After what was perhaps the longest Formula Drift Top 16 on record – a total of nine One More Time calls pushing the battles out to nearly four hours – Masashi Yokoi has taken the top podium spot at Texas Motor Speedway behind the wheel of his 2JZ-powered D-MAX S15 Silvia.
Yokoi qualified 6th the previous day, and after some tough fights throughout the afternoon and into the evening, including dispatching Chris Forsberg in the Top 4, he faced off against Japanese compatriot Ken Gushi and his 2JZ-powered GReddy/Hankook Scion FR-S in the final.
Gushi had just come through a very tough OMT tussle with an on-form Daigo Saito, so this meant an all-Japanese final: drivers, cars and engines. It was extremely close, and even the drivers themselves clearly didn’t know who would take the win come announcement time.
Texas was a tough round for many, with first place qualifier Fredric Aasbø bowing out in the Top 8 after losing to Saito in the smoke.
Fredric got off lightly compared to two of the other big names of the weekend, though. Firstly, the highly-anticipated Mad Mike Whiddett, who was looking extremely strong against Yokoi in the Top 16 before overshooting a corner and collecting the wall, hard. The impact was big enough to end his attack for the weekend.
However, that hit was nothing in comparison to Vaughn Gittin Jr’s massive impact at nearly the same spot earlier in the day. Vaughn came out unscathed, but he’s since admitted that the Monster Ford Mustang RTR is a write-off. Perhaps we’ll see the new ’15 Mustang in its first competition for the final round at Irwindale? We hope to sit down with Vaughn soon to see if we can squeeze a little more info from him about both the incident and his plans for the rest of the season.
For Yokoi, this was his first taste of the FD podium, and he seemed genuinely surprised to hear his name called as the winner at the announcement. Gushi’s second place, the second for him this season, will push the FR-S pilot further up the leaderboard. But with one round left to go, our man Fredric is still the king of the castle with 80 points over Gushi, despite the early exit in Texas.
With Irwindale Speedway being demolished later this year, this will be the final of all finals for this iconic venue. This is one event you won’t want to miss come October 9-10.
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Pretty disappointed in the judging this round regarding Forsberg vs. Wang/Hohnadell. Forsberg crossed the dashed line while along side Forrest, then his front axle passed the lead car, then he ran over a clip AND straightened out and dropped two tires before the finish, but it went OMT for some reason? Then in his top 8 against Alec, he had a good lead, and Alec wasn't very close in the last half of the course, but Chris dropped his front passenger tire in the dirt and wasn't penalized, and Alec had a killer lead, with Forsberg a good distance behind for the whole thing, but Chris got the win. I guess you have to expect junk calls from time to time in a judged sport, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Huge congrats to Yokoi for getting his first US win, and hopefully Gushi can get a Cinderella story this year and take a championship.
I know, I know If you don't like something just skip it. But I am a curious person and I just have to know. When you see yet another Formula Drift article do you pass or actually read it? Am I getting old?
It's sad that racing games don't recognize our community as we are their lifeblood that keeps their games fun and re played. More recognition for this needs to come into effect soon with forza 6 and turismo 7 soon hopefully.
Ps fuq mad mikes golf cart miata it almost seems unfair with weight that low and power at 1198 hp. #BS radbull
@Grayfoxxd1 Yeah! Damn Mad Mike for being different and running a 4 rotor rotary in a Miata!
How dare he build a car with low weight, high HP, and a ton of custom race-car work and budget! He must be cheating, for all that is a new concept and no one else in the field has huge power and low weight!
He should build a car like all the others! Originality and individuality be damed!
Why don't you just push the series to use all the same engines, chassis, and power. Call it Spec-Drift. Who needs diversity to keep things interesting! How dare something different exists in the series! Blasphemy!
While you are at it, lets have all the drivers muzzled like IndyCar, and we can have drivers meetings were everyone complains that so-and-so's spoiler is .002 inches higher and unfair.
Call it NASDrifta perhaps? North American Stock Drift Association
Sounds great!!!! Such vision your comment holds!
/Sarcasm.
@Grayfoxxd1 Clearly you know shit about drifting.
@Grayfoxxd1 You smoking weed bruh.
daigo beast waking up....dai showing some bright spots, gushi going to war.... are all sights for sore eyes. Its great to see past struggling champions regain their footing. Its almost a curse, past champions falling away. The level of skill is crazy in FD, i think what won the day was a good sense of surroundings coupled with massive cojones (tucked safely away in its own roll cage apparently....dunno how those guys fit in those seats) to be able to guess through that smoke at that speed. If that smoke didn't linger but blew across the track, i'd think the battles would have been closer. Yeah some of the calls didn't align, the explanations from the judges did help clear things up, but not for all. I have to watch that final tandem again. I believe in yokoi's abilities and i knew his 1st win would come soon, but i saw gushi on a different level. His follow was the best for the night. Can't wait to see the replay....cheers!!!
theAngryMarmot that's what we call a slippery slope. nobody wins here
V8 Supercars didn't exist until 1997...
