(FEEDBACK) FORMULA D Irwindale 2009

[Bebop]

Maeng and Sams OMT @ 2:20

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[AE86_Fan]

Great event. great competition. Announcers could have explained things a little better. Sponsors and Vendors were awesome !

lol @ drift box.

[EFGiggles]

First off, I want to say that the event was awesome and the Drift day staff kicked *Censored**Censored**Censored* at arranging the plastic dividers! I loved the battle between Alex Pfeiffer and JR! Classic Chevy vs. Ford. Aside from the heat, I enjoyed the event very much!! Naoki rocked on the track!! Whoo hoo! did anybody else see that dive he took over the cement barriers?!?! it was so cool! i caught up with him after the incident and he showed me the cool scar he got! hahahaha
also, i got a lot of compliments on my drifting.com shirt i was rocking!! i guess it was pretty cool to see a girl wearing the "I like girls who like cars" shirt! haha it was a great experience, it was my first Formula D event but it certainly won't be my last! i also visited the drifting.com booth,and i loved the "sign" you had up, i saw a buncha people sporting the "clutch kick" shirt!
i gotta add that i enjoyed this event a lil more than the D1 event i went to... both were awesome but i loved the audience involvement in this one more, it was great energy all around, i know that not everything was perfect but it WAS pretty damn AWESOME!!
i also enjoyed my $8 hot dog meal VERRRRY much! haha
thank you very much for the ticket! you guys are THEE best!

[tougekids]

First Of All Thanks Drifting.Com for the Tickets!

Man were do I start!

This was my first Formula D event and it was nuts! I had a blast!!! Both Days!!! It was speechless! It was great being at a event were everyone loves cars and drifting has much as I do!!!Getting to see all those fixed up cars with the pros drifting there cars at high speed and pushing there cars to the limit!

All the booths and stands were awsome!!! Got alot of cool stuff! Thanks to all the sponsors and brands that gave out free stuff! Got my self a Formula D Sweater $45 but, totally worth it! Got some signatures from the pros and the hankook & toyo tires models! They were all great and nice!

The drifting was so great I loved the battles! I really wanted that rx-8 with justin pawlak to rank hire! He was doing great on Sat. But, was kinda off Sunday! Poor Stephan Verdier who crashed his beautifull subaru! And idk the name of the driver but, the yellow 240sx that it's engine got blown and fire/flames were kinda coming outta his car! I talked to him and he said that there were running the 240sx with only just 5 pistons! That was the main reason why the engine blew! If it wasent for that I now they would have made it in the top 5 at least!

My best friend went with me too! It was his first time also! He went nuts too! I think he got crazier then me and had a blast! I was the one who got him into going! But, if it wasent for him I would have not gone cause he's the one who drove us there! Good thing he still got to buy tickets online before they got sold out! He got so obssessed he got a used tire from verdiers rx-8 and got it signed by him and three other pros! I was laughing at him cause he was carrying this 20' tire that weight a ton all across the event to his car! Over all we had a amazing time and can't wait to to Formula D Long Beach next year! Were never missing an event anymore! We blew all our money but, totally worth it!

The only bad was the wait for the King Tacos! We almost missed the top 16 Drifting but, managed to get there before it started! We were running!!!

[deadpirate]

i heard people boo'ing during Shauns tribute video. soooo disrespectful.

also while out by Joons booth, i heard these 2 dudes talkin about taking parts off Tommy Roberts car since he crashed. wtf. like seriously?

spectators often piss me off like that. but overall it was a fun event.

who the *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* was booing????? thats *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* *Censored**Censored**Censored*

i am very upset at the lack of respect during shauns tribute. mishimoto and america s tire. that is completely disrespectful and in poor taste.

[Formula D]

Formula D

You have a anouncer saying one thing and a judge saying another.

There were many times during the event J-Rod said the faster driver must be careful and must adjust to a slower drivers line when chasing.

