Another great main event gallery from our Canadian DMCC photographer Jeremy Glover who made the hike from Canada to cover Round 1. He hitched the trip with Formula Drift rookie Dave Briggs who unfortunately failed to qualify for his first event with one powerful Nissan 350z. He caught an awesome glimpse of Saturday at Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach.
Check Out the Gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=277
After a qualifying session that had more Formula Drift Rookies than previous years, Ryan Tuerck took home the top qualifying. The rest of the qualifying order is below:
1. R. Tuerck
2. R. Millen
3. V. Gittin Jr.
4. J. Pawlak
5. E. Amandio
6. D. Yoshihara
7. T. McQuarrie
8. C. Grunewald
9. D. McNamara
10. R. Kado
11. F. Aasbo
12. C. Forsberg
13. K. Mohan
14. K. Gushi
15. G. Marstanovic
16. T. Aono
17. M. Powers
18. D. Saito
19. J. Lowe
20. M. Essa
21. T. Angelo
22. C. Denofa
23. P. Mordaunt
24. K. Moen
25. R. Nishida
26. J. Maeng
27. M. Field
28. T. Yoshioka
29. R. Petty
30. O. Bakchis
31. N. D’Alessio
32. D. Mertzanis
1. Tell us about how the 2011 season ended for you and where did that put you as a result after Irwindale Speedway?
The 2011 season didn’t end as well as I had hoped. My goal all year was to finish top 5 in the championship and we finished 7th. A big issue last year was lack of test time and R&D on the car. We were only able to test one time all of last year. After Irwindale I was in the middle of working on a few other deals. I made the decision to leave the current program because it became an environment that I didn’t want to be apart of anymore. I drift because it is my passion and it is the most fun thing I do with my life. If you are having fun and extremely positive you are going to do well. As soon as that is taken away from you and it turns into a job then your results are going to suffer.
2. What have you been doing in the off-season to prepare for the 2012 season?
The offseason is always extremely busy, sometimes busier than the actual FD season. You are typically doing two things, getting your ride and deals together for Formula D and getting your personal cars ready for the Grassroots season. I have been spending a lot of my time at home in New Hampshire in the garage working on my personal cars getting them ready for the Clubloose season in Englishtown, NJ.
3. What was the motivation to watch your Stir Crazy video?
There wasn’t mutch motivation involved. It is something that happens on a regular basis at home. I have a driveway that just so happens to be long enough to drift so I enjoy it as much as possible. I had been working on my missile car for a couple months, building and installing a new motor so when it was time to break her in I called up Jeremy White and asked him if he wanted to come up and shoot some footage in my driveway. We came up with a cool quick concept. I utilized a few things around our property and put a fun video together.
4. Will you ever actually leave your driveway one day in these videos?
Haha, I’m always trying to come up with new cool ideas for videos in my driveway but I will be running out of ideas soon so as soon. As the Clubloose season starts I will be bringing my Missile car and 1JZ car to E-town to shred some tires and do some filming.
5. So rumor has it your going to be driving the Retaks S13.5? Any truth to this?
Yeah, David the owner of Retaks and I put a deal together and I’m really excited. It’s nice to work with somebody that wants to have as much fun in this sport as you do. David is really investing a lot into the team this year making sure that I have everything I need on the track to finish on the podium. Being back in an S chassis is like going back to my roots, I will feel right at home. My brother is going to be my spotter and my long time friend Bobby will be my mechanic. Driving for the Retaks team this year is going to be a big change for me and I’m expecting to just have a ton of fun with it.
6. This car has quite the history in Formula Drift and is probably the longest running chassis in the sport. What does it mean to be driving something with a long racing history?
In drifting driving something with such a long history is usually a bad thing haha. The cars and chassis usually get beat up pretty bad. The Retaks car is in great shape though and with all the work David has put into it it should be the best it has ever been.
7. Tell us about the power plant on this car?
The Retaks car has a Brian Crower stoker kit in an LS3. The engine is really solid and was built well by a local machine shop out in vegas. I haven’t seen dyno numbers since some upgrades have been made but it should be in the ballpark of 550WHP.
