D1GP USA just announced that in fact, no 2010 season will be happening this year at all. This doesn’t come as a shock to us after the unreliability of this series and it’s owners in the past. The real question I have is…. why even try to come back in 2011? You have already wasted our resources and time this season so what is the point in doing it again next year?

I am sure the D1GP PR machine is going to hop on here soon and tell you how great the new series is going to be in 2011 and how awesome the television show is but nobody here cares. Hopefully this is the final nail in the coffin to a pipe dream of Japanese fanboys that no one in America can seem to make a reality. On the bright side of things happening in American drifting we do have Formula Drift Las Vegas coming up this month and it actually will be happening.

To give everyone an update on Taka Aono he did have surgery on his leg and is said to be doing great. I know many people have shown concern about him recently since his injury at Formula Drift Seattle. No word on if he will be able to attend FD Las Vegas or any other events for the 2010 season but I am sure he will take to his Team blog soon and update us once he is back up on his feet.

We got sent an x-ray of Taka Aono’s tibia after this Top 32 crash. We have seen Taka Aono flip and destroy AE86’s for years but never really suffer any injuries. It looks like the higher speed bank accident managed to injure Taka Aono. Everyone at Wrecked Magazine hopes he can make a speedy recovery and return to Las Vegas in just over one month. Get better Taka, please leave him your best wishes in the comments.

UPDATE at 7:21pm – Top 16 just finished and I have been told Taka Aono is back at the track walking around with his leg in a cast. What a trooper!

Apparently when Eric O’Sullivan went out for his second run he got caught up in all sorts of oil left on the track from the previous car that shut down the track for 20 minutes for oil cleanup. According to someone from his team on the exit of the bank oil was left everywhere causing Eric to make a huge correction and get a low score (65.0).  He filed a protest with Formula Drift after requesting another run and being denied from what we are told.

I am guessing Eric O’Sullivan isn’t going to get very far with this complaint especially since he made the Top 32 it appears as I type this (JTP is running) up for the site. Matt Field who ran before Eric we are told also spun due to the oil issues but we haven’t had a chance to speak with him. They focused cleaning up the oil on the front straight failing to remove it from other locations is the report we got from EOS team members. Should be interesting to see if anything happens with this and we will update you guys.

Some sources confirmed to us that Fredric Aasbo is in the United States and bringing his Toyota Supra to Formula D Seattle for competition. Rumor has it he added almost 200 horsepower to the 2JZ engine to really be competition ready here in Formula Drift. He made quite an impression at Formula D Long Beach along with James Deane (who will be abesent from FD Seattle) and is now back to stake his name in the Rookie of the Year record books. Due to missing the last two rounds he has fallen in the points to 28th place but a good performance in Seattle will bring him back in the running for a ROY run. The big question is was his performance a Long Beach beginners luck or is he just that talented? Only time will tell this weekend if he will perform and he MIGHT be a guy you want to pick up  in Fantasy Drift, if one of your players is lacking performance numbers, and you want to take a gamble with a possible big pay off.

Last year I made some predictions for Seattle found at “5 Things We Know Will Happen This Weekend at Formula D” where I listed the same events in this post and got most of them right. The only one I don’t remember happening last year is #4 which was a pleasant surprise.

Eric O’Sullivan landed second place on the podium for his first time in his Formula D career making #5 happen. #3 happened with a little sprinkle during qualifying if I remember right, this also happens and the locals are unfazed but some of the drivers I feel get on tilt making the whole event interesting. #2 happened because this Seattle crowd is one of the best in the series. #1 was none other than Falken Tire driver Daijiro Yoshihara and his huge wreck into the bank entry “Daijiro Yoshihara Crash [SNAPSHOT]” which you can see at this snapshot. The Lexus was totaled and never returned to competition. This is what lead Daijiro Yoshihara into his S13 which appears to be a blessing in disguise. So now it’s just a matter of who will make my predictions come true this year……

5.Someone will podium for the first time in their Formula D career.
4. We will smell horse manure.
3. It will rain.
2. The crowd will stay and go insane no matter what weather conditions.
1. We will have huge accidents.

Just after F0rmula D Round 3 at Wall Speedway Appendix C.2 got updated with approved tires for the Formula Drift series. The latest addition is for new tire company Nexen who received approval for the N9000 model tire. This should be interesting to see if performances from Kyle Mohan, Taka Aono, or Cyrus Martinez improve with the new tire. This is also a list of all approved tires for the series in case you have never seen it.

Source: http://blog.driftpro.com/2010/06/finally.html

It looks like Formula Drift has been calling sponsors to inform them that a 2010 Redbull World Championship is confirmed. We knew it was close to happening but finally it looks like they have a city locked down. Back in December 2009 we told you the RBWC was possibly happening on the east coast and that has come true. The city location is Atlanta, Georgia and the track might not be too far from this physical location in the photograph above. We will keep you updating on this event as the story breaks but people have been calling us today saying Formula Drift has reached out spreading the word. No date has been set but it will clearly be after Irwindale Speedway so we guess it will happen sometime after the 2010 SEMA show putting it into the November month. We are excited and cannot wait!

It looks like Stephan Verdier will be joining Sam Hubinette in X-Games SuperRally next month. According to a PR he has entered the X-Games SuperRally race for this summers X-Games in Los Angeles. Just after Formula D Seattle he will be converting his car back to AWD with the help of Crawford Performance. He will be scoring a new engine and transmission during the changeover as well. The biggest news is that it won’t be his first appearance in X-Games history. Apparently back in 2002 he competed in SkierCross during the X-Games so it will be his second attempt at the action sport olympics.

The skateboard car we leaked some time ago is finally making it to the public airwaves via MTV. Hopefully you have MTV, not that you ever tune in since they don’t play music, and can check out this amazing stunt on July 12th. That will make the show come on the Monday after Formula Drift Seattle so get ready for Rob Dyrdek’s evil plan to skateboard a Ford Mustang.

The Info:
Channel: MTV
Day: July 12th
Time: 9:30pm