Hot Damn! - Formula Drift Finals

The hottest round of the 2005 Formula Drift series couldn't have happened on a more fitting day. Cast in the standard arena of competition at the Irwindale Speedway, the season finale fell on one of August's hottest days in recent memory. But the heat, although quite draining, wouldn't stop our country's top drivers from duking it out one last time, resolving who would finish as the Top 3 drivers. With Rhys Millen ahead strongly in the points standing and Sam Hubinette and Ken Gushi closely behind, some even hoped that Fourth Place contender Daijiro Yoshihara might even finish out the year with a Third Place victory if only he could finesse his way through a challenging Top 16. It was a mixed bag, really, and anything could (and did) happen.

After Friday's qualifying session to see which of the non-seeded drivers would gain the opportunity to face off against those who were already guaranteed a Top 32 slot, there was more to worry about than high speed drifts and losing your nerves. With the track configuration that the Formula D staff had set up, a few drivers had trouble crossing over after the first clipping point, which sent those unfortunate few into the wall-and hard. Not even seasoned vets like RS*R's Alex Pfeiffer or Taka Aono could avoid impact, but none could pull it off as well or get the crowd into a frenzy quite like they could. During the first round of eliminations, Sam Hubinette quickly took out Ken Gushi with his Mopar-sponsored Viper, thus ending Ken's chances of adding to his season points total. Dai Yoshihara, who had been struggling with the Pac Rim S13 most of Friday and early Saturday had to switch to his backup S13 hatchback, but just couldn't hang on against Bubba Drift and killed his chances of finishing in the Top 3 for the year. JR Gittin also had to rely on an alternate car, the Niztech S13, after his Mustang blew its hydraulic throwout bearing, an essential part needed to disengage the clutch. Even this S13 was running iffy, but JR managed to squeak by and advanced to Round 2 after Alex Pfeiffer couldn't make it to the starting grid due to the damage caused by hitting the wall early on.

The Second round saw the likes of drifting's underdogs giving drifting's champions a run for their money. Bubba Drift, known to the DMV as Mike Peters and driving an '86 GM Caballero, surprised the American drift world this year by making consistent passes but just could not keep up with the power and speed produced by Rhys Millen's GTO. There was a close match-up between Signal Auto's Yukinobu "Boney" Okubo in his Sileighty against "Big Smoke" Ben Schwartz in the Peak Performance/Falken S14, who was just barely beaten by the precision of the Japanese drift master. JR, who was just trying to keep his borrowed S13 together for a decent pass, controlled the misfiring coupe while Sam Hubinette surprisingly could not hold it together, spinning out twice during his tandem runs with JR.

In the Semi-Finals, we saw a pairing between teammates and New Zealand with Japan. Chris Forsberg, who had been driving excellent all day was now set to take the easy win over JR, who by now had finally ran out of luck as the Niztech S13 limped around the course. Signal's driver, Boney, lost graciously to Rhys and went against JR for the battle over Third Place, taking the win when JR's engine finally let loose. And during the Final round, the hottest tandem round went off as Chris' S15 caught on fire, all while keeping on Rhys, forcing the judges to send them out for a "one more time" pass where Chris beat Rhys on the account that Rhys both spun and failed to initiate a drift during the last tandem run, subsequently putting Chris on the top spot on the podium. The loss would have no effect on Rhys' points standing, though, as he still emerged as the Formula D Series Champion. It would be the second year a domestic vehicle was used to capture the Formula D Championship, but the Falken S15 marked the second time that an import took First in an actual event. If this trend keeps up, you can bet that next year's champion will finally give import lovers the win they've been waiting for!

Under Pressure

According to most pit crews, tire techs, and drivers we've talked to, tire pressure is important. The amount of pressure used in a tire can have a great effect on how fast a tire can break loose while a car is initiating and going forth with its drift. Some run higher tire pressures to break loose sooner than later and can have it varied from side to side depending on course configuration. Naturally, other variables to look at include material (concrete/blacktop) and weather. How did our pros set up at the Irwindale event? Take a look:

And The Award Goes To

Following the Formula D Finals was the FD Awards Banquet, where drivers, teams, and other well-respected members of the drift community were awarded with plaques for their accomplishments this year. And for once it was nice to see everyone dressed for the occasion (or in clothes at all for some individuals) and all rivalries left at the track.

Driver of the Year

Rhys Millen

Mechanic of the Year

Kevin Wells

Team Owner/Manager of the Year

Nick Fousekis

Best Tandem Battle of the Year

Sam Hubinette vs Taka Aono (Atlanta)

Most Memorable Moment

Rhys Millen getting mad at the judges(as seen on FD TV on G4)

Best Crash of the Year

Taka Aono flipping at Irwindale

Best Comeback of the Year

Chris Forsberg

Hardest Charger

JR Gittin

Hardest Working

Drift Association

Rookie of the Year

Michael Peter (points); Steph Papadakisand John Yim (impact)

Best Representative of Drifting

Moto Miwa

Jaeger Award

JR Gittin/Drift Alliance

Best Couple

Taka Aono and Yoshie Shuyama

Best Attire

Pacific Rim

Best Hair

Ken Gushi

Biggest Rivalry

Rhys Millen and Ken Gushi

Best Looking Car of the Year

Pacific Rim S13

Yeah, sure, Jonny's hair is "cool."

When this baby hits 88mph, you're going to see some serious shiznit.

Tarzan had a nasty stain on his shirt, so he covered it up with this homemade sign.

Taka Aono still ironing out the kinks in his "Corolla-over" routine.

Kenta Ogawara from Big X USA and Team Orange's Kumakubo with their impression of Jonny in a staff meeting.

Even Gary Castillo with his dad's bitchin' set of TV repair tools couldn't undo the damage Alex did to the RS*R S2000.

Enjuku Racing's Matt Vassallo,Rhys Millen and Moto "P" Miwa

JR Gittin proudly accepts the Jaeger Award.

Viagra kicking in..Now.

Tanner and Jerry Tsai help Crystal determine the weather "up there".

Bony says, "Damn, how come I don't get an umbrella girl?"

During the first round of eliminations, sam hubinette quickly took out ken gushi with his mopar-sponsored viper.

The hottest round of the 2005 Formula Drift series couldn't have happened on a more fitting day.

A few drivers had trouble crossing over after thefirst clipping point, whichsent those unfortunatefew into the wall-and hard.