8. What changes have been made since you are now taking over driving duty for Toshiki Yoshioka?
KW has been working with us to make some big suspension improvements to the car. SPL parts have been helping us with some arms and prototype stuff for the car. The motor is getting improvements, we have some new kickass fifteen52 Tarmac wheels on the car, the livery on the car is going to be one of the biggest changes. David, gave the Hoonigans and I some creative control over the design of the car and it definitely suits my personal style a lot more, besides that I’m putting some finishing touches on the car to make it more comfortable for me to drive.
9. Any new sponsors coming on board for 2012?
Lots of new sponsors on board this year. We are working with some really cool brands. I’m super pumped about bringing Maxxis tires back into the Formula D series. Maxxis has an unbelievable tire for Drifting and it is going add a lot to the performance of our team. The Hoonigans have stepped up to play a big role as a sponsor this year, Fifteen52 wheels is helping us out with some really fresh wheels for the car. KW is setting us up with a great suspension package. Alpinestars is still supporting me as well as, ACT clutches, and Electric sunglasses. Retaks is also bringing a lot of great support to the team this year from Supertech performance valves, Brian crower, Aoyama studios, Kamei,
Formula Drift kicked things off for members of the media today at Streets of Long Beach, and many drivers came out to take advantage of the seat time and feel out the newly paved Long Beach track. The standout star was none other than Formula Drift Asia and D1 Champion Daigo Saito in his 2JZ-powered SC430 who managed to create some of the most smoke we’ve seen in a good while.
It was a rough day for the Scion Drift team, as Tony Angelo took the rear end of his Scion TC into wall at the 2nd turn causing minor damage, while Fredric Aasbo smashed into the tires in the same turn, shedding many of his body panels in the process.
Tyler McQuarrie made a return in the Gardella Racing Camaro, while Ryan Tuerck took the wheel of the Retaks S13.5. Multiple V8 S13.4′s were present in the form of Walker Wilkerson in his Fatlace S13, and Dennis Mertzanis who will be piloting our very own Wrecked Magazine project V8 S13 seen below.
Check out the full gallery here: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=274
A rumor we caught wind of at the 2012 Formula Drift Tech Day is that Ryan Tuerck will be driving this Retaks S13.5 formerly piloted by Japanese star Toshiki Yoshioka. The car last time we saw it was a LS7 engine supercharged. I really like the solid silver color of the car they have going this year. No word on sponsorships since the car seems to be blank minus part of Retaks on the rear bumper. Can Ryan Tuerck pull off another Top 10 finish in this car for the new season?
Here is the official list of drivers for Formula Drift Round 1 at Streets of Long Beach. A huge field thanks to the large number of rookies playing into this season. This will be one rookie race where everyone is looking at D1GP champion Daigo Saito to win. This gives the other 18 rookies one big target to chase through the 2012 season.