I do agree your overall point though.
crispykrem3 I felt that call was totally blown also. Forsberg should never have gone omt much less win.
crispykrem3 I felt that call was totally blown also. Forsberg should never have gone omt much less win.
Thank you FD for bringing in a better track layout. Other than the smoke,k this round was a refreshing change from the bathtubs we've had to endure this year. They gotta end, seriously. Congrats to Yokoi, lets hope next year we see Suenaga, Kowabata, Nakamura, James Deane and Luke Fink in FD
jay8393 there is a very large drifting community in Forza. I can't speak for Gran Turismo but I know a whole lot of people still active in the Forza 4 drifting community.
jay8393 there is a very large drifting community in Forza. I can't speak for Gran Turismo but I know a whole lot of people still active in the Forza 4 drifting community.
congrats to Yokoi, but Gushi deserved the win. Also, Jared is an idiot, you don't use an insulin shot for a peanut allergy.
congrats to Yokoi, but Gushi deserved the win. Also, Jared is an idiot, you don't use an insulin shot for a peanut allergy.
Wanna be motorsport.
RickCunanan I really wish they would get new commentators.
90nissanS13@my350z how so?
ScottBrady RickCunanan This was the first time I walked away pissed from an event. 4 hours of watching Gushi win battle after battle and get OMT'd constantly just to watch him get bent over and reamed by the judges in the final battle just fucking pissed me off.
This seemed to be the most controversial event of the year (judging wise ). I know they have a hard job and I don't envy what they have to do. With the replays and livestream going on, it seemed like most of the public (social media and the crowd in attendance ) did not agree with the calls they were making that night. Not sure what was going on with the judging but I feel Formula D took a big step back after Texas (I ended up turning the livestream off after watching some of those last calls and OMT calls). On a side note, I'm happy Ken got a podium. That dude deserved it.
This seemed to be the most controversial event of the year (judging wise ). I know they have a hard job and I don't envy what they have to do. With the replays and livestream going on, it seemed like most of the public (social media and the crowd in attendance ) did not agree with the calls they were making that night. Not sure what was going on with the judging but I feel Formula D took a big step back after Texas (I ended up turning the livestream off after watching some of those last calls and OMT calls). On a side note, I'm happy Ken got a podium. That dude deserved it.
90nissanS13@my350z wannabe critic.
@Grayfoxxd1 the f is wrong with you man?!
You guys gotta realized that Forsberg has a Drift Alliance sticker on his car though, that will pretty much give you a free pass to the top 4 every events.
You guys gotta realized that Forsberg has a Drift Alliance sticker on his car though, that will pretty much give you a free pass to the top 4 every events.
You guys gotta realized that Forsberg has a Drift Alliance sticker on his car though, that will pretty much give you a free pass to the top 4 every events.
After watching the replay I don't see how Yokoi won. Congrats to him but I think Gushi had a better chase run while Yokoi didn't. I'm really disappointed in the final decision, look at Yokoi as they announce the winner and he is even surprised that they gave him the win. Mad props to Forrest and Hohnadell they are the future!
MathieuC18 lol
MathieuC18 lol
Some calls were controversial but such is the nature of a judged sport. Every round will have some errors. Every round some fans will complain. Every round those fans will come back no matter how bad they flame up on the internet. The judges have improved in some cases and are very consistent in judging (sometimes too harshly) on some exact points that they are looking for that are relayed in the drivers meetings. Therefore what may visually look one way to spectators in live or on livestream is actually not really showing the fine points they are watching for.
This round was long and many one more times because the drivers were driving at night for the first time on this track in Top 16. That is a lot to ask for and obviously with smoke and light comes difficulties that would not exist during the day. There should have been a night practice OR the event should have concluded by sunset (PERIOD). In my opinion no event should ever end after 8pm out of respect for the teams but that is a different story.
Final round, public consensus is Gushi won. Watching it again just once more some things stand out that may be why the decision was 2-1 in favor of Yokoi. Yokoi's lead was better. Gushi was further off of inside clips 1 and 2 allowing for a line that gave him more separation that he may not have had were his line better. The gap was not that big either as Yokoi smoothly mirrored Gushi. Not only did Yokoi hit those points but was even closer to the wall which judges always seem to score so highly and Gushi's following line was not as good so visually it was proximity that everybody saw, not the details. At the end of the day, both Gushi and Yokoi both performed well enough to win.
