Formula Drift Recap: ROUND 1, STREETS OF LONG BEACH

PHOTOS BY: Tony Solorzano, Solo Sports Communications.

So Saturday, I headed to Long Beach for the traditional start to the Drifting season as the Formula Drift series opened their sixth season with what is now the traditional opening round at the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit. This year, the opening round saw 47 drivers come out Friday to compete for the 32 slots that compromised the new "bracket" format for the series.

Round of 32: Friday’s qualifying for the opening round of the 2009 Formula Drift season set up the top 32 bracket for Saturday Morning’s action. In what can only be described as a morning of upsets, reigning Red Bull Drifting World Champion Rhys Millen was knocked out of contention in the first round by his own driver, Stephan Verdier, who moved on in a shocking upset. This was the first time Millen had been bested by a member of his racing team, in last November’s inaugural Red Bull World Championship, Millen overcame a spirited challenge by his former driver Daijiro Yoshihara, who moved on this year to the Falken Tire Team.

Aside from Verider’s upset, a number of so-called “young guns” made their presence known as they advanced to the Sweet 16. Tony Brakohiapa, Ryan Tuerck, Japanese Drift veteran Yasu Kondo, former DI series veteran Katsuhiro Ueo and Jeff Jones were amongst the names that advanced to the round of 16 alongside the veterans of the series, two-time champions Samuel Hubinette and Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Irish Drifting champion Darren McNamara.

VIDEO COURTESY KNBC LA

Round of 16: In the Sweet 16, Verdier again knocked off another veteran, this time top qualifier Chris Forsberg, needing two succeeding runs after keeping pace with Forsberg’s NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z Roadster. Veteran Robbie Nishida easily took care of Quoc Ly after Ly’s Drift Speed Nissan S14 coupe lost part of his front bumper. Both Gittin and Hubinette advanced to the next round, setting another showdown between the long-time rival drivers. Gitten advanced over Kondo when Kondo’s engine blew on the start of their second run. Hubinette needed a second series against Justin Pawlak to advance, earning his 31^st career win in the round of 16 .

Brakohiapa advanced over McNamara while Tuerck, in a major upset, advanced past Conrad Grunewald in a tight contest that needed to go to a third series of runs to decide the winner. Foust and Taka Aono rounded out the final eight, Foust knocking off Ueo and Taka taking down the rookie driver Jones.

Sam Hubinette waves to the Crowd during the Round of 16. Photo by Tony Solorzano

Round of 8: In the Quarterfinals, Verdier’s Cinderella run finally ended at the hands of Robbie Nishida, who advanced to the final four to meet Hubinette. Hubinette’s match-up with Gittin proved to be as exciting as expected from the two American muscle car pilots. Hubinette advanced after a "One More Time" run settled the tie after the first series. Hubinette would face off against Nishida in the final four for a shot at the Championship finals.

On the other side of the bracket, a battle of rookie drivers set up one of the biggest runs of the day as Tuerck continued his stellar run with a knockout of Brakohiapa to advance to the next round. His opponent would be Foust, who advanced after one run when Taka Aono's engine flamed out and caused him to crash.

Cars lined up for the next round of battles along turn 10.

Final 4: The semi-final rounds produced one surprise after another. In the first semi-final, Sam Hubinette and Robbie Nishida faced off in a battle of wily veterans. Nishida kept his Nissan S14 tight on the first run but on the second run, he lost control and spun out on the hairpin turn of the circuit, giving Hubinette and his Dodge Viper the victory and the first slot in the championship final. Nishida would end up battling for third place against Tanner Foust.

In the second semi, Ryan Tuerck continued his Cinderella run by knocking off the reigning champion Foust. Already Foust and his Scion tC had endured 12 tandem runs throughout the day starting in the round of 32, but the two would have to go through three more as the rookie nicknamed "Hampshaa" kept the pressure up before finally besting the 2008 champion, sending Foust to the third place final against Robbie Nishida while facing off against the other two-time champion, Hubinette.

Third Place Final: Robbie Nishida and Tanner Foust squared off for the last spot on the podium and neither driver left anything behind at the end of their match. Like the previous round, Tanner Foust and his Scion pushed their limits in needing two extra tandem runs to finally claim the podium. Nishida kept the pressure up on Foust and in fact, at one point, Faust nearly crashed his Scionin the last run, losing the front bumper off his car at the end of the run.However, the judges awarded him the win for making the bold move inside that they were looking for.

Tanner Foust Celebrates his third place finish on the podium.

Championship Final: It was the veteran against the rookie, Master vs. padawan, whatever cliche you want to choose. Sam Hubinette and his now-legendary Dodge Viper, which was supposed to have been retired for the new Dodge Challenger this season. However, he used his ol' reliable Viper to run through the field and reach the finals. His opponent, Ryan Tuerck, was the greenest of rookies, spending the last year getting his Pontiac Solstice GXP ready for this season. And the wins under his belt showed his potential.

In their face off, Tuerck matched everything Hubinette threw at him, bringing the standing-room-only crowd to its feet on every pass and turn. Despite Hubinette's every effort, the day belonged to the rookie as Tuerck earned his first career victory in the series, and taking the first lead of the seven-round season. The series heads for Braselton, Georgia for round 2, Proving Ground, to be held at Road Atlanta next month, May 8 and 9.

Here's the video for the podium ceremony. I'll post the post-Race Interviews in the next post.