If your logic is correct Matt Powers should had been eliminated in the top 32 because he tapped the wall lost alot of speed in the transition and Eric ended up crashing into the barriers.

If this +/- 5mph rule is now law you guys need to put forth a better effort in enforcing it at all times and also. Like someone else already said, we had no info on speeds, amount of angle or even details about the scores to begin with.

I'm not sitting up here and saying so and so should have won or loss, just saying that there was no real winner in the fans eyes *note the boos*. Me personaly, a spin is a spin unless someone else spins in front of you.

"its the chase drivers job to mirror the lead driver line at all times no matter what"

"the lead car is a moving clipping point for the chaser"

yes, you are correct, more information vocally is very important. The judging criteria is in the event guide, but I can see how if you didn't hear, that would be confusing. I think Jarod does a good job on explaining results and he also gives the mic to Judges to give words on win's, losses, etc, but if you didn't hear it especially in the case of Joone/Sam then I guess that is not good enough, so point taken.

FYI, the +,- 5MPH is always taken into consideration at the points that the speed is being measured. That's the key. There are two specific points, but remember that there is a big difference on qualifying and head to head aspects of competition. The judges are judging the pair against each other so speed only plays a roll in the outcome, not the entirety. Either way, you're right. If it is not clear to you, it needs to be better.

Also, people boo for lots of reasons. Not just because they we're unclear on the results. People boo if they don't like something. They boo if their popular driver lost in a close match. The boo if they feel a driver did something intentionally inappropriate, etc.

FD loves you too

[Bebop]

FD,

I have read alot of info guides (not the one provided at irwindale though), and have a copy of the 07 08 09 pdf rule books. And this is my first time hearing about this rule being inforced like this, it seems very logical. But as you see it very open to scrutiny.

There has to be a better way to enforce some of these nitpicky rules. Maybe aside from the 3 judges you have in a tower. You guys should have a few zone judges. One for critically judged clipping points and another for the speed zones you speak of. Give them a flag and a walky. Wave the flag to let everyone know something wasn't done right and communicate to the judges for a better judgment.

If not, this rule is kinda like a holding call in the NFL. It happens all the time but only called every once in a bit. And when its called in a crucial moment one side is going to be very very angry. Fourth quarter offense driving down the field, your team or not WE ALL HATE THIS CALL!!! LOL, This can also result in some dishonest behavior in competitors.

Sorta like NBA guys flipin and floppin with offensive foul calls, a little contact these guys fall on there back. "Your gonna slow down and correct in front of me, well I'm going to spin because the judges will just give me the win after that".

A call like this can be overcame on the football field or the basketball court. But can be day ending or in this case season ending consequences for a competitor in this sport. A OMT can provide a true winner and a more face time for the driver win or lose.


See what I mean?

I prefer Vaughn's strategy of just ramming the hell out of guys who ride their brakes. lol

Better educate the fan, and provide better reinsurance for the drivers to build their confidence in the sanctioning body they compete in.

[Formula D]

Yup, all that stuff you mentioned happens. Andy Yen, who is the speed judge has two speed guys controlling the speed guns and communicating with him after every lap of a head to head via walkie. So yes, we do that and they know exactly what is going on and it gives the judges real data to make decisions.

Another example of this was Ueo vs. Tuerck in LV. What appears to have been a clear case of Tuerk hitting Ueo because he was too aggressive was really a case of the lead car (Ueo) coming in over 12 MPH slower than his typical entry speeds and Ryan who has access like everyone to entry speeds was anticipating Ueo to be around his typical speed, hit him. The judges were able to ascertain that something went amiss with Ueo and did not award fault to Tuerk.

[Bebop]

Yup, all that stuff you mentioned happens. Andy Yen, who is the speed judge has two speed guys controlling the speed guns and communicating with him after every lap of a head to head via walkie. So yes, we do that and they know exactly what is going on and it gives the judges real data to make decisions.

