Samuel Hubinette (Formula D WINNER!)

[driftxtreem]

wonder what he going to drive at the D1 the car cannot be made street legal rendering it useless for the D1.

[nissanguy_24]

I will get some close up footage this weekend for you to look over DX.

Still though a 100 thousand dollar car for a drift event.. theres something very unsettling to that.

Yeah i wanted to see domestics get in on it too, but not like this.

[shimos]

Originally posted by nissanguy_24
I was just watching the viper vs 86 race that was uploaded. Perhaps its the angle, but both times at the horshoe it didnt seem like the viper was really drifting, more like he slid into it, then powered out passing the 86, ir the time before, nearly passing the 86.

I was wondering about the Viper's performance as well. I was watching the video clips of the Viper vs. the GTS and it seemed like the Viper was getting his nose to the inside and then forcing his way through the corner, pushing the other car to the outside, while cutting off his line. If the GTS didn't want to get hit, he had to back off in the corners and go wider than anticipated.

I'm guessing that according to the Formula D rules, that kind of driving is acceptable, but it seemed a little dirty to me. Does anyone know if there are rules regarding overtaking and putting pressure on the front runner? It would be good to know.

[nissanguy_24]

Well this was east coast. Its abit of the wildwest out there so to speak about drifting rules probably. Im sure sure whats customary in hawaii, And as for here, we really dont have any local competitions, just the larger ones, which have all used D1 rules. Im sure DX can clarify those.

[CrazyHawaiian]

But are there really any rules when it comes to tandem drifting? I'm not even sure since I dont know Japanese hahah. I would think there are no rules regarding putting pressure on people or taking certain lines at any of these types of events. I always thought the guy in the back is supposed to stay as close as he can to the rear bumper of his competition regardless of what happens. But I dont think you are supposed to pass people? I'm not sure. So if the guy in the front drifts with a different style or takes a different line, then wouldnt the guy in the back have to adapt? If I were in Alex's shoes I probably would have been pissed that Sam kept cutting my line. But then again, after the first try I wouldnt be giving him any room to cut my line. When Sam passed Alex I think Alex went a little wide so Sam went for it. Very aggressive on Sams part, but you could tell from the start of the video that Sam was driving very aggressively. Man I watched that video again and he can drift that Viper like a madman.

Anyway, considering the major differences between the two cars (dimensions, weight, and power), I'm sure Sam has to use a different style to drift. I think Sam's style was weird to Alex since he's probably never battled a Viper before, so he didnt know what to expect. I'm sure if Alex did it a few more times, he would get a better feel for Sam's style and then he would probably feel more confident pushing Sam harder.

As for the whole 100K, supercar thing, all I can say is WOW thats a badass car. I dont think its invincible by any means, but looks like Dodge did an awesome job engineering those competition coupes. I dont know if the car will be allowed in the D1, but I'm interested to see what happens. It seems Dodge holds the upper hand since they are an auto manufacturer, and the D1 rules are based off whats available from the manufacturer. Now I'm starting to see why a lot of people are pissed off that auto manufacturers are getting involved with sponsoring cars and drivers.

[REVLIMIT]

I'm guessing Mopar will just build another viper for the D1 series. Probably the same setup but just a little more streetable.

And damn the domestic vs. import war never dies where ever you go haha

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by CrazyHawaiian
Now I'm starting to see why a lot of people are pissed off that auto manufacturers are getting involved with sponsoring cars and drivers.

lol... Well i did have some good points in the viper thread... The performance of the viper doesnt bug me. Lets face it, awesome car, but drifting really evens out the playing field.


I guess im adopting the attitude of, bring it on, i will get better and i will tune and modify my car to take on the best.

Though i would much perfer dodge make a inexpensive RWD car and campeign it. we all know dodge could make an awesome inexpensive drift car if they wanted to.

[Ghost of Duluth]

K Drifting is about the pass. If you make a clear pass then the day is yours. So rules or no rules, he made the pass, he won. There is no misinterpretation of that.

