Bad news everybody, this current economic situation has already taken a toll on the American automobile industry, dreams of a comeback for the GTO are gone, now there will never be another Firebird, but now you can chalk up a loss for Mopar fans as well, because the most powerful drift machine that was supposed to compete in Formula DRIFT never will.
We all know that the automobile industry isn’t doing too well due to the current economic climate. In an attempt to save whatever money they can, some manufacturers have shifted production away from sports cars while others have dropped their high performance divisions all together. The latest victim of these cutbacks is the sport of drifting. Due to their current fiscal situation, Mopar, Chrysler’s high performance division, has been forced to terminate their sponsorship and support of the “Crazy Swede” Samuel Hubinette and Shaun Carlson’s NuFormz Racing, the California based tuner responsible for the Mopar Drift Viper that was competing in the Formula D series here in the U.S.
It is a shame that Mopar would decide to cancel their drift program right as the season was getting started; especially because the team was running 4th in the points. Sam finished second at the opener in Long Beach and only made it to the round of 16 at Road Atlanta, but for the two-time Formula D Champion with 16 career wins, bouncing back to the top would not have been difficult.
Our friends at the GT Channel had the chance to talk with the Rockstar/AEM Scion tC drift team at the Formula D opener at The Streets of Long Beach. Everyone from team owner and acclaimed drag racer Steph Papadakis to the Scion tC’s pilot Tanner Foust had a chance to get a word in and show off their all new 700 HP V8 powered drift machine.
Controversy broke out a few weeks ago when it became known that Rhys Millen’s Hyundai Genesis Coupe drift car didn’t have the manufacturer’s 3.8 Liter Lambda V6 under the hood. Instead the RMR Genesis Coupe competed in the first round of Formula D competition with a Nissan sourced VQ series V6. Now the majority of the Formula D cars in the paddock have all sorts of Frankenstein engine/chassis combinations, but because Rhys is running a factory backed program, this was a no-no.
It is easy to understand that the former World Drifting and Formula D Champion knows a thing or two about the sport, and understands the necessity for a bulletproof power train under the harsh conditions of the sport. Due to the fact that the partnership was not official until right before the season opener in Long Beach, we can forgive Rhys for trying to pull a fast one.
The guys and gals at Live Sockets Entertainment got a hold of Formula D drifter Dai Yoshihara for a behind the scenes look at round 1 competition at the Streets of Long Beach. In the video Dai talks a little bit about his new ride for ’09 the Discount Tires Lexus IS 350, powered by a V8. Check out the video after the jump as we ride along with Dai during a practice run. Notice has calm and collected he is sliding the car sideways at 80 MPH. Round 2 of the Formula Drift series will take place at the Proving Ground on May 8 and 9 at the Road Atlanta Raceway.
