Our footage from Drift Mania Round 2 in Quebec CIty was a huge event for the Canadian series. Jeremy Glover gave us over 200 photos from the event covering Formula D drivers like Matt Waldin competing and Dave Briggs. In the end Pat Cyr took home the victory in his AE86 seen above.
Check out the Gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=180
Drift Mania Round 2 just took place over the weekend at Autodrome Montmagny producing some great drifting. The newest addition to the Drivers Lounge Pat Cyr (Drift Posse) happened to take home the victory over the weekend. So we want to issue a huge congratulations to him and his V-TEC powered Toyota Corolla. Everyone has told us that the top four battle between Dave Briggs and Matt Waldin were one for the record books! Here is how the final four stacked up.
1st- Pat Cyr
2nd- Marc Landreville
3rd- Matt Waldin
4th- Dave Briggs
Here is how qualifying went at Formula Drift Round 3 Wall Speedway. Ross Petty held first place for a long time and wound up at 6th place overall. Here is how they finished up:
1. Ryan Tuerck
2. Darren McNamara
3. Daijiro Yoshihara
4. Justin Pawlak
5. Vaughn Gittin
6. Ross Petty
7. Chris Forsberg
8. Stephan Verdier
9. Tanner Foust
10. Charles Ng
11. Michihiro Takatori
12. Tyler McQuarrie
13. Samuel Hubinette
14. Kyle Mohan
15. Ken Gushi
16. Dean Kearney
17. Matt Powers
18. Matt Walden
19. Forrest Wang
20. Rhys MIllen
21. Tony Brakohiapa
22. “Mad” Mike Whiddet
23. Conrad Grunewald
24. Cyrus Martinez
25. Doug Van Den Brink
26. Bill Sherman
27. Ryuji Miki
28. Robbie Nishida
29. Michael Essa
30. Brian Wilkerson
31. Dennis Mertzanis
32. Andrew Picard
Drift Mania kicked off with 2010 Round 1 in St. Eustache Montreal. Jeremy Glover was on the scene for us to capture another great round of drifting in Canada.Our first photo features a tandem battle between Dave Briggs and 2009 Champion Matt Waldin. The second photo is a huge dirt drop from Claude Poirier in his convertible Nissan 350z.
Check out the Gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=172
2010 Drift Mania Round 1 at AUTODROME ST-EUSTACHE
Check out this Round 1 video from Autodrome St-Eustache in Montreal. Round 1 brought some great tandem battles and 2009 champion Matt Waldin scored a second place spot. A great video produced by Jordan Hamelin that came out just after DMCC Round 1. We cannot wait to see more videos from the Drift Mania series this year.
Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/2010-drift-mania-round-1-at–autodrome-st-eus
Mark Landreville took home the victory today at DMCC round one in his pink Nissan S14. Congrats to him for his excellent performance at Drift Mania Round 1. Matt Waldin (2009 Champion) lost to him in the finals and XDC Round 1 winner David Briggs almost got third and landed on the podium. Round 2 of DMCC is just around the corner.
1st Mark Landerville
2nd Matt Walden
3rd Brad Carlton
4th David Briggs
Here is a tentative list of drivers for Wall Speedway at Formula Drift Round 3:
1. Vaughn Gittin Jr.
2. Dai Yoshihara
3. Rhys Millen
4. Tanner Foust
5. Chris Forsberg
6. Ryan Tuerck
7. Darren McNamara
8. Samuel Hubinette
9. Patrick Mordaunt
10. Conrad Grunewald
11. Ken Gushi
12. Ryuji Miki
13. Justin Pawlak
14. Joon Maeng
15. Ross Petty
16. Stephan Verdier
17. Forrest Wang
18. Michihiro Takatori
19. Michael Essa
20. Robbie Nishida
21. Tyler McQuarrie
22. Tony Brakohiapa
23. Taka Aono
24. Kyle Mohan
25. Charles Ng
26. Dean Kearney
27. Matt Powers
28. Dennis Mertzanis
29. Doug VanDenBrink
30. Mike Whiddet
31. Cyrus Martinez
32. Jodin LeJeune
33. Matt Waldin
34. Andrew Comrie-Picard
35. Bill Sherman
36. Ron Ewerth
37. Russell Walker
38. Eric O’Sullivan
39. Jeff Jones
40. Kelvin Arreola
41. James Robinson
42. Brian Wilkerson
You saw our pre event Pit Notes that we posted yesterday which you can find here if you want to look back at what we said before the event started. If I would of known earlier Patrick Mordaunt was in his S14 he would of ranked probably on the top of my Hot Property List. Here is a breakdown of the Top 32 battles and what I feel about the drivers and possibly the tandem battle for today’s main event. Here is a breakdown of these Top 32 tandem battles in the driver in them.