1. Daijiro Yoshihara
2. Justin Pawlak
3. Chris Forsberg
4. Darren McNamara
5. Tyler McQuarrie
6. Matt Powers
7. Ryan Tuerck
8. Conrad Grunewald
9. Rhys Millen
10. Kyle Mohan
11. Vaughn Gittin Jr.
12. Fredric Aasbo
13. Toshiki Yoshioka
14. Ken Gushi
15. Ross Petty
16. Odi Bakchis
17. Michael Essa
18. Walker Wilkerson
19. Matt Field
20. Dean Kearney
21. Dennis Mertzanis
22. Joon Maeng
23. Patrick Mordaunt
24. Ryan Kado
25. Taka Aono
26. Luke Lonberger
27. Jeff Jones
28. Robbie Nishida
29. Kenneth Moen
30. Emmanuel Amandio
31. Kyle Pollard
32. Jeff Abbott
33. Tony Angelo
34. Tony Brakohiapa
35. Ryan Bell
36. Carlos Cano
37. Jhonnattan Castro
38. Andrew Coomes
39. Nick D’Alessio
40. Chelsea DeNofa
41. Ian Fournier
42. Peter Funatake
43. Roland Gallagher
44. Danny George
45. Patrick Goodin
46. Joshua Guild
47. Corey Hosford
48. Jeremy Lowe
49. George Marstanovic
50. Daigo Saito
51. Gabe Stone
52. Nick Thomas
53. Chris Ward
Rhys Millen just posted this photograph of the engine dropped into his new Hyundai Genesis. He mentioned that he will be testing next week. Sadly he won’t be fielding a second car with Ryan Tuerck like we heard was in the works last fall. Rhys Millen is now really the only old champion left competing in the series after Sam Hubinette and Tanner Foust have stepped into other racing series. How do you think Rhys Millen will do in this Hyundai Genesis? He has seemingly improved year to year with his Hyundai program.
Formula Drift driver and Hoonigan Ryan Tuerck took his missile car out in his New Hampshire driveway to hoon around before the Formula Drift season kicks off. It looks like he is getting awful stir crazy in the lead up time to the 2012 season.
Mobil 1 is the official oil of NASCAR but also is the official oil of Formula Drift! On top of that partnership they have been partners with Wrecked Magazine since virtually day 1 and they wanted to share some information about the racing oil line. The Mobil 1 brand supported the last two champions Dai Yoshihara and Vaughn Gittin Jr. along with Ryan Tuerck at Gardella Racing and the whole Falken Tire fleet.
Mobil 1 Racing 0W-50 is a fully synthetic motor oil specifically designed to
maximize horsepower in a wide range of race engine applications, including
highly loaded flat tappet designs used in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.
Mobil 1 Racing oils were engineered to help on-track vehicles reach the
peak of their performance potential.A Tradition of Racing Excellence
Mobil 1 Racing oil technology has been developed using our extensive
experience in premier automotive racing series around the world,
such as Formula 1, NASCAR, Le Mans, IRL, NHRA, Formula 3, SCCA GT and
ALMS and is also the official motor oil of Formula Drift. The variety of
demands that each racing series requires of a lubricant help us ensure
that Mobil 1 Racing oils can meet the extreme conditions encountered on
the race track.Engineered for the Track
These next-generation Mobil 1 Racing oils use race-proven, fully synthetic
technology used in racing applications around the world. The formulations
utilize low viscosity synthetic base oils and high levels of anti-wear
components to help maximize power output while not sacrificing engine
protection. Mobil 1 Racing oils are engineered to deliver performance
and protection for the most demanding race conditions, including
circle track, drag, drift, sprint and road racing.Features and Benefits of Mobil 1 0W-50
• Recommend for applications where a higher viscosity and thicker oil
film are required such as longer duration races where heat build-up
may be an issue.
• Recommended for a wide range of race engines including highly loaded
flat tappet designs.
• Boosted levels of anti-wear protection (zinc/phosphorus) well beyond
those of ordinary automotive oils.
• Exceptional high-temperature protection in high RPM engine operation,
even at temperatures up to 500° F (260° C).Source: http://mobil1racing.com/
Some huge questions have been surrounding the Gardella Racing program and if it will be at Formula Drift for 2012. With just over a month until Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach it seems like this team might not be attending the season opener or the 2012 season at all. Gary Gardella was reached out to by us and we have received nothing back from him.
Here is what we know in a quick little paragraph. For starters Nitto Tire just shot out a press release listing all the teams they are partnering with in 2012 and Gardella Racing wasn’t on the list. They don’t seemingly have a driver signed for the new year. We rumormilled about a partnership with Tyler McQuarrie and Gardella Racing as early as last October but we have confirmed that Tyler hasn’t signed a driver contract to date.
We have been told through other people (so completely hearsay) that Redbull Energy Drink walked away from the program at the end of 2011. The other big sponsor of the program Mobil 1 cannot confirm either way or tell me anything about the program. All in all it sounds like the team has had some big changes and struggles this off-season. Regardless of what the reality is we hope the team will show up in 2012 and perform well with a top driver.
