Review>>formula Drift 2009 Pt.1

Any way you slice it, 2009 was a huge year for Formula Drift. Among other things, we saw a new champion, new international flavor on the driver roster, plenty of new cars, a strong showing by grassroots drivers, and some of the most intense competition ever.

Now, let's take a look back at the season that was for America's top drift series.

As always, things kicked off in April on the streets of Long Beach. The season opener saw the debut of many new cars, including Vaughn Gittin Jr's 2010 Mustang.

Rhys Millen's Red Bull Genesis was another highly anticipated machine which debuted at Long Beach. Would the new Hyundai work out for the former champion?

Meanwhile 2008 champion Tanner Foust was out for action in his new NASCAR-powered Scion tC. A lot of us were wondering how this monster Scion would do on the track, but after a few runs it was clear that this car had serious potential.

And on the other side of the spectrum, privateer driver Matt Powers became an instant crowd favorite and drift hero as he scraped around the course in his S14.

2009 also saw several international drivers joining the series for the entire season, or for select events. One of these drivers was former D1 champ Katushiro Ueo who ran all the West Coast events in the Drift Speed S15.

Another international driver entering the series was Eric O'Sullivan, who commuted from Ireland to drive the Hankook Subaru. Eric would actually end up facing fellow Irishman Darren McNamara during tandem competition in Long Beach.

But at the end of the day it was Ryan Tuerck who was standing on top of the podium of Long Beach. Hampshaa would be a championship front-runner for the remainder of the season, driving the Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice. Seeing as the competition had been expanded to a Top 32 tandem format, Tuerck had to get by five different opponents on his way to the win.

In May the series moved to Road Atlanta for round two. This is the home of some of the craziest drift fans in the world, and also one of the most scenic courses on the schedule.

Another new car this year was Ross Petty's tri-colored S15 Silvia – without a doubt one of the coolest machines ever to run in Formula Drift.

Although he is anything but a newcomer to drifting, Tyler McQuarrie would go on to have his breakthrough year driving the ASD-prepared Falken 350Z Roadster.

Another Hankook team member, Ryuji Miki driving the freshly-prepared Apexi RX7 for 2009.

The top spot in Atlanta would go to Chris Forsberg, who narrowly defeated Darren McNamara for the first of his two wins in '09.

Next up was round three, when the series returned to Wall Speedway in New Jersey. Here we saw the debut of JTP's new Bergenholtz-prepared RX8.

In Jersey though, it was all about Team Falken – who swept all three podium spots. Tyler McQuarrie would take third…

…while Darren McNamara would battle Vaughn Gittin Jr. for first place.

On this historic day for the Falken drift program, DMac earned the victory, and became an instant front-runner for the championship.

Next it was off to Las Vegas, where scorching summer heat would take its toll on both man and machine.

Vegas would turn out to be one of the year's most treacherous events. Team Falken's New Jersey luck would not repeat itself in the desert. DMac's Saturn Sky suffered an engine failure – putting a giant dent in his championship hopes, JR meanwhile took a hard hit to the wall during practice.

With DMac's setback in Vegas, it was clear the Drift Alliance bros Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck were becoming favorites to win the championship.

No review of the '09 Formula D season would be complete without mentioning rookie driver Michael Essa and his LS1-powered RX7. Rising out of the SoCal grassroots drift scene, Essa threw down amazing runs against seasoned veterans all year-long.

And possibly the craziest moment of the entire season – Ryan Tuerck taking flight during his tandem match with Ueo.

As the Vegas event stretched into the wee hours of the morning, Tanner Foust found himself on top of the podium after defeating Ryuji Miki in the final.

OK, this is turning into quite a marathon post. Let's stop here and we'll conclude our look at the '09 FD season next time.

-Mike Garrett

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1

Last photo wall please!

2

first shot of Matt Powers and Ueo is the the jam!

3

no videos?!

4

Wallpaper of JR hitting the wall in his Mustang!

5

blah...



if Fors didnt win, i would have rated this year a 6

6

fifth picture, wallpaper please!

7

drift alliance is win.

im exited to see dai driving next year......in smaller fast cars hes win

8

and if u do make a desktop do the first picture that matchup is EPIC

9

Egad! Only one Hachi in these photos? v.v



I want more AE86s in FormulaD. Hell, I want more classics, period. Too many modern powerhouses and cars with ridiculous engine swaps (LS in an FC... ew...).

10

Nice article! I also hope you cover the international drifters and maybe some background info for the interest of the people.

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