Lisa Klassen signed by Kaaz for ‘08 Drifting Season

[Slapshotnerd]

The first step to curing hater-holism is to admit you have a problem...

A sob story about how one has to save their pennies to buy tires and drive long distances to grassroots events doesn't give someone a right towards a sponsored ride over someone else.

And chances are this chick already paid plenty of dues in Rally Racing.

Besides I can think of another rally driver who broke into drifting with very little previous drift specific experience and bagged an even bigger sponsorship than this.

You might know him...short dude with a funny accent...likes to say "kah" a lot.

I was thinking you were going to say Mr. Foust, who is the first driver to win a drifting championship and a rally championship in the same year (although the Rally USA championship didn't work out for the team due to schedule conflicts).

Sadly, I've heard of more than one "drift" driver who may be losing their ride next year despite good results because they weren't as 'sponsor-friendly' as some of the other motorsport-raised drivers. Let's face it - drifting has big money involved now, and those big money sponsors want their name to be mentioned every time the driver is in front of a camera. The drivers who aren't keeping their sponsors happy may be left looking for new sponsors in the off season instead of focusing on their driving.

Watching the old G4 TV episodes on DVD really re-inforces this. You can't get an interview with Rhys without him plugging Pontiac, Yokohama (at the time), etc. But other drivers never mentioned their big sponsors a single time through the year. As the sport evolves and gets more 'money' infused to it, I think you'll see more 'motorsport' drivers crossing over and fewer 'drift' drivers who have spent years buying used tires, paying for entry fees to local events, and 'earning street cred'.

[MonkeySlide]

I think what Brian is trying to get across is that it sucks that people who actually drift and who want to find sponsors to compete in FD or any series are getting shafted by people who are jumping into the sport from a different type of motorsport. Not saying that its right or wrong for a company to do that, but thats what that company decided to do. Ive noticed that too, alot of companies have and will continue to do that. That makes it that much harder for an amateur or up and coming drifter to land a deal on a Team or major sponsor.

We got Rhys, Sam, Tanner, Cook, Papadakis, McQuarrie, etc who came from different motorsports, and they have done big things for this sport. But also, you got to remember where this sport originated from..regular joes who kicked @$$ and worked their way up to compete in a pro series and land sponsors who think "the other way". Those companies took chances on up and coming drivers. If those companies didnt take a chance on the amateurs, you would have never heard of household names like Gittin, Forsberg, Canul, Gushi, Petty, Sherman, etc.

It sucks because alot of amateurs look to these companies for a chance to get sponsored. Alot of these companies used to sponsor amateurs, but now are getting drivers from other motorsports. Thats their choice, but it makes it that much harder for diehard drifters to compete professionally.

I get it I really do.

But my point is that any amatur that sees situations like this and finds it only fit to complain should get over it and realize the reality of the situation: Step the game up.

Yes back when drifting started most sponsors went after any grassroots driver that seemed to have the most credibility and was the best at the local events but that was almost 5 years ago.

With the growth of a sport comes change and the people who wish to be involved need to change with it.

I agree that it's a lot harder now but I don't think it's impossible.

As the saying goes the cream rises to the top. Yes a lot of the top guys have come from other motorsports but like you said there are guys like Gushi and especially Turek who were always grassroots guys and still remain in the upper echelon.

Not from anyone in this thread but just in my experiences in talking to a lot of amatur drivers in drifting and other sports it seems like they just expect that sponsors are just supposed to go to grassroots events and scout for them.

People like that need to learn that very rarely do the sponsors come to you...you gotta go to them...and not only do you have to go to them but you gotta go with a proposal, a plan, a resume, and a smile on your face even though there is a 95% chance they're gonna say no and slam the door on you.

If you have what a sponsor wants then they will help you out. You have to make it worth it to them as much as it will be worth it for you.

I have a theory that some of the sponsors who tried to help out amaturs back in the day got burned because the driver took the money, put the stickers on his car, drove, and that was it. No freakin sponsor wants a relationship like that with a driver!

They want a driver who tries to get as much positive attention as possible by driving and winning or in other ways and they want someone like Rhys or Tanner who can't go more than 5 sentences without mentioning each sponsor they have in order by who contributed the most towards the team and God Bless Em for it! Their professional behavior is a significant part of what helped to bring more money into the sport.

Part of being a pro is not only just being dedicated to your skill or to the sport but also being dedicated to the business side of things as well.

Sponsorships aren't donations...at least most of the time they aren't.

Thats why sponsors in drifting are cherry picking from other motorsports that have been established longer. Because drivers from those sports already know how to play that game and they have a significant amount of skill out of the box it just needs to be adjusted to drifting.

