Formula DRIFT pilot, Joon Maeng has just produced a video of his first test session with the Full Tilt Poker Mazda Nitto RX8. Joon warmed up quickly to the racecar and enjoyed the endless power the Mazdatrix turbo 3 rotor was able to deliver. “I was astonished with testing the Full Tilt Poker MAZDA RX-8! First time driving a vehicle with 604 WHP and 486 TORQUE! Those phenomenal Nitto NT05’s were smoking up the entire track and had plenty of traction and predictability! Bergenholtz Racing did an amazing job building this machine! I’m still trying to adapt with this powerful Mazda Trix 3 rotor Tial turbo Motec M800 setup.” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Full Tilt Poker Mazda Nitto RX8.

Overall, the test session for the Full Tilt Poker Mazda Nitto Drift Team went well and the team is currently making improvements. “We found a number of gremlins in the car that Joon managed to shake out of the Mazda. Joon did really good and despite the gremlins was able to practice and burn through 12 Nitto NT05’s. I know he’s going to get even crazier when we address and remove all the gremlins. I know it’s going to be a great Formuila Drift season!” Said Ron Bergenholtz Team Manager of the Full Tilt Poker Mazda Nitto Drift Team.

Somewhere along the way it all got twisted. Somehow, car shows devolved from gatherings of the talented and inspired into mad assemblies of competitive lust. Representing your crew and area code, working towards a magazine photo shoot and cheap sponsorships. Darkened convention center halls, fog machines and girls seeking the MTV lottery.

Remember when shows were about getting together with people from across town, county and state, and checking the local flavor? When cats took time to explain how they did a wire tuck instead of telling you to Google it? We remember those days. And we’re bringing them back. One/One isn’t reinventing the car show; it’s refining it. Come see how at the opening round of the 2010 Formula D season, April 9-10, at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

One/One will be showcasing 4 of today’s top builders from Southern California in an open forum, taking questions from the audience. No pretense. All passion. Sharing ideas, passing knowledge. The infamous PJ Bonafacio and his classic cars, Brandon from Bowls, San Diego’s own, Auto Fashion, and Judson Bryan from JDM EGO. They’ll all be displaying their latest creations and will be around to talk about their builds.

We’ll have awards. Everyone appreciates recognition for their efforts, even better if it helps offset some of the build costs. But trophies aren’t what car shows are about. Don’t think we’re just trippin’ on nostalgia. We’ve got the latest goods from the hottest hands. We’ve got DJs you HAVE heard of. We’re Bringing the Ruckus, one of the most contemporary trends out of L.A., via Japan. And the Gallery, where you can see VIP, Classic, Time Attack/Drift, and Flushed cars. 150 Spots where we’ll divide the cars up by style. If you’re a team wanting to display together, we can do that too. There will also be a Motorcycle/Ruckus category. Limited space is available for car show competitors and teams. We’ll be hand selecting “the best of the best” from each region on the Formula Drift Tour. Please tell us about your love for your car and we hope to see you at the next event. Even if you don’t make it into the show due to limited space, we’d still love to meet you and talk to you at the show. We love cars too, and we’ll be at every show, personally.

Pre-registration starts today. $35 per car which includes 2 tickets to both the show and drift event. $20 per ruckus which includes 1 ticket.

For more info visit: www.1of1show.com

March 4TH, 2010 – (KENT, WA) – After an initial appearance at the Formula D Irwindale event in October 2009, Intec Racing and Dean “Karnage” Kearney are proud to announce a partnership which will extend for the duration of the 2010 season. Fresh off his 2009 Pro Drift Super Series championship, Kearney was able to get a taste for the level of competition in Formula D, and knew it was where he wanted to be for the 2010 season. Team Owner Lawrence Ojas is proud to continue his relationship with Kearney for 2010. “When we saw Dean drive our car in the week leading up to Formula D Irwindale, we knew he had the skill level to compete with the best of the best. If it wasn’t for some untimely bugs we ran into, there’s no doubt in my mind that Dean would give the other drivers a run for their money. Now we have a chance to prove ourselves for the 2010 season” says Ojas.

