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Formula Drift - Round 4
Date: July 14, 2007
Location: Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, WA
Article:
Andrew Yang
Photos:
Andrew Yang |
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For the second year in the row, Seattle was included in the 2007 Formula D series tour. This year it was round 4 for the season and it was held at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA.
On Friday, the day before the actual event, a few other photographers and I went to the track for the media briefing, as well as to cover the practice and initial qualifying rounds. Almost as if Seattle wanted to enforce its reputation as the "Rainy City", the day started with a series of thunderstorms, causing a bit of worry, but by noontime, the rain had completely stopped. The temperature rose to a nice 80 degrees and the drivers proceeded to tear up the track only 30 minutes after the original schedule. Throughout the day I was able to watch all of the drivers drift the course, instead of just the top 32 that you see on the actual race day. In addition, it proved to be a good day to actually meet the drivers, get to know the teams, and check out their vehicles. Toward the end of the day, I rode with Toyo Tire's driver Ken Gushi and Team X/Cooper Tire's driver Casper. Both gave me fun and exciting laps around the track, ending day one on a high note.
Saturday was the actual race day, featuring the top 32 drivers qualified from Friday's group. I arrived about an hour before the gates opened and took that time to walk through the pits, talking with a few of the drivers I met on Friday, as well as visiting some of the vendor booths that had been setup that day.
The gates opened at 12 PM, and the fans began to spill into the venue. By the time the qualifying rounds started, not only were the pits full, but the stands were also packed. With attendance in the thousands, it easily surpassed the attendance we saw last year. This tells us that drifting interest in Seattle is going strong, and should continue to grow for years to come.
Throughout the day, the drivers wowed and pumped up the crowd. Each driver pushed their cars to the limits, some beyond. Throughout the day, a few drivers met the wall. Tanner Foust, the Formula D points leader, went in just a tad too high on the first high speed bank, hitting the wall, eliminating himself from the day's racing. That high-speed bank proved to be a problem spot throughout the day, as perhaps the worst crash of the day belonged to Chris Forsberg, who went in too high, and got sucked into the wall. As he slid along the wall, unable to disconnect, he tore his front bumper off before running it over.
Finally, there were three: Dai Yoshihara, Kenji Yamanaka, and JR.
First, Dai battled Kenji in a very close match, however, on the last run, Kenji made an illegal pass, eliminating himself from the round and finishing in third place. Dai moved forward to the next battle, meeting JR in his Falken Tires Mustang. Both performed amazingly well, while the crowd chanted "One More Time". By the end of the second round a decision had already been made and it was announced that Dai Yoshihara had taken first place with JR in second.
Formula D put on a great show, fully living up to its Round 4 slogan "Drift, Slide, Collide".
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