Another Toyota 86 is heading to the 2012 D1 Grand Prix season according to the Speedhunters Facebook page. This one will be driven by Manabu Orido but no Subaru engine inside this one! The Toyota 86 chassis is taking a Lexus IS-F V8 engine and should officially be the first V8 swap in a Toyota 86/Scion FR-S platform. It is a shame that D1 will have three of these in competition while we only will see one in Formula Drift for 2012.

The Florida drifter Zoltan Hajdu is no stranger to anyone in the know focused around the southeast drift scene. Way back when he drove a black beat up BMW and now he has this Stage 6 Nissan 240sx. Zoltan will be a rookie this year in Formula Drift with this all out turbo LS2 machine. He shouldn’t lack power at the big tracks like Las Vegas and Seattle but interesting to see how this setup fares at some other events. What do you think of the car? Full build sheet if you click read more below.

Source: http://drift5150.com/?p=249

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Rhys Millen has a brand new chassis which just came back for powder-coating for the 2012 Formula Drift season. The car is heading into paint and then getting a nice build up for the 2012 season we are sure. Last year around SEMA we speculated the team might be a two car program for the new year but as far as we can tell that really didn’t get anywhere. We cannot wait to see what he is changing up for the new season!

It looks like the new 2012 rule book has a shift in tire/weights once again. The last update we reported on is in January 2011 where the smallest tire class was 2000-2099lbs allowing you to run up to a 215mm and 2100-2399 was several weight classes ranging from 225mm to 245mm. The heavier cars ranging in the 3000+ range have the biggest change in tire sizes. Here is the last weight/tire link to compare old sizes to the new ones. It seems like this is going to be a struggle of regulation focus over the next few years with the series before they can find an ideal weight class ruling. What does everyone think of the new changes to this section of the rules?

9.1.TIRE SIZE REGULATION
9.1.1. Cars are limited to the size of the rear tire that can be used, 
depending on the weight of the vehicle.

9.1.2. A car must be track-ready and running when it is weighed and
 registered to a weight class. A car will be weighed WITH the driver
9.1.3. Once the car is registered to a weight class, it will be
recorded, and issued a class specific sticker that must be displayed
prominently on the windshield. A car's weight may fluctuate within the
limits of its weight class, but it can never weigh less than the minimum
weight for its registered class.
9.1.4. Tire sizes are AS MEASURED in mm, across the span of the contact
patch. Tires will be measured on the rim, while on the car, while the
 car is on the ground.
9.1.5. Tire size must not exceed the maximum size dictated by
class at any time on track.

9.1.6. Tire size will be measured and verified on track before
the start of every tandem round. A FORMULA DRIFT official may
also check tire size at any time during the event.

Weight and Tire Classes-
2100-2399lbs up to 235mm
2400-2699lbs up to 245mm
2700-2799lbs up to 255mm
2800-2899lbs up to 265mm
2900-2999lbs up to 275mm
3000-3099lbs up to 285mm
3100-3199lbs up to 295mm
3200-3299lbs up to 305mm

Today a magazine has been reporting that Tyler McQuarrie has a deal signed for 2012 and we have confirmed that is not the case at this current time. To catch you up back in the beginning of October he was left go from Falken Tire at the end of the 2011 season. Then we found out he was in New Jersey visiting Gardella Racing which he has continued to be linked with during this off-season. I have confirmed the two teams are still in talks so the deal is not dead but Tyler McQuarrie’s manager confirmed that nothing has been signed either. That about sums up the report but just wanted to confirm that other media outlets are reporting incorrect information this morning. Good luck to Tyler landing a deal for this new season!

The Scion FR-S has been the biggest buzz of the import car scene in quite some time. Formula Drift announcer Jarod DeAnda went behind the scenes of the commercial shoot and captured all the action from flat black Mercedes SUVS to helicopters with huge cameras on them. Follow the jump below to see a ton of photographs.

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Vaughn Gititn Jr. in collaboration with HPI and K&N filters produced a fantastic chase scene around the K&N HQ in Riverside, California. The video has them traveling all around the warehouse property and winds up inside the K&N distribution center. It looks like they had fun shooting it and if Vaughn didn’t run over so many HPI cars they might have more than 5 to give away. You can see him demolish some of them in the ending credits. You can enter to win the contest at the K&N Facebook page. Follow the link below to the video!

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The former series of JDM All-Stars which is now rebranded as Drift All-Stars has a pretty awesome 2012 schedule spanning across the continent. The event looks at six full events and a national cup to complete the series. Let’s check out where they are visiting:

Round 1-  Birmingham Speedway (England) May 18th/19th
Round 2- London 02 Arena (England) June 23rd/24th
Round 3- TBD (Ireland) July TBD
Round 4- Constantsa Stadium (Romania) August 17th-19th
Round 5- Maripocs (Hungary) August 25th/26th
Round 6 Finals- Valleta (Malta) September 21st-23rd
Nations Cup- Drift Grand Prix (Romania) October 5th-7th

Jeff Jones has spent his fair share of history in Formula Drift moving from one chassis to another in the sport. In fact, we even own one of his old chassis from the 2010 season in the form of a FD Mazda Rx-7. He is pictured above giving tribute to his old car back at the 2011 SEMA Show. Now he reported today that he will be putting together a new chassis for 2012. The new chassis will be a S14 Nissan 240sx platform with some sort of turbo motor setup. The guys at Garrett have announced they will be coming on board for his new build. We cannot wait to see what Jeff Jones has cooked up for the new season.

The guys in Europe (Ireland) are coming up with a big and fun 2012 series. They have produced several Formula Drift drivers past/present from former champions so keep your eye out at these events for up and coming talent.

Round 1 Ennis, Co.Clare April 14th/15th
Round 2 Punchestown, Co. Kildare May 25th/26th/27th
Round 3 Fermoy, Co. Cork July 14th/15th
Round 4 Tullyroan, Co. Tyrone August 18th/19th
Round 5 Mondello, Co. Kildare September 8th/9th