers on a weekly basis, at a consistent time slot; all on a network in more than 75 million homes.”

Formula DRIFT is also viewed worldwide through international syndication to an additional 200 million homes. All this combined with several new broadband and internet media strategies; Formula DRIFT continues to be the most watched drifting property in the world.

 

 

The last week has been absolutely crazy!  Even though Formula D Long Beach technically only went down Friday and Saturday things really started last week Tuesday during the media day.  Ever since that day there was a ton of talk and a ton of speculation about how things would go down once the big day came.

The biggest talking point was the fact that several of the top guys were in new cars this year and a few of the top guys were not.  Former Champ Rhys Millen debuted his Hyundai Genesis coupe and defending two-time champ Tanner Foust brought out his NASCAR engine’d Scion tC. Sam Hubinette who was expected to bring out his new Dodge Challenger made a decision to return to his trusty Viper and Chris Forsberg freshend up his V8 Nissan 350Z.

Another topic of conversation was the fact that Formula D switched to a Top 32 format for 2009.  By having qualifying on Friday, Saturday would now be dedicated to tandem battles from 32 all the way down to one.  This meant doing away with “seeded” spots.  Everyone has to qualify and everyone has to fight their way into the brackets.

It also meant that more privateer and small teams had a shot at the big dogs.  Someone who took full advantage of this was Stephan Verdier.  Steph managed to take out Rhys and Chris Forsberg who was a favorite to win the round.

Another big upset was Formula D rookie Jim Jones taking out Dai Yoshihara who was suffering from new car blues all weekend.  This year Dai Yoshihara is in a new Lexus IS350 with a Hasselgren V8 engine under the hood.  However hes only had limited testing in the car and hasn’t quite warmed up to it yet.

When the dust settled over Long Beach the whole event came down to Sam in his trusty Viper against Ryan “Hampshaa” Tuerck in his re-freshed Pontiac Solstice coupe.  The battle was tight and very close but rather than call a OMT (One More Time) the judges felt that Ryan just edged out the Crazy Swede by a hair and awared the Drift Alliance member his first win.  Personally I called it…anyone who tells you different is a filthy liar!

Tanner Foust managed to fight off Robbie Nishida (several times) to earn the third spot on the podium.  With Sam’s second place finish he is the highest scoring veteran so far.

Ha haaaa…annyway this was another great Long Beach event put on by the team at Formula D.  Every year they listen to feedback and find ways to improve things.  So above all a big shout out and thanks to Formula D for putting on such a great event and allowing MotorworldHype the privlage of covering it!

Stay tuned as Round 2 in Atlanta is coming up in early may.

Bill Wood shot this video for us during the early hours of the 2009 Formula D pre-season tech day at Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga, CA of Team Rockstar/AEM unloading their brand new Scion tC drift car.

Thanks Bill!

Well I just got back from the Formula D Tech Day at UTI and it was certainly an interesting event!  I heard a lot of pretty juicy tidbits, some I can share and some I can’t out of journalistic respect but I’m sure you don’t care about that part so I’ll get down to the good stuff.

The biggest bit of news to come out of the event is that Drift Alliance Co-Founder Tony Angelo will be putting down his helmet for 2009 and become a Formula D judge.  So who is the odd man out you may be asking?  Tony Angelo will be replacing Ken Takahashi in the judging booth.  Don’t worry about Ken though, word has it he will remain on the Formula D team as an overseer of all of the Pro Am events.  With Ken having such strong ties and passion for the grassroots community, I think this is a great fit for him.

In other news it seems that a lot of the bigger teams were a no-show to the tech day event for various reasons.  It looks like Sam Hubinette’s Mopar Challenger wont be ready in time for Long Beach so he’ll be back in the seat of the Dodge Viper.  While this bad news for those who were looking forward to seeing the challenger in action its good news for those who want to see Sam win as he’ll definitely be a threat in his trusty Viper.

Another no-show was Rhys Millen.  I really wanted to see his Hyundai Genesis coupe up close but Rhys spent the day testing the car at a secret location.  However Rhys called in live to the “Inside Drift” radio show which was broadcasting from inside the UTI facility during the event to say hi to everyone.

Someone err..something that DID show up was Tanner Foust’s Rockstar/AEM Scion tC which was brought up to the UTI facility by Tanner’s team manager Steph Papadakis.  He showed up at the crack of dawn with the car to try and get in and out quickly as the car wasn’t totally ready for its close up yet.  However that didn’t stop a swarm of photographers from bogging down the NASCAR Truck engine’d tC on the lift as they climbed over each other like ants at a picnic to snap as many photos as possible.

I wasn’t there for this so I didn’t get any pics of the car but my good friend Bill Wood (who also co-hosted the live radio show) managed to get some video footage and will be sending it soon so look forward to that going up here soon!

For now check out some of the pics I shot while strolling around.  Remember click the thumb nails for bigger pics!

This is a bit late but if you don’t have any plans tomorrow morning head over to Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow as all the teams in Formula D will be heading over there to get their official pre-season tech inspection.  All the big and small teams will be there!  It starts at 10am and goes on until 4.

Try to show up early as rumor has it that most of the big teams (Mopar, AEM/Rockstar, RMR/Red Bull, NOS Drift, Burgenholtz) will be showing up early and possibly leaving early as some of them need to get back to the shop to finish their cars before the big day!

