Although not as serious as some of the things that have been happening in the Middle East, something pretty epic happened last week at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi last Friday. Formula Drift held its first exhibition event in the Middle East. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. As soon as we landed we saw advertisements on the streets and in the malls but who knows until kick off? We've all seen the crazy street drifters in the Youtube videos. But were they even interested in competition drifting out there?
Jim Liaw, president of Formula Drift said, "I think we completely exceeded their expectations". That was an understatement. The crowd went nuts. It was more like a grand slam homerun.
Lets talk about expectations. When we first arrived we were actually welcomed by a pretty strict set of rules of mostly what not to do, a lot of protocol and a big speech about who wears the pants on this track. But don't blame the state of the art Formula 1 track to be a tad nervous about the hooligans that rolled off the plane with their flashy drift cars. It was the first time they were to host a drifting event and they didn't want anyone messing up their immaculate track and beautiful green artificial turf. Anyone would be nervous as the facilities there were in fact the best I've ever seen. The garage floor was so clean you can almost eat on it. They had staff standing by waiting to wipe up any oil or water you happened to drop. They had everything you could imagine. A tower overlooking the entire track only for VIP guests. Loaded hospitality suites right behind the F1 garage with patios overlooking the Yas Marina. High rollers can literally sail up in the their yachts, dock it right in the back and chill out in the hospitality suites. Mind you these suites are like town homes. All of the spectator seats are covered to provide shading. They have a school with production Aston Martin racing cars and a fleet of Radical formula cars in perfect condition for teaching. A carting course and a full blown NHRA drag strip. Prestine grass with a huge Abu Dhabi logo. You name it they had it.
Hospitality suites overlooking the marina
5 star Yas Hotel with a tunnel hovering over the track
Two nights before the main event 6 drift cars drifted underneath the tunnel of the 5 star Yas Hotel, roaring their engines and screeching their tires. We heard the hotel manager complained about the noise. But from the looks of the guests that rushed outside to see what was going on, it seemed as though they were more entertained than anything. This was done as publicity to promote the event. It probably worked.
GTChannel/GTI 350Z with driver Daijiro Yoshihara, crew chief Costa Gialamas and chassis engineer Mike Kojima from MotoIQ
Most of the drivers did not bring their competition vehicles as there would not be enough time to get the cars back for the Long Beach opener on the first week of April. Daijiro Yoshihara converted his time attack vehicle to a drift car and entered the event. Unfortunately engine trouble stopped him from competing in the main event but he will continue to use this car as his back up for foreign events in the future.
The CAST of the big show
No other foreign FD exhibition has gathered the caliber of this group. Two time Formula Drift champion Tanner Foust who will be leaving competition drifting this year due to conflicting rallycross and TV obligations was present to drive the Scion tC for the last time. Ken Gushi appeared with a RS-R Supra shipped from RS-R HQ in Japan. 2009 FD champion Chris Forsberg with his NOS 350Z champion car. Michael Essa with his V10 powered BMW M3. 2010 overall 2nd place finisher Ryan Tuerck, Tony Brakohiapa, Mad Mike Whidet and 2010 rookie of the year Fredric Aasbo were all there to put on a great show.
The first "wave" the track has ever seen
Fredric Aasbo ended up taking his first win in front of the crowd, which from the beginning refused to sit down. Even after several announcement attempts from the PA system to sit down to let the people in the back see, they continued to stand. It was like asking people to sit down at a rock concert. No one is sitting so just let them all stand! Aasbo and Forsberg put up a great final fight and it was Aasbo that finally reigned. He was on fire from practice and there was a buzz among the tour that this kid from Norway will do some serious damage this year. Tanner Foust has left but Scion may have a new ace.
Aasbo's runs were impressive but I was mostly impressed by the message this event sent. The message that was communicated from Formula Drift to the fans was a very strong and clear. Hey this is professional drifting and this is how it's done! It reminded me of when D1 first threw their event at Irwindale back in Aug '03. The look in the fans eyes when seeing something spectacular for the first time. Friends looking at each other and holding each other after an awesome tandem battle. Children clapping after seeing a close call with the wall. The track marshals whom at first were squinting with our every move was now taking photos of the spectacle. This was drifting again at its best. My favorite part about drifting is that it's simple to understand and the excitement of motorsports compiled into one format. Ok, the judging and tandem rules may take some time to get used to but who doesn't like smoking tires and cars going sideways at 70mph? Do you realize what this means? This means a fostering of a whole new generation of drift fans and drifters in this region. Heck they got the right track to do it now and God knows they have the money for it. Two of the biggest challenges of grassroots drifting is solved already. With Formula D series in Asia going on since a few years ago and some events in Latin America, I wouldn't rule out an international circuit included in the regular rounds in the future.
Formula Drift has taken the Japanese sport of drifting and built it up as their own and has gotten pretty damn good at it. I think we have a new ambassador of drifting and they aren't from Japan this time.
Bieber fever has got nothing on these drifters in Abu Dhabi
Thanks to FD, the drivers, crew, the great staff at Yas Marina Circuit and the people of Abu Dhabi. Videos of our adventure will be up shortly on GTChannel!
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You have captured the Images of Formula Drift Exhibition at Abu Dhabi
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My brother is a car racing driver. last season, I had gone with my friend in this circuit.
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Oh My God! What a great drift it was . I also love to do drifting on my racing bike. Pest Inspections Gold Coast
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Formula Drift held its first exhibition event in the Middle East. People of Middle East were very excited.
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