Wild West of Drifting eh? I wouldn't say that but I like the moniker. We have the most laxed laws on cars over here but rules are rules wherever you go. We are not California thats for sure but we are just as in tune with what's going on as anyone in California I assure you. So the rules are the same whether here or there. SCCA got a hold of it and if anyone has stringent rules on passing, it's them. As for local events, there are plenty of them on the East Coast. Hyperfest, Nopis Nats and now Formula Drift. I can think of a few more that are in the works. Drifting is just as alive on the East Coast as the West. THe only difference is everyone focuses on the west coast and tends to overlook the east. That has happened forever and will always happen. Too bad though cause you can get away with a whole lot more car wise in the Wild East than you can in the Tame West.

Now on to the countdown. The announcers. I think I can safely say that those were quite possibly the worst announcers that I have heard of. I checked them out while walking past the stage and one looked like an overweight Johhny Knoxville and the other like Stong Sad. One talked the most while the other piped in with such memorable quotes as "Awesome Drift" or "Great Drift". But he only said these after the other said "Wasn't that an awesome Drift?" or "Wasn't that a great Drift?". Plus after hearing that they didn't know the difference between an FB (SA22 whatever) and a Z car, they were doomed by me from the start. No offense to either of them as I don't know them personally, but they really need their own Tuner TV show.

Also on to the unsung heros of the event. One in particular. Your own local drifter, Tony Schultz. Tony popped up in a Turbo KA powered S-14 with basically what amounted to stock suspension and made it to 12th place I believe. Now THAT is impressive. With great equipment, it would have been on. Everyone needs to pat Tony on the back.

Mr Millen. I didn't actually realize that he was there seeing as I missed the entire first day due to Space Aliens and dogs chewing up my homework but when I saw him slide, I was amazed. He didn't carry quite the same amount of speed that the others did but his drifts were quite fulfilling. He had awesome lines and held them to the bitter end. Anyone that boo's him from now on needs to be slapped until the skin falls from their jowls.

Though I wanted to boo the Viper beating out the Corolla, I couldn't. It was a fair call by the judges and that is that. My own personal feelings are this, had the Viper not made the pass there would have been another winner at Formula Drift. Sam was outdriven in that race and thats that. But he made the pass.

As for the Viper. I liked it. It is somewhat of an overkill and 99.9 of your average sliders can't afford it but I am glad that Dodge did that car. It is a beast, a giant among other cars. It is the symbol of American overindulgence and bullishness. So it makes me warm inside to see the little mouse of a Corolla almost take out the Elephant of the Viper. Classic stuff there. The little man can prevail and no matter what Dodge does to that car, the playing field is alot more level in Drifting. It ain't about how much money you can dump into a car. It all boils down to skill. Sure it's a whole lot easier to pass in that Viper. Get straight for 1 sec and mash the throttle. That is power. The Corolla can't touch that. But, it's in the corner where they are equal. That's where the magic happens.

Oh and that Viper is street legal. Unless they changed some stuff in it since the final slate.

[nissanguy_24]

Thanks for the info man.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Make sure you get some footage there Brother 24. I want to see (hopefully this time) that Viper get taken out. Go Little Men.

[Brian]

you know what the funny part is?
$100k will buy you MAYBE the motor in that viper.
$100k is a huge understatement for the whole car.

[nissanguy_24]

No its about right, Its a competition coupe they retail for about alittle over 100k

[Ghost of Duluth]

He's right. The GTS-R's are about 100k. The add ons make it more but not by much, maybe 25k

[Brian]

the whole Mopar Viper forumla D team has got to be funded by A LOT of money. i am thinking maybe close to a million or even more.

[shimos]

so does anybody have the actual rules regarding passing and how it relates to scores?

Our guys are just wondering what to prepare for. If they need to be able to bump people out, they'll prep their vehicles for contact. Not like they'll be looking to ram people intentionally, but if someone is trying to pass, I think they'll just end up cutting that guy's line off and smashing fenders a little bit.

I thought I read somewhere that the front vehicle has the right of way and the person chasing would lose if contact was made.

Maybe that would be a good strategy, swing wide and give the chasing car an opening and then cutting back inside and either forcing contact or making the chasing vehicle back off or exit the roadway. That would be pretty exciting; like playing chicken.