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The track
Was good, kinda like vegas you could see everything except the last portion.
The Driving
Dudes were killing it, litterly lmao. So much good action, I thought the euro guys would have trouble but they caught on quick. Some of these guys should be driving in our series. Ueo omg that dude can drive, when I heard he was driving the S15 I was like blaaahh. But he came out and ripped it, I really wanted to see whiddett... that track doesn't do the car justice, too much braking not enough full throttle in front of the crowd.
Its obvious that Chris needs more power now, dude dodged a few bullets along with a few other drivers with wrecks and they're opponents errors. Rhys won btw.... big surprise lol.
I missed pro am, but what I saw was good. Big ups to who ever got there licences.
The Judging
Qual was spot on, but tandem.... Its still a toss up. The new judging format kind of shows that the judges haven't been agreeing all along. There was some OMT that shouldn't have been there. But at the same time, it gives the spectators a chance to identify with the judges and pick personal favorites. Andy is mine lol, dude saw it for what it is with merit IMO. I didn't like how they were writing the drivers names on a small dry erace and just holding it up. Its 2008 give these guys a jeopardy style board or something not so ghetto lol.
The event
Seeing everything that was going on I was surprise to see everything go real smooth. Grab tickets, hop on a bus and walk in! Getting back on the buses felt like the holocaust but its alright... if I wanted it smoother I could have left early. I still cant believe the LB convention center staff. Do they just hire any and everyone. They weren't really paying attention to anything, yea disregard the 4 guys who just walked up the steps, but please ask me for my ticket...the guy you just saw walk down the steps too smoke a cig. Not FDs fault.
Overall, very good event and I will go again. -
Probably one of the best Formula D events I've been to (and that's saying something because I've made to amost every single event in california).
The track, all be it on the dangerous side, was great. It provided with some of the best driving I've seen in a long long time. That battle between Dai and Ueo, no word other than epic can describe it. I'm not sure how it was for everyone else, but I had a great view of just about everything. Got some good pics too.
I loved the new judging format. Even though there's can be some dissagreements, it pretty much evens it out and takes away any thoughts of 'throwing scores'.
The pits were suprisingly small. Still some amazing stuff. How did you get a friggin' Gumpert out there? There was definately a lot more buzz day 2, but that was fine, it allowed for some better photo ops on day 1.
Oh, and you Pro AM guys are nuts. Some of the carnage was down right scary. Good luck to you guys, you are indeed commited.Comment
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I very much enjoyed the event
negatives - *the fire. hey FD, get it together. don't throw an event when a fire is going to happen. thanks.
*tickets/grandstands - Not really a "problem", but I find it kind of dumb that there are tickets that "just get you in the door". Why not make ALL the tickets for the stands? I already talked to Andy about this, so no biggie. It was cool getting paint chips on me from the cars that crashed while I was standing right near the wall.
*TIME lapse - Not really anything you could do I imagine, but the time between crashes and "5 minute" breaks was insane. people got REALLY bored. Maybe have a clown to entertain the people in between or something...
positives - *awesome drifting from almost everybody.
*the venue. Very unique and memorable. I'd like to see it again.
* the new judging style was cool. I'm glad ANDY talked and explained things.
*everything else really. very cool event overall.
oh
BIG negative.
RED BULL obviously has TONS and TONS of money to throw away. I don't think the food places there should have been selling the small cans of Red Bull for $3.00
Come on, really? I figured they would be cheaper than retail....
$5 lemonades were good.
$7 street tacos were great.
mm mmmmmmComment
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Awesome event, shuttle service was excellent !
Lost interest after Ueo and Dai battle though
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woops
forgot the number one NEGATIVE
CHRIS vs. SAM
Chris stalled the car or whatever it was. Sam kept going.
Chris gets a 0.
I can't believe that. That should have been a RE-DO.
But hey, when you have a guy like Sam H., it is all business. No need for fun or sportsmanship. It's all about the WIN!!!!
Chris got suckered out....
Last edited by Brian; 11-17-2008, 11:15 AM.Comment
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Oh, Brian did bring something up that I wanna give props for. Time management.
When it came to keeping the event moving, this event is so far the best FD i've been too. Maybe it's due to the new judging system, but big thumbs up on that one.
And I understand completely on the 5 minute thing, but what you gonna do?Comment
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Yes the "5" minute breaks and that stuff.... I think if possible, the time needs to be filled with something funny. maybe a funny clip on the GIANT screen or some cool videos of drifting. Maybe have the judges talk about some stuff... T shirt cannon... product toss outs..... anything.Comment
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FD did an amazing job!
I hope they do this again next year or even sooner!!Comment
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Great f*cking event.Comment
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Amazing! I have zero complaints great event!!!Comment
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Media was a small pain, but definitely got better for Sunday. I was very disappointed to miss most of ProAm, and the track workers didn't know when a course was 'hot' or 'cold' (hint - if there's a tow truck, 2 fire trucks, an ambulance, and a golf cart on track, it's PROBABLY cold and ok for photographers to move). But with the photo holes in the fences and the access between the fence and guard rail on Sunday, things were better.
Downtime always sucks... but seemed a bit longer than normal at times (kyle mohan).
The timing was kinda screwed from the get go. Top 32 took almost an hour longer than planned, which threw everything else off. But since this was the first top 32 tandem that FD has run, and there were more crashes than normal, it was a learning experience. We still got out of there at a reasonable hour, thankfully.
I wish the qualifying scores would have been flashed for longer up on screen, it seemed like I looked away and missed the scores half the time. Also, a running order of qualifying (like what is normally done at FD events) would have been cool.