A sponsor doesn't want to have to teach their drivers how to be a good company representative.

Also picking drivers from other sports isn't some new thing that's isolated to drifting either...its happening across the board. The biggest example is NASCAR. In just about a year's time they've snagged 3 former F1 drivers, 2 Indy 500 winners, and several Champ Car drivers from both America and Canada.

Love it or hate it ladies and gentlemen this is our current reality. If you want to be a pro, deal with it and do what you gotta do and take opportunties where ever you can get them should they be beneficial to you.

If you don't like it stick to just having fun at your local events and remain a fan.

[sdtouge]

being an amateur doesnt mean youre a fan

[sidewaysrules]

With that being well said, I have seen Lisa "attempt" to drift at Drift Buffet in 2007 where she declined to run after paying for the event due to a fear of walls. I would say that she is in need of a lot more practice before she is anywhere near ready to go into FD / NOPI / D1. Unless she has been drifting every day for the last 5 months I don't think she will make very much impact. I wish her the best of luck but perhaps spending a year in the Top Drift series or the DD comps or anything that will build some confidence and skill atthe same time without putting too much pressure to perform on her. She is so far from Hiromi in skill that I really don't understand this move by KAAZ.

not sure what you mean by saying she payed to run then didn,t?? she did run, then hit the wall, and kept running
Leon

[sidewaysrules]

Taking a professional driver from some other kind of racing and throwing them into a drift car is the most popular thing you can do these days.
I mean, it doesn't even matter that they have never done it before, never saved paychecks to buy tires, never driven a local event, never anything....

actually Lisa pays her way all the time, she has never had a free ride, she lives at home with her family and rallyies on used tires, she is practicing drifting on used tires and in a rather sad beat up drift car like many other drivers ,I do most of the work on the car with some help from Teckno Square
the reason we havent done local drift events as she has not had the funds to fix the car as she is poor like most of you guys, the car will be done in a couple of months then you will see her in the car at local events, we still go to events and she goes for rides with as many drivers as possible so she can learn every different technique everyone uses, she is a great listener and learner
thanks
Leon

[gigglesnirt]

thanks everyone for the comments, I am Lisas manager and yup she and I are the first to admit she needs work on her drifting, in her defence the Drift Buffet was only her second time ever in a drift car and the car sucks stock suspension etc car was evil to drive( I am sure it was maybe even posessedshe hit the wall while being yelled at by me, CLUTCH KICK, but she didn,t listen, "sigh" I guess everyone hits the wall,
she sucked it up and after I pulled the front of the car of the engine with my van she went out and kept trying with a car that should have been thrown to the dump
She is learning, I have new suspension and with help from everyone she will do just fine, she can and will help the sport of drifting grow as she is very marketable and will get great coverage, that helps everyone out there man and woman, so if you see us at an event and she needs/ask for help, step up and help her as it helps all of us
I look forward to a great year, I have also taken over the http://www.teamallstars.com/ as the team manager and am helping develope the cars and hope to try out some new novice drivers to fill the spots very soon, so keep yourt fingers crossed, who knows who I may pick
thanks
Leon Styles
manager for Lisa Klasen

Are you the same leon styles who did a lot of rally racing as well?

[Brian]

yeah, I'm a "hater".
great.



Hey um Leon and....Lisa, did you guys come to All Star Bash last June or something? In the purple s13? That just clicked in my head.



anyways


I still think it is ridiculous and USA drifting is going fast down the shitter.
I'm not sad.

[sidewaysrules]

yup I am the rally guy
we both love rally but there is NO sponsership no media coverage etc, so that why we got into drifting, it will be fun and hope to make lots of new friends
Leon Styles
www.sidewaysrules.com
www.rallyestar.com
www.driftpirate.com

[sidewaysrules]

yeah, I'm a "hater".
great.



Hey um Leon and....Lisa, did you guys come to All Star Bash last June or something? In the purple s13? That just clicked in my head.



anyways


I still think it is ridiculous and USA drifting is going fast down the shitter.
I'm not sad.

yup that was her first outing in the car, the first time every driving it
I feel bad as I am her manager yet she has only been in a drift car 3 times in her life, due to lack of funding she hasn,t managed to fix her car, sigh oh well you all know what thats like, maybe she will win lotto!!
Leon

[Brian]

I think it is great you two are learing and trying drifting out!


however,


my original opinion still stands.


I do NOT think that this deal is ..... anything good.


I mean, it is great for you guys for sure.
but, not deserved.