Intec Racing has partnered with V-LEDS.com for the 2010 season to promote the company’s LED and HID products. “V-LEDS has a great product, and our race cars have always been a blend of function and fashion which fits perfectly with the goals of V-LEDS . We couldn’t have asked for a better sponsor” speaks Lawrence Ojas. V-LEDS will join fellow sponsors Silk Road suspension, Exedy Clutches, Seibon, S Gear, VP Racing Fuel, Carillo, Drift Monkey, Sparco, APEX-I, CP Pistons, Brian Crower, Buddy Club, Baller Bolts, Circuit Sports, Garrett Turbo, and Konig wheels among others on the 2010 Chassis that Kearney will be piloting.

Dean Kearney adds “I’m excited to continue my relationship with Lawrence and Intec Racing. We really didn’t feel that we had an opportunity to show our full potential at Irwindale, and with the help of V-LEDS, we will come out strong for the entire 2010 Formula D season.”

For 2010, Ojas and his Intec Racing team are currently overhauling the S14 chassis originally built for Japanese sensation Mitsuru Haraguchi. Many of the current team members, including crew chief Jun Kurihara, have been with the Intec Racing team since well before their 2007 win at Long Beach with Haraguchi as pilot. Ojas speaks highly of the team. “We have what it takes to win and stand on the podium in Formula D. Dean has proven himself in Ireland, and our team has proven ourselves in Formula D. This is a dream team for us.”

The Intec Racing V-LEDS S14, piloted by Dean Kearney, will begin testing later this month before making it’s promotional debut later in the month. The team and car will make their 2010 competition debut on April 9 and 10th in Long Beach, California before continuing on to Atlanta, GA, Wall, NJ, Seattle, WA, Las Vegas, NV, Sonoma, CA, and Irwindale, CA for the Formula D season.

The team is still seeking a tire sponsor for the 2010 season.

Mohan, also known for the rotary engines that he builds at Mazdatrix that power drift, race, and street cars around the country, has emerged as a leading Mazda driver in Formula Drift since he first competed in a Mazda RX-7 FC3S in 2006.

Coming off of a breakout 2008 season, where he finished a career-best fourth at the Streets of Long Beach and qualified 10th at the Red Bull Drifting World Championship, Mohan debuted a brand-new Mazda RX-8 at the beginning of the 2009 season. After a full season of development, that RX-8 has been developed extensively in the off season, and will be arriving at the Streets of Long Beach with more power, more noise – and a new tires, courtesy of Nexen Tire USA.

“This is really great news for my team, and for all of the sponsors and partners that have supported us over the past four seasons,” said Mohan. “Adding Nexen Tire as our title sponsor will help us elevate our program and give us what we need to continue to compete in Formula Drift. We have already tested their tires and were very impressed with the grip and wear that we got out of them, so I am really looking forward to getting back on track this season.”

Nexen Tire is new to Formula Drift, but has competed in Ireland’s ProDrift championship, and have become large supporters of grassroots drifting in the United States.

“We are very excited to become a part of Kyle’s Formula Drift program,” said Michael Meeiem, Motorsports Marketing Rep. for Nexen Tire USA. “We have had our eye on becoming involved in Formula Drift for a while, and as long as we’ve been talking about it we have had our eye on Kyle. His performances at the end of 2010, and the fact that he and his small team have competed in their RX-8 at such a high level led us to select KMR to be our flagship team.”

The new-look Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 will debut at round 1 at the Streets of Long Beach on April 8-9.

Formula D 2010 season is just around the corner and I have been given the opportunity to once again rejoin my fellow rotary enthusiasts. Not long ago I decided to leave my always-favored FC3S for a 240 SX to use in competition for Formula D. This was not an ordinary SR-powered S13 but one with a 1JZ transplant. The 2009 season was an exhilarating and a new experience for me but it was time to “Go Big”…

This year has already shows better promise as Rotary Works has offered to build my team, Jeff Jones Racing, a monster drift machine to compete in for the 2010 season. We have chosen the FD3S chassis to build up and make custom to our needs. It wasn’t enough to leave the factory 13BREW engine in it to build on so we opted for the maximum cool factor… a Turbo charged 20B engine that we expect will make over 500+ WHP and deliver when put to challenge. Only days into our build, Rene Franco, engineer and fabricator of Rotary Works and founder of RMS (Rene’s Motorsports), began designing a tube-chassis style front end from scratch nonetheless.

The purpose of this thread is to share my personal experience in building a car capable of competing against factory-backed cars in the world of pro drifting that is Formula D. This is all possible with the help of my sponsors which include Rotary Works, CX Racing, EBC brakes, Clutch Net, Comp Turbo, K&N, to name a few. With all that being said I have decided to share some pictures of progress and will continue to do so until Rd.1 in Long Beach where I hope to meet some of my supporters and fans.

