 |
|
Super Tuner Nationals: Formula Drift and Battle of the Imports
Dates: July 11, 2008 - July 12, 2008
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Article:
Event Promoter
Photos:
John Coupe |
 |
From the Event's Website:
Formula DRIFT Round 4: High Stakes;
Toshiki Yoshioka Takes Win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Long Beach, Calif. – July 15, 2008 – Formula DRIFT entered Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time for Round 4: High Stakes and rookie Toshiki Yoshioka took home the victory. This event also marked the 2nd event of the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize with Rhys Millen holding the lead over teammate Daijiro Yoshihara.
Entering Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time the Formula DRIFT Championship presented by Circuit City came back to the West Coast. The course became the fastest on the circuit with multiple drivers topping the high 90 mph range with their initial drift through the challenging track. The competition was as tough as ever with many new faces and vehicles entering the competition.
The event showcased one of the most diverse fields in Formula DRIFT history with the world's best drivers from around the world participating at the event. Drivers such as Toshiki Yoshioka from Japan, Christian Pickering from Australia, JT Wharerau from New Zealand, and world renowned Japanese racing star Manabu &Max& Orido made his Formula DRIFT debut. Japan came out on top with both Daijiro Yoshihara in his Bridgestone/RMR Pontiac Solstice GXP and Toshiki Yoshioka in his ASpec/Works Bell Toyota Sprinter Trueno making it to the finals. After a hard fought battle, Formula DRIFT rookie, Toshiki Yoshioka took home top honors in only his 2nd Formula DRIFT appearance.
&The diversity of the series was proven with drivers coming from around the world to compete in Formula DRIFT competition,& said Jim Liaw, President and Co-founder of Formula DRIFT. &You never know who will come out on top as we had a different winner each round so far. It was also proof of our diversity with three pre-1986 Toyota Corollas making it to the head-to-head round and upsetting some of the higher horsepower vehicles.&
At the halfway point of the season the competition for the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup is as tight as ever with 2007 Formula DRIFT Champion Tanner Foust and his Rockstar/AEM Nissan 350Z leading the way and with less than 15 points separating Foust from 2-time Formula DRIFT champion Samuel Hubinette in his Nuformz Racing/Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10 is 2nd in points and top contender Daijiro Yoshihara in his Bridgestone/RMR Pontiac GTO following in 3rd, it will be a hard fought battle to the end. This event also marked the 2nd event for the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize and Rhys Millen leads the way by 4 points over teammate Daijiro Yoshihara. Formula DRIFT action continues on August 9 at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA.
Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup 2008 Point Standings
1. Foust - Rockstar/AEM Nissan 350Z - 321 Points
2. Hubinette - Nuformz Racing/Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10 - 313 Points
3. Yoshihara - Bridgestone/RMR Pontiac GTO - 308 Points
4. Forsberg - NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z - 282 Points
5. Takatori - Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34 - 265 Points
6. Tuerck - Gardella Racing/Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice - 254 Points
6. Millen - Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP - 254 Points
8. Gittin, Jr. - Falken/Ford Racing Mustang - 182.25 Points
9. Grunewald - Nitto/Tanaka Racing Chevrolet Corvette - 173.25 Points
10. McNamara - Falken/Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky - 172 Points
11. Verdier - Cooper/Crawford Performance Subaru STI - 169.25 Points
12. Miki - APEXi/Nitto Mazda RX7 - 119.50 Points
13. Nishida - Hankook/Peak Performance Nissan 350Z - 117.25 Points
14. Gushi - RS*R Scion tC - 111.50 Points
15. Yamanaka - Signal/Maziora Nissan S14 - 110.25 Points
16. Yoshioka - Aspec/Works Bell Toyota Sprinter Trueno - 104.25 Points
Tires.com Triple Crown 2008 Point Standings
1. Millen - Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP - 170 Points
2. Yoshihara - Bridgestone/RMR Pontiac GTO - 166 Points
3. Takatori - Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34 - 157 Points
Formula DRIFT Round 4: High Stakes Event Results
1. Yoshioka - Aspec/Works Bell Toyota Sprinter Trueno - 104.25 Points
2. Yoshihara - Bridgestone/RMR Pontiac GTO - 308 Points - 308 Points
3. Hubinette - Nuformz Racing/Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10 - 313 Points
|