You can get more info about the event HERE. Or click the thumbnail below to see the full size flyer.

This Saturday Formula D is holding their official launch party at street wear boutique Attic (Also exclusive producer of Formula D apparel this year) while at the same time Attic will be having a spring cleaning sale with product as much as 60% off.  There are a few stipulations though.  Check out the Formula D blog or scroll down for more info.

Blog Exerpt:

Attic is the official streetwear sponsor of Formula Drift’s 2009 season. This is the Official Launch event with Formula Drift to introduce the motorsports industry to the streetwear community and vice versa.

• This Saturday (March 28th) from 12 PM - 6 PM at Attic Buena Park. The event starts at 12 Noon but the sale starts at 9 AM.
• Formula Drift will be bringing out 5 of the drift cars that will competing this year to showcase.
• There will be media coverage by DSport Magazine and Import Tuner, and Wrecked Magazine
• Prestigious Models will be hosting the official “Ms. Attic” model search. They have a large database of amateur models they will be contacting for us to take pictures of at the event to find the official “Ms. Attic”.
• Food will be catered by Kogi Truck. You’ve seen them on TV and in newspapers.
• And finally, a massive 60% off sale to get a lot of you fans to come out to the event (must read details below to get the discount).

MORE INFO ABOUT THE HUGE SALE THIS WEEKEND
This is one of Attic’s biggest sales of the YEAR. Our famous Spring Cleaning Sale.
We made it very simple for you guys this time though. Instead of doing buy 1 get 1 free and stuff like that, we’re just going to give you 60% off your entire purchase. EVERYTHING in the store will be eligible for the 60% off (even sale items). Another added bonus is that if you purchase a Formula Drift Ticket ( Friday - GA Ticket & Saturday Reserved Ticket) for $25.00, you won’t have to wait in line for the sale! Tickets will be sold cash only and have a LIMITED Amount of Tickets, it’s first come first serve!

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: you will NOT be allowed to enter the store unless you show proof of text. In order to receive this text, you must text the keyword DRIFT to 69302. No exceptions. It’s really simple - just whip out your phone, send a normal text message to the number 69302, and inside the body of the text all you need to do is put the one-word keyword DRIFT and send the text message. It’s not case-sensitive so you don’t have to capitalize all the letters. If you have any questions, you can call the shop at 714-220-3116. This sale is for both Attic Buena Park and Attic San Diego, and the sale is from 9-6 on Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday for both locations.

www.attic2zoo.com
www.attic2zoo.com/wordpress

Directions to the Attic Store:

8010 Beach Blvd.
Buena Park, CA 90620
714-220-3116
Corner of Beach and La Palma (You can’t miss it, across from Knott’s Berry Farm)

I found this on the interwebs this morning.  Grassroots drifting hero Colin Frost is documenting his three-week quest to turn a bone stock Nissan S13 240SX into a competition ready drift car in time for the first round at Long Beach.  All while continuing work on his Lexus IS350 drift car.  Oh, that Colin…he’ll burry us all…

Formula D just announced that they’ll be ditching the tried and true “Top 16″ competition format and switch to a “Top 32″ format which is what was used in the Red Bull World Drifting Championships.  I personally think this is an awesome idea as it provides constant competition excitement and gives many of the smaller teams a better chance at the big show.

Press Release:

March 16, 2009

Formula DRIFT Announces New 32 car Head-to-Head Competition Format for 2009 Season
Long Beach, Calif. - March 16, 2009 - Formula DRIFT will be implementing a Top 32 tandem competition format for the 2009 season. The Top 32 tandem format will replace the Top 16 format previously used in an effort to appeal to the fans. The new competition format will be used starting at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 10-11.

The Top 32 tandem competition format will pit the Top 32 drivers in a round-by-round elimination with each driver advancing to the next round. Each round’s head-to-head battles will be determined by the drivers’ qualifying score. The higher qualifying score will receive a higher position, with the highest qualifier receiving the #1 spot and lowest qualifier receiving the #32 spot. The #1 and #32 positioned drivers will then compete in a head-to-head battle and the tandem competitions will continue until the finale and a winner will be determined.

“From our experience hosting the Red Bull Drifting World Championship in 2008, the 32 car tandem format seemed the most exciting,” states Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “As ambassadors for the sport, it is our responsibility to push the sport’s limits and keep it as exciting for the fans as possible and we feel this new format will give the fans more action during a Formula DRIFT event.”

The new format provides fans with more tandem competition throughout the event day, something fans want to see more of. The larger bracket will allow for more diverse match ups of drivers that may have never competed against each other.

“Drivers will have to strategize and plan effectively to make it further into the competition,” states Tanner Foust, Formula DRIFT 2007 & 2008 champion. “As a driver we will have to expect the unexpected not knowing the skills of the other driver. For the fans there will be more action and excitement with the Top 32.”

For more information visit www.formuladrift.com.

This video just hit the interwebs today.  It’s Vaughn Gittin JR testing out his 2010 Ford Mustang Drift car set to the best soundtrack known to man.  I watched this 5 times before I posted it.  Shake ‘n Bake JR!

2010 Ford Racing Falken Mustang from Drift Alliance Productions on Vimeo.