Maybe you don't quite understand what I am getting to. Let me requote my self lol.

Wave the flag to let everyone know something wasn't done right and communicate to the judges for a better judgment.

The fans have no idea who those speed gun holders are and where they are on the track. And they also need to know what just happened before the judges give there verdict.

Come to think about it another sanctioning body did this in the past but I would really hate to bring that up because I'm all about improving our series not glorifying theirs.


When it comes to Ueo vs Ryan in vegas, Yea, I was there right next to the spotters tower.Ueo did slow down alot too adjust his line... it happened. But Ryan also had a large drop in speed in the OMT going into the inner clip which caused contact.... Ryan moved on, fans booed, driftspeed protested.

All I want is more clarification and consistency when it comes to these sort of situations.

[Formula D]

When it comes to Ueo vs Ryan in vegas, Yea, I was there right next to the spotters tower.Ueo did slow down alot too adjust his line... it happened. But Ryan also had a large drop in speed in the OMT going into the inner clip which caused contact.... Ryan moved on, fans booed, driftspeed protested.

Ya, I'm not talking about the entirety of the battle just an instance where this speed element has made things clear for us. Seeing speed decrease visually is not as good as actually seeing it factually on a gun. In many cases it helps judges especially on parts of the track that are harder to view from the judges stand.

Funny story: You actually come up in our staff meetings. We jokingly say, "well if blaze1 is happy, then I think everyone will be."

Thanks for your passion for the sport.

[ontrack]

And ANOTHER thing FD, the system of classification of a "rookie" driver is pretty bAss-ackwards!
How you can call a Pro series champion, even from another country, a "Rookie"? No disrespect to those
drivers but I hardly think they should be eligible to receive "Rookie of the Year". Joon should have
won that title in '07, JTP in '08, and Mike Essa should have in '09.
Even though I have my gripes I still prefer FD to D1. Thank you for your continuing support and
promotion of drifting.

[Formula D]

And ANOTHER thing FD, the system of classification of a "rookie" driver is pretty bAss-ackwards!
How you can call a Pro series champion, even from another country, a "Rookie"? No disrespect to those
drivers but I hardly think they should be eligible to receive "Rookie of the Year". Joon should have
won that title in '07, JTP in '08, and Mike Essa should have in '09.
Even though I have my gripes I still prefer FD to D1. Thank you for your continuing support and
promotion of drifting.

That is the definition of a rookie. Rookie in our series, not rookie in general. Same goes for other sports. You can be a huge superstar in Japanese baseball for years, but once you hit Major League Baseball, you are a rookie in your first season. This is traditional for most sports. We are no different. In fact we use to do it as a voted category, but this was quickly shunned on by the teams and drivers.

[OldSkool510]

IHCIRO SUZUKI of the Seattle Mariners played 9 years of professional baseball in Japan before winning the MLB Rookie of the Year award in 2001.

[Jim @ FD]

ontrack - I totally understand what you mean but you are not completely accurate. Here are some examples...

Sam Hornish Jr. was a rookie in 2008 in NASCAR eventhough he came from IndyCar with an Indy 500 win under this belt and 3 IndyCar championships.

Juan Pablo Montoya was a rookie in 2007 in NASCAR eventhough he came from Champ Car/IRL with an Indy 500 win, CART championship and years in F1.

Ichiro Suzuki was a rookie in Major League Baseball in 2001 with 9 seasons of experience coming from Japan's Nippon Baseball League and already being named to Japanese Baseball Hall of Fall while still being an active player in MLB.

[ontrack]

Don't mistake my opinion for a lack of understanding. I don't agree with ANY of the stated examples.
MY OPINION is that once you have achieved the status of "Professional" and competed/participated
as one for a season, you shouldn't be eligible for consideration as a"Rookie". Especially within the
same sport or discipline. Just because NASCAR or MLB do it doesn't mean I agree or that its right.