25 August 2010, for immediate release: Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis, 27, was awarded a Formula Drift professional driver’s license at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after being named champion of the 2010 Vegas Pro Am series on Saturday, 21 August 2010. The final Vegas Pro Am round took place on the same course utilized by the Formula Drift Pro Championship only minutes after the Pro Am finished. Bakchis was awarded the license on the Formula Drift podium after only one season of drifting competitively in amateur events.

A southern California local and seasoned rally driver, Bakchis placed first in two of the four 2010 Vegas Pro Am events and placed third on the 21 August 2010 event. Bakchis began drifting at Adam’s Motorsports Park in Riverside, California in February 2009 after purchasing a 1989 Nissan 240 SX and began competitively drifting after approximately eight months of practice. Bakchis also drove his “underpowered” Nissan to a second place finish at Round 2 of the Top Drift series at Willow Springs International Raceway and to an exciting win at the 2010 XDC Round 2 event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sponsors including 702 Graphics, Clutch Masters, Dstroyr, Godspeed Project, R Rated Motorsports, and Turboimport.com have represented Bakchis throughout the 2010 drift season. A promising driver, Bakchis intends to aggressively compete in the 2011 Formula Drift Pro Championship series.

Driver: Car #: Speed 1: Speed 2: Score:
1 S. Hubinette #77 77 80 35.7 93.5
2 K. Mohan #99 99 77.1 35.6 91.2
3 C. Grunewald #79 79 84.4 34.4 89.4
4 C. Forsberg #64 64 78.6 34.1 88.9
5 V. Gittin #25 25 78.8 33.8 88.2
6 T. McQuarrie #17 17 81.1 36.4 87.1
7 M. Takatori #5 5 80.1 32.4 86.3
8 D. Yoshihara #9 9 77 33.1 86.2
9 M. Whiddet #111 111 81.1 33.7 86
10 J. Pawlak #13 13 79.6 30.7 83.8
11 D. McNamara #8 8 79.2 35.1 82.6
12 R. Tuerck #44 44 75 35.5 81.1
13 C. Ng #84 84 73.1 34.1 80.9
14 J. Maeng #51 51 79.6 35 79.8
15 R. Miki #26 26 80.3 40.9 79
16 T. Foust #34 34 81.9 28.9 77.4
17 E. O’Sullivan #35 35 80.4 34.3 75.9
18 A. Pfeiffer #88 88 74 33 75.6
19 J. Jones #29 29 73.3 36.4 74.5
20 F. Aasbo #151 151 74.8 32.2 73.2
21 R. Petty #808 808 70.6 32 72.7
22 M. Field #777 777 76.5 31.8 72.2
23 M. Powers #665 665 78.6 34.4 71.6
24 J. Deane #16 16 77.9 37.1 71.3
25 T. Aono #86 86 78.1 30.8 69.7
26 T. Brakohiapa #18 18 71.5 31.9 68.6
27 M. Essa #101 101 78.8 27 68.3
28 B. Wilkerson #55 55 78.3 33.1 67.3
29 R. Millen #6 6 68.4 36.2 67.1
30 P. Mordaunt #90 90 69.9 36.2 65
31 N. Konstantinov #403 403 72.8 33 63.7
32 J. Abbott #518 518 74.9 30.1 59.6

2-time Formula DRIFT champion Samuel Hubinette will be live on-air on Las Vegas’ FOX5 morning news during the 9 AM segment. Be sure to tune in if you’re in the area. Sam will be talking about the upcoming Round 5: After Dark event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tickets are still available online for the event.

Formula DRIFT and Retaks have announced the “Insane Entry” award for Round 5: After Dark this weekend. Fans are invited to participate and decide which driver has the most “Insane Entry” at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Here’s how it works:

Any Formula DRIFT fan watching live at the event or online on the DriftStream will be able to vote on the driver that you feel has the “most insane” entry during the 2 rounds of Qualifying by texting the word “RETAKS” with the Car Number or driver’s last name for the Formula DRIFT driver you think has the “most insane” entry. No fee, but standard text rates may apply

For example if you think that champion Chris Forsberg has the most insane entry then you would text “Retaks 64″ (space between is required the text “Retaks” and the car #) or text “Retaks Forsberg” (space between is required the text “Retaks” and the car driver name) Retaks is NOT case sensitive.

Voting to start officially after qualifying is complete and remain open for 30 minutes. Check schedule of events on the Round 5: After Dark Event Page. Schedule subject to change without notice.

Only 1 vote per person. You will receive an auto response confirming your vote. Only the first vote from the cell phone will generate an auto response.

The winning driver will receive $150 + Retaks backpack + Retaks t-shirt