(TODAY) RED BULL Drifting World Championship LONG BEACH Nov 15-16

[Brian]

Daigo... cool.


Bummer that all those other D1 guys couldn't come.
That would have been AWESOME.

[Formula D]

direct link: http://www.formulad.com/redbull/drif...-championship/

[deadpirate]

so the d1gp said no to allowing their drivers...hmm...shitty...sketchy...wtf?

please tell me hampsha actually put a sad face next to his reason for not comming

[Bebop]

Confirmed is daigo....
Kumo has a event somewhere else
And they just didn't allow Imamura
I doubt kazama can get his hands on a capable car at such short notice
Orido is driving a chevy in europe
Ueo is probably driving the DRIFT SPEED S15

I want to know how FD went to getting these drivers, did they just go through D1. Or did they personally contact ever current and ex D1 driver directly.

This could be a huge reason why we aren't getting many Japanese drivers.

[Bebop]

so the d1gp said no to allowing their drivers...hmm...shitty...sketchy...wtf?

please tell me hampsha actually put a sad face next to his reason for not comming

I feel pretty bad about Ryan not coming, but then again Kyle Mohan has busted his a$$ all season and deserved it. Sucks it had to be a cool guy like ryan that had to drop out. But Kyle really deserved to drive as well.

[OldSkool510]

This is going to be an awesome event...Can't wait for this.

What's up with Ryan Tuerck. He's probably the next driver on the verge of super stardom in the world of drifting. I met him at an exhibition at CSULB before the Long Beach event a couple of years ago. Super nice guy. I miss that S13 coupe of his....

As for D1, they suck balls big time. This could have been a platform they could have used to promote themselves. How could they have not seen that? I thought they re-organized their efffed up way of thinking and doing business. Guess not.

You already know that they're going to cry about this event not being a true World Championship because the top Japanese drivers from D1 were not represented. You got invited and you declined, so too bad too sad for you guys.

Maybe they were just too scared to come out and play. The memory of Vaughn Gittin, Jr. whoopin some *Censored**Censored**Censored* at their own event in Irwindale last year was just too much for them.

[SSmith]

As for D1, they suck balls big time. This could have been a platform they could have used to promote themselves. How could they have not seen that? I thought they re-organized their efffed up way of thinking and doing business. Guess not.

You already know that they're going to cry about this event not being a true World Championship because the top Japanese drivers from D1 were not represented. You got invited and you declined, so too bad too sad for you guys.

Maybe they were just too scared to come out and play. The memory of Vaughn Gittin, Jr. whoopin some *Censored**Censored**Censored* at their own event in Irwindale last year was just too much for them.

You're probably pissed, aren't you? There are two sides to every coin and depending on where you're standing, you're going to see more of one side than the other. It doesn't help to have fans going on forums and start bashing and using profanities to express their concerns.

[OldSkool510]

Heck yeah, from a fan standpoint, I'm really pissed. I wanted to see the best drifters in the world compete at this event and some of the best drifters are from D1. I love their style of drifting. It's always balls out on every run.

You're absolutely right about there being two sides to every coin. However, this particular coin (the Red Bull Event) could have been very favorable for
D1, in my opinion. They could have showcased their talent to the fullest and put D1 Drifting back on the map in the US. Their drivers could probably win the event, too. What other drifting event in the world has a $50,000 purse and the financial backing of someone such as Red Bull?

I guess the political drama continues between FD and D1. FD did their part on trying to squash the beef by reaching out and extending an invitation to them.

[OldSkool510]

btw SSmith, I was sensored for using the 3 letter word that starts with and "a" and ends with "s." Is that so profane?

[deadpirate]

I feel pretty bad about Ryan not coming, but then again Kyle Mohan has busted his a$$ all season and deserved it. Sucks it had to be a cool guy like ryan that had to drop out. But Kyle really deserved to drive as well.

yea...i wanted to see hampsha...but i really want to know if he actually put a sad face next to his reason or not

[SSmith]

Heck yeah, from a fan standpoint, I'm really pissed. I wanted to see the best drifters in the world compete at this event and some of the best drifters are from D1. I love their style of drifting. It's always balls out on every run.