Judges sometimes have their moments (humans aren't perfect) but have improved on whole. For those of your asking for drift boxes and things like that, you think you hate human judges now? haha
Some calls were controversial but such is the nature of a judged sport. Every round will have some errors. Every round some fans will complain. Every round those fans will come back no matter how bad they flame up on the internet. The judges have improved in some cases and are very consistent in judging (sometimes too harshly) on some exact points that they are looking for that are relayed in the drivers meetings. Therefore what may visually look one way to spectators in live or on livestream is actually not really showing the fine points they are watching for.
This round was long and many one more times because the drivers were driving at night for the first time on this track in Top 16. That is a lot to ask for and obviously with smoke and light comes difficulties that would not exist during the day. There should have been a night practice OR the event should have concluded by sunset (PERIOD). In my opinion no event should ever end after 8pm out of respect for the teams but that is a different story.
Final round, public consensus is Gushi won. Watching it again just once more some things stand out that may be why the decision was 2-1 in favor of Yokoi. Yokoi's lead was better. Gushi was further off of inside clips 1 and 2 allowing for a line that gave him more separation that he may not have had were his line better. The gap was not that big either as Yokoi smoothly mirrored Gushi. Not only did Yokoi hit those points but was even closer to the wall which judges always seem to score so highly and Gushi's following line was not as good so visually it was proximity that everybody saw, not the details. At the end of the day, both Gushi and Yokoi both performed well enough to win.
Judges sometimes have their moments (humans aren't perfect) but have improved on whole. For those of your asking for drift boxes and things like that, you think you hate human judges now? haha
AceAndrew2 90nissanS13@my350z I love drifting, but it is insulting to other motorsports to call drifting(D1.. etc) a pro motorsport. The way WWE is not the sport of wrestling and it would be insulting to real wrestlers to group WWE into that category. But with all due respect for the craft, WWE is "Sports Entertainment". In the same way with all due respect to the talent of the drivers in the drifting series... D1, Formula D and the like are "High Performance Entertainment" and definitely a different category than any true motorsport.
@Somebody I agree with you on all points but the time of the event: its Texas and in the summer. Much like the Las Vegas rounds, you just don't do an event at 2pm in the summer. The temp in the cars would be close to 140+, and there is little to no shade for any attendees at almost any of the tracks. It's just too dang hot!!
I think the track layout was better than the last texas rounds, but needed more run-up. It looked awkward when the cars were entering, like they weren't sure whether to feint, ebrake or roll into the entry. Between clip 1 and 2 the leader was smoking out the chase car, I would like to know why it was such a problem this round. Would love to hear from the drivers what was happening. But i loved the layout and hope to see it again, just maybe give the drivers more time to practice on it..
@Somebody I agree with you on all points but the time of the event: its Texas and in the summer. Much like the Las Vegas rounds, you just don't do an event at 2pm in the summer. The temp in the cars would be close to 140+, and there is little to no shade for any attendees at almost any of the tracks. It's just too dang hot!!
I think the track layout was better than the last texas rounds, but needed more run-up. It looked awkward when the cars were entering, like they weren't sure whether to feint, ebrake or roll into the entry. Between clip 1 and 2 the leader was smoking out the chase car, I would like to know why it was such a problem this round. Would love to hear from the drivers what was happening. But i loved the layout and hope to see it again, just maybe give the drivers more time to practice on it..
@eternal10r I can see the argument to call it an action sport like skateboarding or freestyle motocross. Although, just because they aren't racing in the traditional sense I do still consider this a motorsport. It is definitely a motorsport by definition.
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of competitive events which primarily involve the use of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition.
It is certainly a sport as well.
Sport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English) or sports (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English) are all forms of usually https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment to participants, and in some cases, spectators.
ScottBrady I mean, this article is about Formula Drift and this guy is talking about video game. He seems lost. LOL!
ScottBrady On point sir!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr_BGu4e7Mc
crispykrem3 totally agreee, BULL SHIT ass judges
@SW1 You realise that Speedhunters are a big sponsor for FD, right? So it makes perfect sense for them to run an article or two for each event. Besides, I bet they're pretty popular. So yeah, maybe you should just skip on by next time.
@SW1 You realise that Speedhunters are a big sponsor for FD, right? So it makes perfect sense for them to run an article or two for each event. Besides, I bet they're pretty popular. So yeah, maybe you should just skip on by next time.
Drifting most certainly is a professional Motorsport, simply by definition. The drivers are skilled enough to make drifting their profession. I feel that it would be difficult to deny this when you look at the "bigger name" drivers (JR, Grunewald, Dai, etc.), especially when you consider that some of those drivers actually have experience in various other forms of automotive racing on the professional level. Admittedly, some drivers are not able to rely solely on drifting to pay ALL the bills that come with life, however I'd reckon nearly every driver currently competing in FD gets enough backing from sponsors to, at the very least, offset the cost of competition (vehicle, tires, parts, etc.). Each one of those drivers dedicates themselves to the sport, just like any other professional driver would.
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