I will be putting out a official press release soon of all my 2010 sponsors.

(It always begins with a car on a trailer making its way to a tuner garage)

Read more and see photos HERE

Long Beach, Calif. –March 3, 2010 – Formula DRIFT has announced that Tony Angelo will add to his current role and responsibility as a Formula DRIFT judge by also serving as new Technical Manager. The position focuses primarily on competition vehicle compliance and enforcement of Formula DRIFT technical regulations as stated in the Formula DRIFT rulebook.

“Creating a Series that has staff that understands drift cars, how they are built and perform is paramount to our growth and success, so having Tony Angelo on as the Technical Manager is a great step for us,” said Ryan Sage, executive vice-president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Tony has essentially committed to making this a full-time endeavor and he is ready to tackle issues and items that come up at a moment’s notice. Having personally worked with Tony at other capacities has opened my eyes to his ability to be non-bias and objective, which is absolutely necessary for us.”

The Technical Manager position entails many responsibilities with a focus on compliance and eligibility of vehicles according to the rulebook and specific items including recording and maintaining a detailed technical record of each vehicle, assigning Formula DRIFT VID numbers, consulting with Formula DRIFT administrative officials and the Formula DRIFT Chief Steward on rulebook development and modification, and administering mid-season technical inspections. Angelo has also been instrumental in helping to bring new developments to the current rulebook.

“Tony Angelo has been involved with safety and technical inspections of drift cars on many performance levels since 2003,” said Jim Liaw president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “His experience as a driver, builder, and judge makes him qualified to take over this new role. His technical knowledge of the current competition chassis and drifting rules since 2003 as well as his ability to be articulate will help level the playing field across all drive train platforms.”

Additionally, the Technical Manager will be responsible for working with teams to resolve any questions/issues regarding different builds, technical inspections, and writing any technical bulletins. Tony will still serve as one of the three main judges for the 2010 Formula DRIFT Championship season.

So here at 1K DRIFT we are going for something a little bit different in our interview type deals. Jarod requested to have a traditional interview taken and it was a good move. We all know Jarod from Formula D, Drift Alliance and just about a million other things in the drifting world are linked to him. So here it is, the FIRST exclusive 1K DRIFT interview. With Jarod DeAnda.

1K: Introduce yourself..(just let everyone know who you are in a nut shell)

I’m Jarod DeAnda the man you hear at Formula Drift events in the US of A, Singapore and Malaysia plus a couple DMCC events, soon to be XDC and even X Games Winter (snowmobiling) and Summer (Rally Car Racing) I’m even the voice of “Big J” in Need for Speed Pro Street, take a listen…

1K: When did you fall into the hands of drifting?

I’ve been banging away in the automotive industry before The Fast &The Furious came out, street racing in San Diego, that’s a thing of the past and I made my hobby of this culture into an occupation… I grew an affinity for drifting here in the states when I attended RS-R Drift festival/ Drift Showoff at Irwindale in 2003 or so before the 1st D1GP at Irwindale. I was psyched because at that time the market was stagnant and here’s something that EVERYBODY was into…

1K:How did you become such a big part of Formula D?

Ryan and Jim are old friends and when they had the foresight to start Formula Drift because there’s a NEED for professional drifting in the U.S. because there’s an amazing drivers pool of talent they asked me if I would be interested in MC’ing the events… Here we are at the start of our 7th season of Formula Drift and I couldn’t be happier and more proud of Ryan and Jim and the whole Formula Drift family, that includes sponsors, of course drivers, crews, mechanics and of course the FANS young and old, haters and congratulaters!

1K: What was it like being brought into that world?

Like I said I’ve been in this car game since I was 17 and I was off street racing (don’t try this at home!) and worked all aspects of the industry, behind the counter at a shop, on the streets, magazines, selling, marketing at the end of the day, I’m a fan of all young, new and relevant!

1K: How has drifting changed, in America per say, the last 5 years?

Drifting in America has changed obviously the caliber of vehicle, meaning not only chassis changing from Corollas and S13’s to 350Z’s, Scions and Genesis’ but technology like the bumper bash bars, suspension and powerplants…. Also the professionalism of the drivers, the crews and the presentation…

I don’t like the haters on forums and websites that just want to see some slammed cars on a sick offset wheel, of course that looks better but there’s a time and a place and these “pilots” have to make money doing what they love or they can’t do what they love for much longer as a career…
So things might change and be different but at the end of the day it’s progression it happens in all sports, motorsports and anywhere technoolgy lives and breathes

1K: How has Formula D changed since you were introduced to it up until this 2010 season?

