Formula Drift Round 2 Results 2013
Round two of the Formula Drift championship was slippery and wet. The mainly Rain soaked track for the top 16 provided some unpredictable conditions. There was little showers, heavy showers and no rain causing ever changing grip levels on track.
Suprisinly Daijiro Yoshihara, who usually dominates at Road Atlanta did not make it in to the top 16 this year, which was a great pity,! Could it be the fault of the new wing/spoiler added to the back of Dai`s car??
The Main competition started at 8pm in the evening, giving drift fans a unique view of the action, these great drifters still managing to get the tyres smoking up in the damp/wet conditions!.
Overview of Road Atlanta
The rain slicked track proved to be a challenge as the event entered into the Top 16 portion of the competition. Heading into the competition, Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan 240SX held the points lead, but surprisingly failed to make it into the Top 16, opening the opportunity for other drivers in the point standings. Michael Essa in the GSR Autosport / Yokohama Tire BMW M3 faced Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR in the consolation round. Gittin won third place and takes the lead in the 2013 Pro Championship point standings. The final round pitted Darren McNamara in the Falken Tire Nissan 240SX against returning champion Daigo Saito. McNamara on the first run misjudged the speed of Saito and ran into his car causing damage and giving up the advantage, which his team was not able to overcome. Saito earned his first victory of the season and moves into second place overall.
“This almost feels like revenge from Long Beach since I was only able to make it into the Top 16 at Round 1,” said Daigo Saito, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “The track conditions were horrible and it could have been anyone that won, but I am happy that I was able to pull off the victory. Thanks to the team and Achilles for helping make this all possible.”
A pity Vaughn Gittin (JR) was whinging about a small strip of tape flapping from Daigo Saito`s car that distracted him in there battle! JR you getting a bit of a rep for blaming others, get over it and stop making excuses. You can check here for a full report on Round 2 Road to Atlanta…..