In 2007 Tanner Foust earned the nick name “Golden Child” by winning X Games Rally gold and winning the Formula Drift championship all in the same year. Since then hes had some significant success (he followed up his ‘07 Formula Drift championship with another in ‘08) but this year Tanner is in position to raise the bar for himself yet again by winning two gold medals at X Games 16. The first in head to head rally racing then again in the 4 car mayhem known as “Super Rally”.
Head to head rally racing could only be described as chaotic. Things were shaping up ok but after Friday’s practice many of the rally drivers felt that the course design was too tight. This left the drivers meeting with track officials Saturday morning about possibly re-configuring the course lay out. The driver’s got their wish and the course was changed but by the time the changes were complete there was no time for the drivers to practice on the new configuration. To add to the tension the drivers were feeling from no practice time was the red-flag rule hanging over their heads. In short the red-flag rule states that if a driver deviates from the designated course they will instantly be “red flagged” and if you get red flagged it is an automatic disqualification from that heat.
This combination resulted in nearly every heads up rally racing heat ending with a red flag disqualification. Including the final battle between Tanner Foust and fellow Rockstar Energy/Ford Racing driver Brian Deegan. You can watch their battle below.
After the pandemonium of head to head rally racing was over it was time for the event that everyone was waiting for: the 4 car tandem “Super Rally”. In the Super Rally race 4 cars at a time all race against each other in a 4 lap heat. To mix things up each driver is required to use the “Joker Lane.” The Joker Lane is a slightly longer path through the course that included the massive gap jump. The tricky part about this was that the drivers could choose when they wanted to take the Joker lane. Since no one knew what driver would take the Joker lane at what time no one knew what to expect or when to expect it!
After four heats the final was dominated by professional drivers as Verdier, Foust, and Hubinette all lined up against the only non-drifter Brian Deegan. You can see how the final Super Rally battle played out below:
With Formula D drivers dominating the X Games rally, could this mean we might see more action sports and rally drivers like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana take up drifting to improve their skill set? Probably not, but it would be interesting to see!
All in all despite the confusion during the head to head rally racing Super Rally more than made up for everything and definitely looks like the sport could have a BIG future on American soil.
I caught up with Travis Pastrana after his first Rally Run at X Games 16. The first thing I ask is what was the issue with his car that contributed to his loss to Brian Deegan. Secondly I ask what he feels his biggest challenge will be going into the Super Rally 4 car competition later in the day.
X Games is back in town and the entire local automotive culture has gone Rally crazy. There are a few big changes to the Rally event this year versus previous years. The biggest change is the new “Super Rally Cross” format. Before the X Games used a “Super Stage” style in which two cars would run at the same time but on their own set course trying to beat their rival’s time to move on to the next battle. The “Super Rally Cross” format takes the old style but shakes it up by having 4 cars run at the same time…on the same course! Yet they’re still racing the clock more than each other.
However, they have to battle each other for the fastest line through a corner. If that wasn’t crazy enough, they’ve also introduced the “Joker Lane” The Joker Lane is a longer route around the track but it also includes the infamous “gap jump”. Now, a driver can use any lap of the race to take the Joker lane but each driver MUST use the lane at least once per race. This adds a whole new level of excitement as well as strategy for the drivers. Will they get the Joker lane out of the way early? Or will they save it for the last lap?
Tune into the X Games on ESPN and ESPN HD TODAY to watch the action. You can also stay tuned to Xgames.com or right here on MotorworldHype.com as well as our twitter page @MotorworldHype to stay updated on the action. Check out some practice pictures from Friday below and even more pictures in our gallery.
The 2010 Formula Drift season officially kicked off over the weekend with Round 1 taking place on the streets of Long Beach. All the pre-season hype was over and it was time for all the teams with new cars to put their money where their mouths were. Questions were answered and more were asked but when all the tire smoke cleared it was Vaughn Gittin Jr on top of the podium thanks to his new Falken Tire/Monster Energy Drink 2011 Ford Mustang. Taking 2nd place was Rhys Millen in his Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe and coming in 3rd was Tanner Foust in his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC thus creating an all energy drink podium.
So what were some of the highlights from the weekend? Well Long Beach was to be the debut for several new cars such as Sam Hubinette’s Dodge Challenger, and Conrad Grunewald’s 2010 Chevy Camaro. However not all the new cars made it to the grid. Noticably absent was the Hankook Tire GT-R built by Gruppe-S/Dynamic Autosport for Robbie Nishida as well as the Hankook Tire Subaru WRX for Irish driver Eric O’Sullivan. Both cars failed to pass a last minute tech inspection and were not allowed to run. You can follow up on that drama on WreckedMagazine.com.
I am happy to say that the other highlight wasn’t controversial but a shocker nonetheless. Nordic driver Fredric Aasbo was extremely impressive in his Toyota Supra and shocked the crowed when he took down 2009 Formula D Champion Chris Forsberg in the top 16! Aasbo made it all the way to the final four where he lost to Vaughn Gittin Jr. in what some would call a questionable call by Formula D judges. Aasbo then had to take on Tanner Foust but it appeared as if his confidence was shaken since Tanner made quick work of Aasbo who seemed hesitant to stick close to Tanner during the battle. Vaughn used the momentum from his earlier win over Aasbo to take on Rhys Millen in a heated battle. But when Rhys spun and crashed into the tire barrier on his second run he handed the victory to Gittin thus securing the all energy drink podium.
