Spring time announces the end of winter and the start of motorsports nationwide. The city of Long Beach welcomes the beginning of Spring by blocking off streets, setting up K-rails and installing bleachers. Originally a Long Beach Grand Prix exclusive venue, the streets of Long Beach have become synonymous with the tire-smoking action of Formula Drift.

Tire Melting Heat

Saturday, April 12, 2008 was the season opener for Formula D. This event drew a capacity crowd packed into the stands around turns 9, 10 and 11 of the Grand Prix track. Near-record heat boiled the mercury to 95-degrees as spectators packed the stands. Anxious to see some of the best drifting in the world, motorsports fans packed the stands and the pits. With Formula D in its third year at Long Beach, the drivers really showcased their skill as they navigated the unforgiving and technical course with few crashes.

New Faces, Rising Stars

One of the biggest debuts at the 2008 opener was the Scion tC drift car piloted by drift-prodigy Ken Gushi. This tC was converted to rear-wheel drive and received a 400+ horsepower 3S-GTE Beams engine from the Japanese-spec Toyota Altezza. Gushi managed a 10th place seed at the start of the tandem duels. Peak Performance showcased its new Hankook Tires-sponsored turbocharged 350Z with Robbie Nishida at the helm. Super Autobacs campaigned its new Skyline R34 drift car with Michihiro Takatori at the wheel for the season opener. Takatori managed the 12th seed in the top 16. Relative newcomer Darren McNamara debuted his brand-new right-hand drive 710-horsepower Saturn Sky at the event as well. He scored well during eliminations and started the top-16 segment in the runner-up spot behind Hubinette.

Top 16 Upsets

Contenders battled throughout the day as the field narrowed. The drivers managed to stay off of the k-rails despite running tremendous speeds through the technical portion of the course. There were a few upsets in the top 16 that opened the door. Number-two seed McNamara fell to the 15th-seed Mohan. Mohan drove the Retaks FC RX-7 to 4th place for the event. Another upset came when 6th spot Vaughn Gittin Jr. lost to Kazu Hayashida, who was in the 11th spot going into the top 16. Hayashida would later succumb to Forsberg in the second round of eliminations. Ryan Tuerck campaigned the Pontiac Solstice of Gardella Racing in its debut event. Tuerck bested Justin Pawlak in the first round, but lost to Hubinette in round two of eliminations.

Champions Return To Finish On Top

The top qualifier of the day was the two-time Formula D champion, Samuel Hubinette. The "Crazy Swede" returned with the Dodge Viper in top form as he waits for his new Challenger drift car to be finished. He faced the 2007 Triple-Crown champion Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink-sponsored 350Z convertible. The scores from the first two battles were so close that neither driver could be awarded the win. After several more tandem battles, Forsberg was crowned the winner. The 2007 champion Tanner Foust lost to Hubinette in the semi finals, but defeated Kyle Mohan in the consolation battle to land him a third place spot on the podium. Mohan managed to finish in fourth place despite transmission ailments that severely hindered his performance.

On To The ATL

As Formula D and its teams pack up and move to the ATL, many anticipate a spectacular event. The weekend of May 9-10, 2008 will pack the track at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia with top drifters from across the nation. Stay tuned.