Formula DRIFT is the BEST International Drifting sanctioning body in the world, all eyes slide onto FD….
Formula DRIFT’s office are a revolving door, Ryan and Jim listen to any and all inquiries, questions and concerns and have partnered with people and companies that progress the sport not just line pockets with money for the quick money making fad.

1K: Where do you see Formula D headed in the next few years as far as growth, and expansion, I.E. the over seas series?

Formula DRIFT is getting bigger and badder and I can tell you that seeing the progression of Formula DRIFT ASEAN aka Singaporean and Malaysian drivers, it shows you that theres a lot of talent out there and events will get better and better just as it has all over the world inside and outside of Formula Drift. I didn’t attend the Thailand FD event but I saw a lot of the drivers at Malaysia and their killing it even on the innagural year…

1K: What are your goals in part of drifting?

My goal is to do my part, like i say “Actions speak louder than words, I put an exclamation POINT on them!!!!”

1K: What will the future see of Jarod DeAnda?

More events, more blogging, more beer, more good times around the world, more living a blessed life with my family and friends!!!
Drifting, rallying, X Games but it all started thanks to Formula DRIFT and Ryan and Jim in believing in me…

1K: Where do you see drifting headed in the near years to come?

Loopty loops and jumps, just kidding!
Progression= gnarlier cars and just sicker driving…
I see the medium, meaning images, videos and public awareness getting larger and better….
We have some of the best filmers, photographers and media behind the K-Rails at our events…
Linhbergh, Will Roegge, Joshua “Hobo” Herron, Ross Fairfield, Mark/Florida Racing, Jose Martinez, Antonio, even MiGroh Michael Groh, and so many more that i cant recall right now, but there are all soo good! sorry if I forgot somebody!

1K: What are your final thoughts on drifting today, and how you feel about that?

I can’t wait for the season to begin and continue to grow and grow!!!
I love Formula Drift, getting the crowd to do waves, cheer, stomp their feet and MAKE SIGNS….
We need more signs and raging fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last words……..SEND IIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There you go. Jarod DeAnda. The man. Voice of Formula D. Breaking down barriers and building up hype and excitement everywhere he goes. Expect more from Jarod on 1K. Follow Jarod on his blog here, http://www.jaroddeanda.com/blog/. Look out for more exclusive features like this only at 1K DRIFT.

Check out the entire interview HERE

Get Ready for VegasProAm 2010 from Robert Strohmeyer on Vimeo.

You can also watch part of the episode below.

HOWELL, NJ (March 2, 2010) – Gardella Racing is excited to announce that Ryan Tuerck has re-signed with the team to drive the Pontiac Solstice in the race for the 2010 Formula Drift Championship.

Tuerck, 25, had an extremely successful 2009 campaign when he finished second overall in points. At the season ending event, FD Judgment Day, in Irwindale, CA, Tuerck raced to the win. Unfortunately, he was not able to overcome Chris Forsberg’s lead, falling just six points short of his first championship.

“I am stoked to be a part of the Gardella racing team again for the 2010 season,” said Tuerck. “I feel that Gardella racing is the most professional team in the Formula D series and we are going to have another great run at the championship.”

Tuerck began racing motocross at the age of 10. After his motocross career came to end, Tuerck began drifting his personal car by sliding sideways in empty parking lots late at night. In 2003, Tuerck learned that he could race professionally in drifting and entered his first drifting event at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. In ‘04 and ‘05 Tuerck competed part time in Formula Drift events. In ‘06 he competed at all Formula Drift events. Then in ‘08, Tuerck signed with Gardella Racing, finished sixth in the final Formula Drift standings and the successful partnership was established.

Despite the GR camp being quiet this off-season, things have been busy. As we are getting cars, drivers and equipment ready for Round 1 Long Beach, we will be making additional announcements regarding new projects and partners for 2010.

“We are looking forward to announcing our title sponsor and other partners,” stated team owner, Gary Gardella. “This is something that we have been missing out on over the past two seasons. We thank everyone for their support; 2010 should be a great year for us. We look forward seeing everyone in Long Beach.”

Gardella Racing is coming out big this season as we prepare to take the Formula Drift championship.