Tanner Foust Vs. Matt Waldin
This is technically a battle of North American Drifting champions since Matt Waldin has won DMCC and Tanner is a two time Formula Drift champion. I don’t think Matt Waldin’s Nissan 350z is really a match for the NASCAR V8 but greater upsets have happened in time. Fantasy wise if you have Matt Waldin then a One More Time is probably going to be your best bet to score some points. My prediction is that Tanner Foust advances.
Ryan Tuerck Vs. Dennis Mertzanis
I told the world on the Live Drift Stream that Dennis would take out Vaughn in the Top 32 at Long Beach which didn’t happen and I really don’t think he stands a chance against Ryan Tuerck. Ryan has more control against slower drivers and is a tandem machine. Maxxis Tires always seem to thrive here as history tells us as well. My prediction is that Ryan Tuerck advances.
Conrad Grunewald Vs. Forrest Wang
Even though these guys qualified so far from each other I don’t want to declare a winner in this match. Conrad was eliminated early at Long Beach and the car just doesn’t seem to tandem as well as he can qualify. Forrest Wang has great talent but his Infiniti G35 seems to be a handicap. The car doesn’t seem to work 100% and there is no telling what he will get when the event starts. This is a Fantasy Drift wild card which you don’t want to miss on the live steam or in person.
Daijiro Yoshihara Vs. “Mad Mike” Whidett
Mad Mike qualified in his first Formula Drift event but I don’t think he is any match for Daijiro Yoshihara. If you watched him drive that S13 he was looking like the Daijiro Yoshihara of old and not the one we saw drive in 2009. This leads me to believe he could go far this weekend. He has also made podium in Atlanta before. My prediction is that Daijiro Yoshihara advances.
Rhys Millen Vs. Cody Parkhouse
Rhys Millen has been on fire this year so I think Cody Parkhouse is going to have a big problem on his hand. It’s hard to keep up with Rhys on this track as well with his shallow angle style he runs here that caused much controversy when he beat Bill Sherman a few years back. My prediction is that Rhys Millen advances.
Michael Essa Vs. Stephan Verdier
I love Michael Essa’s huge insane entry as he came down the hill but I question the cars ability to tandem. The car still appears to have a lack of grip and we haven’t seen this BMW 350R compete in tandem competition yet. While Essa is on my Fantasy Team I just think Stephan Verdier has the upper hand. For crying out loud Iron Man 2 came out yesterday so we have to get Stephan some secret forces behind him. My prediction is that Stephan Verdier advances.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Vs. Michihiro Takatori
Takatori didn’t look all that overwhelming during qualifying or practice and Vaughn Gittin Jr. just seems to be unstoppable after Streets of Long Beach. My prediction is that Vaughn Gittin Jr. advances.
Chris Forsberg Vs. Cyrus Martinez
I don’t want to discredit the rookie Cyrus Martinez here like most of you have already done but Forsberg is going to win this round. Cyrus looks great and if he drew anyone else other than a the only two time winner here I would give him a chance but I just don’t see this one happening. My prediction is that Chris Forsberg advances.
Doug Van Den Brink Vs. Sam Hubinette
Sam Hubinette just seems to have his hands full with the Dodge Challenger this weekend. Right before I wrote this he got towed back to the pits when it looked like the car just did a simple wheel drop. I am going to take a huge risk here with seeing that and predict the southeastern local Doug Van Den Brink takes home the win. A huge statement but mine as well make a bold statement in here, I feel like a ton of these predictions are a tad vanilla. My prediction is that Doug Van Den Brink advances.