This is all pretty minor stuff in the long run, and easily fixable.
The good stuff:
The grandstands were dope! Great seating in any of them, and plenty of room. The course was amazing! Getting 12 cars shipped to long beach (+1 towed from Canada) on such short notice is a huge feat in itself. All of the international drivers I talked to had a blast, and it was great to see such diversity of driving, style, and skill. The new judging system for tandem was very simple and easy to understand, and I think we should use it for next year FD. Red Bull and FD did a great job creating a great atmosphere for the event.
I had a lot of fun, and can't wait for next year! GOOD JOB FD / RED BULL / RHYS MILLEN / ETC ETC ETCComment
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Red bull drifting world championship
Ok, I'll preface this with one of the few times i'll throw around the fact that I was with D1 almost 4 years ago and running the US side of things as the second in command of what was going on. Honestly not much to brag about, but I put in a good year and was on the front lines for amazing drifting. So I've seen a lot from the front and from the back. And eventually since then I've felt a little jaded on everything. The tracks are all the same tracks and the only thing that gets me going is seeing the amateurs work their skills up at whatever bare piece of land Drift Day or JDM-Option can find these days. Not to mention getting in on some drifting myself.
Which brings me to this past weekend, the FD/Red Bull Drifting World Championship. From where I remembered Formula D starting out to where I've seen them grow has been amazing, and this weekend was yet another reason that whatever Jim and Ryan are doing is being done as well as it can be.
My experience went like this...
I got blocked by the F'n fires on Saturday trying to drive out with my wife from Riverside, we had dinner plans in OC later that evening, so weren't able to make it out to Long Beach and back in time. The following day I was determined to make it and luckily there were no fires but still some traffic and I didnt arrive in Long Beach until 1:30.
Entering the parking area I was surprised at how packed it was, from end to end all I could see where cars. Having gotten with a parking spot I rushed to the dishearteningly empty media booth where my pass was suppose to be. *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* no pass! Taking notice of me with cell phone in hand, a nice man came to help me out. Talking with the gentleman who I assumed was managing the ticket area, I found that he was extremely pleasant professional and accommodating and after explaining myself and my credentials I was given a general admission ticket. As I was there to enjoy the event and be part of drifting history in Southern California I didn't mind.
Next I was directed towards some buses which were there to ferry spectators to and from the event. "WOW", already I was feeling the vibe of some long forgotten LA massive. Getting on the bus I could feel everyone's excitement, people were there from all ages little 2 year olds all the way up to 45 year old guys.
Riding the bus out of downtown Long Beach we got on a huge bridge where below us I could see the event laid out, I could make out a series of bleachers towards the end of a long D1 looking track. The excitement at that point got kicked up even another level as I felt there was a magnitude to the event that I hadnt expected. I saw how packed the booth/vendor areas were with swarms of people walking around and I could make out the helicopters idling over the track. It really felt like a movie set more so than a drift event.
Getting to the main entrance the bus let us out and I made my way through the mob. I went first to say hello to my old co-workers at Apex and then hooked up with my buddy Louie from L-Con and his young son Isaac. From Isaac's point of view the cars were crazy and one of the main draws was the Playstation trailer, too bad he was with us though he never got to play.
Next, what usually takes the form of a big huge plane with massive engines lumbering low to the ground an tipping it's wing to the crowd, came in the form of two crazy kamikaze parachuters who winded their way down in big loops with smoke trailing out from behind them. It was at this point I could hear J-Rod yelling out to get the crowd pumped up to cheer for these two fools as they made their rapid descent. Right when they couldnt have been more than 50-75 feet off the ground they did a nose dive straight for the ground which to me looked like something had gone terribly wrong and they were about to be a smear on the asphalt, but to the cheers of the crowd these nut bags had pulled off a great jump with an even greater finale as they pulled up at the last minute and landed it perfect.
Shaking our heads at how crazy things were we walked over to the far end of the track where the final turn was and watched as the top 16 battled it out in an amazingly high speed and technical course. It almost looked too small for the caliber of cars there but sure enough these cars made it so exciting.
Adding to the atmosphere was J-Rod announcing the event and pumping the crowd up with a turn by turn break down of what was happening for the uninitiated. It seemed to me that whether you were seasoned spectator or a new born fan you weren't lost at this event and you could enjoy it as much as they guy sitting next you.
The event itself was amazing. The cars barreled down the main straight at an average of a 100mph and kicked it sideways into a long right hand turn. Following a few more turns they ended it with another right hand turn which placed the end of their drift within feet of the finish. I swore every time they came out of the final drift someone was going to tank it into the railing but luckily no one did.
From hearing Mike Whiddet's 4-rotor RX-7 scream, to watching Ueo bust one of the most impressive high speed and longest held 90 degree drifts into the first bank, and to seeing JR tank it into the wall and then jump on his car to the roar of the crowd, I was impressed. Even walking around the pits and talking to some of the teams I was suprised, everyone was so chill. Ending the day, Rhys took a well deserved first, Daijiro second and Tanner took third.
I will say that I am glad I made it out for the second day of the event because I feel I would have had no idea what I had missed. To make a spectator event exciting again for me was huge as it made me look forward to the future of what's to come. Kinda like finding that new favorite flavor of Doritos. I think Formula D has finally gotten the Formula Down.Comment
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how many times did JRod use the word "gangster" we turned it into a drinking game with FD footage and got completely oblideratedComment
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I thought JRod did a good job at this event actually.
Didn't sound like a noob, but he didn't sound like genius.
nice in the middle... sounded like a true fan.Comment
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