Check out these 2 videos that give great insight on two of the top Formula DRIFT drivers with veteran drifter Daijiro Yoshihara stepping into his 5th drift car and back into the driver’s season of a Nissan S13, after his crash of the Lexus at the last event and Round 6: Locked and Loaded winner Stephan Verdier on his first ever drifting victory.

For Immediate Release

August 22, 2009

Formula DRIFT Round 6: Locked and Loaded Results;
Stephan Verdier Takes His First Victory and the Championship Comes Down to the Finals

Long Beach, Calif. – August 22, 2009 – Formula DRIFT returned to Infineon Raceway for Round 6: Locked and Loaded joining the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. Stephan Verdier in the Cooper Tires / Crawford Performance Subaru STI takes his first victory in Formula DRIFT competition.

“This is a dream come true,” said Stephan Verdier, winner of Round 6: Locked and Loaded. “My first victory after 3 years of competition and it is also the first victory for a Subaru and for Cooper Tires. Today I’m number 1 and it’s a great feeling.”

Round 6: Locked and Loaded was the first event in Formula DRIFT history to share the same weekend with IndyCar for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Fans were treated to both drifting and open wheel racing action for an exciting combination of motorsports that kept everyone entertained.

Current Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust in the Rockstar Energy Drink / Hankook Scion Racing TC battled against Hankook teammate Ryuji Miki in the APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 for third place and after 2 hard fought One More Time battles Miki finds the podium once again. The final round had Ken Gushi in the RS*R / Scion Racing TC and Stephan Verdier battle for the top spot. On the first run of the final battle, Ken Gushi ended his run with a blown motor forcing him to take a bow and give Verdier the victory.

“This event proved that drifting can co-exist with other motorsports and provide quality entertainment for all fans and we are very proud to be a part of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With only 1 event remaining in the season it will come down to the wire and we will be crowning a new champion.”

Formula DRIFT returns to the “House of Drift” at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on October 15-16 for Round 7: Judgment Day for the season finale. Reserved tickets are available now via the Formula DRIFT website at: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 470 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice 414 Points
3. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 401.50 Points
4. Hubinette, Samuel NuFormz Dodge Viper 399.25 Points
5. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 396 Points
6. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 373 Points
7. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 370.50 Points
8. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 364 Points
9. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 362.25 Points
10. Pawlak, Justin Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 354 Points
11. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 341.75 Points
12. Gushi, Ken RS*R Scion Racing TC 333.50 Points
13. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 331 Points
14. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 329 Points
15. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 321.25 Points
16. Mordaunt, Patrick PM Racing Nissan S13 317.25 Points

Round 6: Locked and Loaded Event Results
1. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI Winner
2. Gushi, Ken RS*R Scion Racing TC 2nd Place
3. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 3rd Place

Tires.com Triple Crown Bonus Point Standings after 2 of 3 events
1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 205 Points
2. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 150 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 149 Points

Here are some shots from today’s Round 6: Locked and Loaded championship at Infineon Raceway.

packed crowd in Sonoma

NOS Energy Drink drivers from IndyCar Dan Wheldon and Formula DRIFT Chris Forsberg

Miss FD and MYX host

Opening Ceremonies

More photos after the jump
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Here are the results from today’s qualifying:

Congratulations to Katsuhiro Ueo for Qualifying #1

Driver: Car #: Score:
1 K. Ueo 15 80.8
2 R. Miki 36 77.3
3 C. Forsberg 64 73.7
4 R. Millen 6 72.2
5 A. Pfeiffer 88 71.3
6 V. Gittin 25 71.1
7 R. Tuerck 44 70.8
8 K. Gushi 5 69.9
9 D. Yoshihara 9 69.1
10 B. Sherman 22 68.2
11 J. Pawlak 13 66.9
12 M. Powers 11 65.7
13 T. McQuarrie 17 65.4
14 S. Verdier 12 64.1
15 T. Brakohiapa 18 63.7
16 P. Mordaunt 90 63.7
17 D. McNamara 8 62.8
18 K. Mohan 99 61.8
19 K. Hayashida 33 61.5
20 K. Yamanaka 7 60.6
21 T. Foust 1 59.5
22 M. Essa 101 58.7
23 Y. Kondo 52 55
24 E. O’Sullivan 35 54
25 R. Nishida 31 53
26 S. Hubinette 77 51.9
27 R. Petty 808 51.9
28 C. Parkhouse 562 51.9
29 R. Ewerth 27 48.4
30 C. Wan 3 42.4
31 T. Aono 86 42
32 J. Jones 29 40.9

The Results can be found by clicking this link for the: Top 32 Competition Bracket

For Immediate Release

June 25, 2009

Formula DRIFT Announces Schedule Change for 2009 Season;
Round 6: Locked and Loaded to be Added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 21-22, 2009

Long Beach, Calif. – June 25, 2009 – Formula DRIFT has announced a schedule change for the 2009 season. Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway will be re-scheduled from September 12 to August 21-22. Formula DRIFT has been added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma race weekend.

“Formula DRIFT continues to bring drifting to the big leagues with the addition of our event to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Motorsports fans will be able to experience the 110+ mph average speeds of open wheel racing and all the sideways action of Formula DRIFT in one weekend.”

Formula DRIFT drivers will be amongst the biggest stars in IndyCar racing, including Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, and more. Fans will be treated to both drifting and IndyCar Series racing during the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. Tickets may be purchased on the Formula DRIFT website, 2-day Friday/Saturday pass will run $35. Special ticket discounts will be available through various Formula DRIFT media and promotional partners.

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be held on the weekend of Aug. 21-22 at Infineon Raceway. The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Round 6: Locked and Loaded is scheduled for August 21 and 22. The change in the schedule will open up a longer break heading into the Finals in Irwindale on October 16-17 leaving time for teams to prepare and for Formula DRIFT to organize promotional activities leading into the Finals.

The remaining 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Schedule (as of June 25, 2009)

Round 4: All In – Las Vegas Motor Speedway – July 10-11
Round 5: Breaking Point – Evergreen Speedway – August 7-8
Round 6: Locked and Loaded – Infineon Raceway – August 21-22
Round 7: Judgment Day – Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – October 16-17