[sidewaysrules]

no prob, I look at it this way, should Kaaz give a driver a spot because his name ,or his daddys,uncles etc name is famous, lots of sponsers do, lots of drivers who claim they are sponsered are not really sponsered, daddy is rich and they bought there ride, Kaaz needs to bring in sponsership so they approached Lisa about driving in some events, Kaaz knows with a name woman driver they can get sponsers and fill up the driving spots with other guys from the drift scene, if Lisa has said no kaaz was going to drop out for the year and no one gets to drive and everyone looses, is it fair that woman get sponsers easier than me, of course not, but in a "womans" defence they also have to be twice as good as a man to be the same
thanks
Leon

[Bebop]

We talked to her as well and i thought the same thing, she's not like the majority of other girl's doing male dominated sports that push their being a woman to get them anywhere in the sport. Its not a problem being a woman in a sport, but to me youre putting yourself on a lower level if youre thinking its any different being a woman than a man in racing.

It isn't no diferent being a woman driver then a male one. And it baffles me because there are still chicks with pretty substantial sponsors that lack the skills and credentials some of these broke privateer males have.

How many chicks are currently FD licensed.. correct me if I'm wrong but 2. And those are the only ones I feel are worth their sponsorship. The rest are just side shows to me, booth bait.

And back to rally drivers... back in the early days of the American side of the sport they're wasn't a whole lot the grassroot level had too offer. So teams had to build around rally drivers, grip drivers, stunt/test drivers.... we needed guys like Rhys, Sam, Tanner, and Tyler.

There was a few who were straight from the grassroots but it still took them a bit more time to get established in the sport, Fors, Gittin, Pfeiffer, Fixmer just to name a few.

With that being said the grassroots is 2 times better now then it was 5 years ago when it all first started in the states. And there is virtually no real reason for a team to look outside our community to find a driver.

[hachiroku-fc3s]

I'm with Blaze on this one. I'm all about drivers wanting to drive and get paid for it. That being said, I wish Lisa all the best. That is what will be the best for the sport, if she really takes to drifting and is enthusiastic about it. If she wants to drift and she's good for the corporate side. I'm all about it.

But I have also witnessed what Blaze is talking about, and what you mentioned briefly sidewaysrules, that other motorsports drivers are coming to our sport for the money and that's it. This sport will go nowhere if the ppl involved don't care about it. But right now, it's what's getting the attention, and therefore the cash, and drivers are using drifting to hopscotch their way into or back into sponsorships in the motorsport they prefer.

Yes some of the biggest names in the sport today came from other motorsports, in fact, I myself learned about drifting from a buddy I used to autocross with. It's natural. When you love cars, you'll discover something new, or something better suited to yourself, and then you'll adapt.

I used to like classic cars, then got into imports (and hated domestics), then got into domestics, then got into rotaries. That's the natural progression of all motorsports (Diesel F1 cars?!) and the natural progression of business. Adapt and overcome.

All that to say, I, like Blaze, take offense to being used as a tool for someone's personal gain. If they want to drift. Then drift by all means, and I wish them the best of luck, but to come here for the money is selfish. Which when you're on the business end, you may not care, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I don't believe it is what's best for the sport.

[sidewaysrules]

remember Lisa is not getting PaidKaaz cannot afford to go drifting this year, Plain and simple, if Lisa can bring sponsership then everyone wins, Kaaz goes drifting, picks up some new drivers, Lisa is bring lots of media attention to the sport, that in turn brings more sponsership to drifting for everyone and everyone wins
Leon

[Slapshotnerd]

I think we're all in agreement:

If a driver comes from another racing series and learns the fundamentals of the sport, then earns their way to the top through hard work and skill, then GREAT!! A prime example of this is Austin Robinson, who prior to last Summer had never driven a drift car, and prior to November, had never been in a tandem run. However, he was given the opportunity to jump into a sponsored car, and learned how to drift, then earned his Formula D license by competing in the ProAm series and beating out the competition at Nationals in Laughlin on his own. Weeks after Nationals, he then went back to the competition he is familiar with (Baja 1000) and had a great showing there as well.

Kaaz also brought over Yasuomi Kondo from Japan to the Pro Am event, where he earned his Formula D license in Hiromi's car. I respect Ka'az for this move, making a driver prove himself in front of the Formula D judges alongside amateurs who have been driving for years.

I won't name names, but more than 1 driver who has had a substantial resume in other motorsports has used their resume to obtain a professional drifting license. Some of these drivers turned out to be perfectly fine drivers, while others did not work out quite so well in our sport. I would prefer to see these drivers prove themselves on some level alongside amateur drivers before being allowed to compete at a professional event.