I agree that the presence of Top D1 drivers (i.e. Nob, Kuma, Kazama, Orido) will force all drivers to step up their game a couple of notches.
Who knows, maybe a driver from a country that doesn't start with a U or a J will show us something that we've never seen before.

[Slapshotnerd]

I agree that the presence of Top D1 drivers (i.e. Nob, Kuma, Kazama, Orido) will force all drivers to step up their game a couple of notches.
Who knows, maybe a driver from a country that doesn't start with a U or a J will show us something that we've never seen before.

what countries are those?!???



j/k

[Formula D]

Guys, regarding D1, the long and short of it goes like this.....

Like every other body, D1 was going to get two invites. We actually met with them in Long Beach and they presented a proposal to us. That proposal consisted of them wanting 6 invites for specific drivers they wanted to bring. After we discussed it with everyone and Red Bull, we found a way and told them yes.

In waiting for their confirmation, we reached out letting them know that we needed to confirm their presence so we could start making all the arrangements necessary. At that point D1 came back and said they needed a few more things to confirm. They said they needed to be able to film on-site and produce a DVD of their drivers. We went back to our team and after many days of hard work, we got permission to allow them to film everything but the actual top 32 tandem. However, Red Bull was willing to give D1 all the shots they took from every camera angle including top 32 tandem and D1 could use it in their DVD. They only request was that they name the event properly somewhere within the DVD, "Red Bull Drifting World Championship". A very fair deal considering the embargo on filming in general on this event. A huge concession for D1.

We presented this info back to D1 and asked for a confirmation. (Again, remember from the start they asked us for 6 invites and all these other requests). After waiting until really the 11th hour, we got a call from their US rep that essentially said, they're probably "gonna walk" unless they can bring their entire crew and film top 32 from predesignated spots and create a DVD. This would mean we would have to rework media areas and pockets to make space another big film crew. Bare in mind the production going into this is massive as is. There is even a helicopter. At that time we went back to the team and told them what D1 wanted thinking there was no way it was going to happen. Our attitude was if this is what we need to do to get those guys here and try to promote relationship building with D1, then lets push for it. Well, sure enough, we got that approved too after a massive effort. Guys, this was a huge effort for all of us to make this work, but we got it approved. Now D1's part to confirm....

....We asked them if they are good to go and can get get final confirmation. After another wait passed the 12th hour and into "damnit" land we spoke to their US rep who said, they are gonna pass (insert balloon deflating feeling here). A week or so later we received an official letter from their new president thanking us for the opportunity to be a part of the event and alluding to the fact the Trust going down has not allowed them to participate in the event. Take that as you will.

All in all, every time they made a request we said, "yes". Not once did we say no. We went down a long path with them on this deal and never once said no. Everything they asked for we got for them.

We originally dealt directly with D1 out of respect. Because knowing how things have happened in the past if we went directly to the drivers D1 might feel that we were not respecting them. So after that whole debacle and we were basically at the start again, we went to the drivers directly. NOB, Kazama, Orido all drivers that knew were were talking to D1 had already made arrangements to do other things (demos, other racing, etc). Other top D1 guys had deep interest in being at this event and had sponsors to come, but alas when it got down to coming they were persuaded to not be here. We were deeply grateful to pick up Ueo and then brave Saito came along. We could not announce him until after the last D1 event for risk of anything "odd" happening at that event. He put a car on a ship and has made preparations to come out. So we are back to where we started: 2 D1 Invites, 2 confirmations.

Last part..... In the short time after we announced Daigo Saito, we have already heard that he is being pressed not to come and that it would not be good for him to be here. Remember he put a boat on a ship! Anyway, we will see how it pans out for all the drift fans. 14 other drivers from farther parts of the world than Japan had absolutely ZERO issues confirming and getting cars here even in a crappy economy.

[Brian]

And this is how business replaced fun in the world of drifting.

ONE MORE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OldSkool510]

Remember he put a boat on a ship!

Was he going to drift a boat at the event? J/K

Anyways, we applaud you, FD, for your efforts on trying to bring the best drifting competition to the World Championships. From the looks of it, you went beyond reasonable measures to accomodate them.