After some rumors have circled around the drift community we got some super solid evidence and communication tonight that after Formula Drift 2012 is complete the ASD and Falken Tire camp will be separated as official partners. The first outward visual issue of the partnership really came when Darren McNamara jumped ship into SPD Metal Works, the team who maintains Daijiro Yoshihara’s 2011 championship S13.4, and planned to finish out the 2012 season with the Falken S15.
Right now Vaughn Gittin Jr. is poised to take home his second championship in three years as he leads the race with just two rounds left. That would leave ASD at a championship average better than most programs building drift cars. No communication yet exactly how things will pan out for Falken Tire or the respective ASD drivers of VGJ and Justin Pawlak but information should be available soon.Whatever they have cooking up in Fontana, California they plan to win more and more championships after going back to back I am sure.
The f@#%?
Woah
Is Falken moving out of Formula Drift? If they are staying, are they going to move to a new shop partnership? What Tire company will ASD team up with?
Man…big changes all year. This season is one for the books.
was wondering when this was gonna come out lol. i’m surprised it took this long considering how rumors spread like wildfire these days
I know ASD went to a few of the GRC events, I bet they’re just jumping ship to the ‘next best thing’ that they can charge a grip of money for and make tons of money
I’m guessing someone offered ASD a better deal, it seems odd Falken would drop them. Wonder if Falken is staying with SPD Metal Works?
I’m gonna throw a wild, wild idea out there.
Yokohama tire/asd.
Iirc, Falken will pass Yokohama as the winningest tire in FD this year?
Hoping ASD remain in FD at some level. Don’t think the sport can afford to lose another top team.
And charging a grip of money? Anyone who has seen the service and engineering that these guys provide appreciate the value of this crew. Hands down the most professional outfit ever to come into this sport.
Drama
Huge shock!
I hope both halves of this partnership stay in Formula Drift in some way as they have had such a dramatic effect on the championship over the years.
Face it NOBODY wants to face an ASD/Falken car in tandum.
As for JR and JTP, I could see them buying the cars from ASD and continuing, possibly by teaming up together.
And who knows, with the success and dominance of the Mustangs this season maybe we could see a Factory Ford Team….. maybe….
lol was waiting for this to get out. Wonder what team falken will go to next season.
Maybe Falken is pulling out?
They have been cutting back on everything since 07 if you really think about it.
I would say ASD not leaving drifting after all these years different tire company , you could still run GRC/FD programs side by side
Watch out for Achilles (Big Movers) Yokohama..
ASD are a big budget team ,maybe got too much for Falken in comparison to SPD who won a championship!
Surely Gittin would never leave Falken?
Hopefully Asd is just picking up a new tire sponsor. I wonder how this will pan out for the drivers. Who are they commited to more, Falken or Asd? My money is on Asd.
Im going to go out on a limb and say ASD / Achillies
Also spotted Papadakis talking to the Achillies upper management.
my guess is that its an open relationship with ANYONE (tire companies, teams, etc) that wants to get their cars built by ASD…and not just Falken anymore.
I hope ASD will continue to stay in FD, they are invaluable to the legitimacy of the series. I’ve seen Ian Stewart say he won’t be stopping drifting any time soon in quite a few recent videos, so hopefully this is all part of a master plan, or can be dealt with, if the rumours are even true!
Whatever happens, D-mac needs to get back into a Sky and get his old aggressive chase runs back. He always did damage with that vehicle…
you mean damage TO that vehicle….right sidekick?
I’m pretty sure that ASD isn’t done with drifting. But hey, I was wrong once last year…
Even though it appears that Falken has been downsizing, their top tier drift program has been doing very well this year. One thing I can say for sure is that you never know what kind of magic Ian and ASD are going to pull out of the hat, but it’s always awesome and makes perfect sense in the end!
@thatguy, I meant it in both senses of the word! Always highly entertaining…
Maybe Falken is gunna go with Enjuku Racing lol. but seriously, I can’t see any of these companies leaving. Falken just brought out that tire program for privateers and are one of the most recognizable tire companies in the sport and ASD… well they make some of the most legit shit out there! Every single one of their cars are top tier. I’m not worried
Let’s not over look the most important issue here, what’s going to happen to the Falken Tire Umbrella girls, the hottest umbrella girls in FD!
Just kidding, but seriously!
ASD Isn’t going anywhere, dudes.
https://vimeo.com/45693155
So what colors are ASD’s cars going to be?
My guess is one car will be black and monster green.