Wrecked Magazine wanted to offer a little flashback to the 2006 Formula Drift season. This was the first ever event on the Streets of Long Beach and it went off as a huge success. So successful that Formula Drift has come back every year since this event. As you can see by some snapshots we posted things looked quite different back then with the series. You have the first photo with Ross Petty and his Rotary Power Mazda Rx-7. The second photo features Rhys Millen and his old Redbull Pontiac GTO. The third photo features Vaughn Gittin Jr. in his classic Ford Mustang. The fourth photo features Rod Millen and Tanner Foust in a tandem battle. The last photo is Sam Hubinette’s Dodge Viper in a wrap that only lasted for the 2006 Long Beach event. With all that the gallery features 245 photos from this great event from the past. Enjoy the look back into the past and remember 2010 Long Beach is just around the corner.

Check out the gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=152

I got a link today from the guys at Formula Drift which features a 30 minute+ recap of the 2009 season minus Irwindale Speedway. Some great behind the scenes content, announcing mix ups, and umbrella girls set the tone for this great thirty minute season review. Instead of hosting this thirty minute flick on Wrecked Magazine we figured we could shoot you over to the Vimeo page of the Formula Drift. Grab some popcorn and a cold beer because this one won’t be over anytime soon.

Watch the video: http://www.vimeo.com/9336620

While recently some rumors flared up about Mad Mike coming to Formula Drift we managed to ignore them until we could find some factual information. Several people have told us that everyone’s favorite drifter Rhys Millen has worked to  have a two car Redbull Energy Drink team for 2010. From sources close to RMR we have been told that a two car campaign is in the works with Mad Mike Whiddett. Word has it he will be driving a Mazda Rx-8 for the 2010 season. This one should be interesting and last time Rhys Millen campaigned a two car team with Daijiro Yoshihara in the Pontiac GTO it went pretty well.

G4TV featured Formula Drift on television back in 2005 and while that doesn’t seem like ancient history it sure will feel like it when you watch this video. The episode clips features a crash from Alex Pfeiffer and a tandem battle by Mike Peters and Kenji Yaminaka. It’s just a great note on how far Formula D has come in the last couple of years. What do you think of this broadcast compared with today’s Versus Network program?

*Note: By request we had to change the video link from the Wall Speedway Episode to some clips from Chicago. The other video should return shortly and we will make an updated post when it becomes available again.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqwHPxPgmvg

We overlooked all the drifting videos released in 2009 and picked out the Top drifting films of the year based upon views, buzz, links, quality of production, and entertainment. Here is how they stacked up:

10. Rhys Millen with his Hyundai Genesis: First Look
9. AW Films Takes on Formula D Seattle
8. The Soul of Drift at Ebisu Circuit with Speedhunters
7. D1 Grand Prix by JerseyStreets.TV
6. Chapter 2: 223Km to Bihoku – 2010 Ford Mustang in Japan Unleashed
5. Joon Maeng at Formula D Long Beach about his newly setup S13
4. Lithuania Drifting Accident – People Hit [Graphic Warning]
3. 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models Go Drifting in Vegas
2. The Grassroots Movement: All Star Bash
1. Smart Car Drifting in Japan

I know when you first saw the blog title you thought I might be encouraging some you too take an air soft gun to Rhys Millen’s Formula D car but that is not the case, grab your Xbox 360 and get ready to take some photographs. Turn 10 and Forza 3 are offering free stuff for any Forza 3 photographer who can take the best shot of a Hyundai Genesis that came from the new download pack. The pack of cars includes the RMR Hyundai Genesis along with the gorgeous HKS Hyundai Genesis and some strange looking widebody LeMans type car I haven’t driven yet.

CONTEST DESCRIPTION:

This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to recognize and reward the “best” user generated in-game pictures of a Hyundai car in the Xbox game title Forza Motorsport 3. For purposes of this Contest, each in-game photo that you capture and submit in the Contest will be called an “Entry.” All eligible Entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.

ENTRY PERIOD

This Entry Period begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on December 1, 2009, and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 14, 2009 (“Entry Period”). Winners will be announced on or around January 11, 2010.

Source: http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/hyundai/fotothrowdown.htm

Rhys Millen and Daijiro Yoshihara were called upon for a drifting project at Road & Track magazine. The January 2010 issue which just hit stands this week takes seven completely bone stock vehicles to find out how well they will drift. The seven cars they tested are:

Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
Nismo Nissan 370z
Ford Mustang GT
BMW M3
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Lexus IS-F
Mazda MX-5 Miata

If you can manage to keep yourself awake into the wee hours of the morning you can find Rhys Millen on Last Call with Carson Daly. The show comes on at 1:35am EST/12:35 CST  and will feature the Formula D driver Rhys Millen. Don’t miss him on the television show tonight if your a fan of the Hyundai Genesis sliding stuntman.

Forza Motorsport 3 in conjunction with Hyundai is going to be releasing a Free Download content pack on November 17th. The item will be a Hyundai Genesis download pack that includes three different Genesis variations. The one we are exciting about is Rhys Millen’s Formula Drift competition car. This is the first official Formula Drift car to be available in the video game.

Source: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/kevinkeegan/

Here is an in depth look at the mid-engine V8 Rhys Millen has constructed for the SEMA show. In chatting with him this afternoon I told him it’s a real bummer he couldn’t bring this thing out to compete in Formula Drift and he did mention that the stock firewall has NOT been modified…. do you think this thing could fly under the rule book radar? Probably not but it would be quite an interesting task to watch this thing slide sideways. The guys at RMR put some engineering hours into this Genesis coupe no doubt.