With Long Beach wrapped up it is on to Road Atlanta where hopefully some of the cars who had trouble in Long Beach will be all sorted. WIll Vaughn be able to repeat down south? WIll the new Hankook Tire cars be ready for the next round? We’ll do our best to keep you posted!
In the mean time you can check out our 2 day gallery on our Facebook page or you can check out UrbanRacer.com’s gallery full of yummy action shots.
We showed you the trailer for this a while back and now the full movie has finally hit the interwebs. Scroll down to watch Tanner Foust rip up Mullholland drive in his 600HP NASCAR engined Scion tC drift car.
Normally drifting on public roads is frowned upon. Unless however you some how get the cops to close off one of the country’s most famous twisty roads just for you. Then all bets are off and anything goes! It looks like Scion and Rockstar signed a check and let Tanner Foustplay on Mulholland Drive all on his lonesome in his NASCAR powered Scion tC. The video below is just a trailer but the full feature should be pretty awesome.
If you’re looking for an entertaining way to kill 10 minutes in your post-lunch recovery phase I recommend checking out the latest Scion Drift Webisode. This latest edition is pretty much a wrap up from Scion drivers Ken Gushi and Tanner Foust of their thoughts on 2009 and what their goals are for 2010. It’s good stuff.
In what some would call a pretty big upset Ford really took it to Subaru over the weekend during the X Games Rally. All three Ford entries made it into the semi finals and then sandwiched suby on the podium with Kenny Brack taking gold, Travis Pastrana taking silver, and Tanner Foust taking bronze. Check out the video below for the final battle between Pastrana and Brack. More on this story to come.
It looks like Ken Block may have a run for his youtube views. I just found this short flim presented by Gruppe-S Engineering dubbed “Drifting Dirty”. This video features all three Hankook backed Formula D drivers Robbie Nishida, Miki Ryuji, and Eric O’ Sullivan. The three drivers share the spot light with a few vinyl clad ladies. Some might say the high light is when one of them offers Eric O’ Sullivan a can of Rockstar Energy Drink. You’ll see what I mean when you watch…
You probably already know this if you’ve been following our twitter page but this past Saturday Tanner Foust earned his first victory in his new Rockstar Scion tC drift car. This marks the first ever victory for Scion since they entered Formula D with Ken Gushi in 2008. This round was also the scene for a shake up in the points standing as the former points leader Darren McNamara failed to qualify due to blowing his engine in practice and providing a lackluster performance in a borrowed car (Calvin Wan’s Nissan S15 Silvia). Also failing to make top 32 was Rhys Millen who spun in each of his qualifying runs.
This left the points standings wide open and the benefactors of that turned out to be Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, and Sam Hubinette respectively while Darren tumbled down to 6th in the standings. And while those three fought amongst each other for points Mr. Foust drifted past all to the top of the podium.
Congrats to Tanner and the Rockstar/Scion/AEM team. Stay tuned as the next round of Formula D is coming on August 7-8th in Washington at Evergreen Speedway (www.formulad.com for info).
Press Release:
July 12, 2009
Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In Results;
Tanner Foust Takes the Victory and Chris Forsberg Moves to Top Spot
Long Beach, Calif. - July 12, 2009 - Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 4: All In. Champion Tanner Foust takes the victory in his Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC, while Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z moves to the top position overall in the chase for the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship.
For the 2nd consecutive year, Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2-day weekend event was filled with non-stop Formula DRIFT and Pro Am action. Fans were also treated to the Jtuned Auto Gallery car show, Wicked H.P. drag competition, and Bikini Jam.
“Las Vegas continues to be one of the top destinations for the circuit despite the triple digit weather,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The fans continue to come out in droves and we had another sold out event. The drivers continue to step up their level of drifting and we’re seeing a real chase for the Championship.”
Chris Forsberg took over the point lead after a close battle with Ryan Tuerck, who was ranked #2 going into the event, in the Great 8 round. Forsberg then went on to defeat Tyler McQuarrie, in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z, in the consolation round for 3rd place. The final battle was between Hankook Tire teammates Tanner Foust and Ryuji Miki, piloting the APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7. Foust proved why he is the returning champion and blinded Miki in the first run with a cloud of thick smoke that caused Miki to lose his drift, while giving chase in their first tandem run giving Foust the advantage. With a solid 2nd run, Foust was able to sit on top of the podium once again.
“The Rockstar team and I went from zero to hero after failing to qualify for the main competition last event,” said Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust, winner of Round 4: All In. “I am so proud of my team and they worked hard to fix the issues of the Rockstar Scion tC and I now feel comfortable and feel that this car has more potential than the Nissan 350Z ever had.”
Formula DRIFT returns to Evergreen Speedway on August 8-9. Tickets are on-sale now.
Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings
1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 307 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice 294 Points
3. Hubinette, Samuel NuFormz Dodge Viper 271 Points
4. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 265.50 Points
5. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 265 Points
6. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 260 Points
7. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 259 Points
8. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 246.50 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 245 Points
10. Maeng, Joon Maxxis / LS Auto Nissan S13.5 227.25 Points
11. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 223 Points
12. Mordaunt, Patrick PM Racing Nissan S13 220 Points
13. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 219 Points
14. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 214 Points
15. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 212.75 Points
16. Yoshihara, Daijiro Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 208 Points
Round 4: All In Event Results
1. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC
2. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z
Tires.com Triple Crown Point Standings after 1 of 3 events
1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 102 Points
2. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 94 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 80 Points
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