Joon Maeng Vs. Dean Kearney
Neither of these guys have done fantastic lately but I am going to favor Joon Maeng in the Full Tilt Poker Mazda Rx-8. Dean Kearney is in a great S14 no question but it just seems suffer constant mechanical issues which means you cannot count on that. Joon has done well here before and could use this event to booster him for the rest of the season. My prediction is that Joon Maeng advances.
Robbie Nishida Vs. Matt Powers
This is another tough one based on car reliability issues. I would of picked Matt Powers before his accident at night practice but now he has me a little nervous in selecting him. Robbie Nishida has a fantastic machine but no seat time in it. He already put it in the pea gravel and had a wreck tow off with it this weekend as well. This is going to be a survival of the fittest more than a tandem battle I predict.
Darren McNamara Vs. Taka Aono
This is quite a matchup since Taka has had some legendary battles in his Corolla here before. Remember the tandem battles between Taka Aono and Sam Hubinette that brought in the One More Time Rule to the sport? Yea, pretty epic but I have Darren McNamara going all the way this weekend to finally win here so sorry Taka. My prediction is that Darren McNamara goes all the way.
Tyler McQuarrie Vs. Patrick Mordaunt
I picked both of these guys in my pre event notes to do really well but with Patrick showing up in his S14 I give him a slight advantage. Something about Patrick in this track that I just don’t see him being able to lose to Tyler. I know Tyler was already mad at me for saying he would lose to Darren McNamara before these were fixed but he is just caught up in a tough part of the grid. Patrick is just focused and Road Atlanta seems to be his home away from home.
Justin Pawlak Vs. Ryuji Miki
The RTR Ford Mustang seems to be giving Justin Pawlak some troubles so I am nervous to select him as a winner. Ryuji Miki historically isn’t great at qualifying and can just set the world on fire when it comes to tandem drifting. I am going for the underdog here with Ryuji Miki.
Kyle Mohan Vs. Ross Petty
Another tough choice is with these guys against each other plus the genuine unpredictable nature of Ross Petty in tandem. For some reason I feel like Kyle Mohan is focused and on fire right now so I am going to give him the advance.
Charles Ng Vs. Ken Gushi
Charles Ng has put some impressive runs down and is seemingly hungry just to get professional level seat time. He was even running at Formula Drift Singapore last month in a borrowed car to get out there in the industry more. Even with that said Ken Gushi is just under rated in the public eye for some reason these days. The Scion Racing team seems to have things figured out in 2010 so my prediction is that Ken Gushi advances.
***5/8/2010 at 12:11pm EDIT: Tyler McQuarrie and Taka Aono had the same score in qualifying along with Doug Van Den Brink and Cyrus Martinez. We just updated our qualifying list to represent Tyler McQuarrie in 20th and Taka Aono in 21st. They also did the same thing with 24th Dough Van Den Brink and Cyrus Martinez in 25th. Our list came from the live feed which was unofficial and it appears Tyler moved in front. This changes those tandem battles which we are editing now and updating before Top 32. Sorry for the confusion and delay on figuring this out.
This past Saturday, Team KO and Import Intelligence hosted the second annual Drift Camp at the famous Maple Grove Drag Strip just outside Reading PA. Last year’s DMCC champ Matt Waldin was in attendance sliding his 350Z all around the coarse, as well as coaching some of the other drivers. There was an impressive display of grass roots driving throughout the day. The crowd on hand was getting pretty excited every time the drivers would get close to the wall or tap it. Anyone who made contact got a round of cheers and applause! Be sure to check out our gallery of over 500 pictures shot by Dan Jenkins.
Check out the gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=162
Our man Dan Jenkins is back in action after the long winter on the east coast! His first trip was out to Englishtown Raceway for Spring Moves. Almost 400 photos from the local Clubloose early Spring drifting bash.Don’t miss the event thrown by Matt Petty and his co-horts at Club Loose. The New Jersey crew ran tandem and single car runs all day to finish up Spring Moves.
Check out the gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=161
