Round 1: Long Beach, CA
With the 2009 season underway, Formula D Diaries is back. The roster has changed a bit from last year and now we have six drifters, all rocking imports, telling in their words what really went down during Formula D weekend. Every breakage, mishap, accident, beef, and all the toils of competing on the pro circuit are fully divulged. And with the top four from last season--Tanner Foust, Sam Hubinette, Rhys Millen and Dai Yoshihara (in respective order)--all in new rides this year, it's going to be an extra tumultuous one.
New for Diaries this time around, is a guest seventh spot. With the cast of six firmly cemented, the revolving spot is open for a variety of contributors to share their experience of going through the Formula D circuit. And to start off Chapter 1, we have senior judge Andy Yen to go over the new judging format.
Andy Yen
Don't judge a judge by his cover. The senior-ranking judge of FD, Andy Yen isn't just an armchair drifter perched on some ivory judging tower--he's a drifter at heart. Andy actually competed in the first two years of FD and even won Options' first drift event in the States, placed second at the RS-R drift festival, and was one of the first U.S. drifters to break into the JDM drift bible, Drift Tengoku.
I'm usually a little apprehensive before the season, but this year was especially worse. First off, there's a new judging system for single qualifying runs. In the past, each judge determined a driver's individual score, which was then averaged with the other two judges' scores. But there have been complaints whether one judge can focus on four categories (speed, angle, line, and overall excitement). So with 2009, a new system was formed where each judge focuses on one criteria.
"But hey, there are four criteria and three judges?" you ask. Here's the breakdown: there is a speed judge, angle judge, and a line judge. Overall excitement has been changed to "style" points, which are divided up evenly between the three judges. The speed judge can give up to 20 points for speed, and another 10 points for style. The angle judge is allowed up to 25 points for angle and 10 points for style. Lastly, the line judge is allowed a max of 25 points for line score and 10 for style. If you add them all up, this gives a maximum of 100 points. As for why speed is only allotted 20 points (compared to 25 for angle and line), it's more important to hold your angle and line rather than go for a high-speed pass with low angle and shallow line.
That's the rundown of the new Qualifying system. At first, I didn't like it, but after judging speed in Round 1, it makes sense and is a lot faster to combine all of the scores.
The second cause for concern was the new judge on deck: Tony Angelo. The only thing going through my mind in big, bold letters was "DA". As in, Drift Alliance. I thought he would favor his DA brothers, go wild on the judges' stand, and run naked after the event. I was wrong, again. Not only did Tony--and judge Ernie Fixmer for that matter--put in his own time to help with Tech, he kept his head on straight, treating all of the drivers with quality. Wow. Most impressively, he got along with the FD staff and when he spoke over the mic explaining a call, the crowd seemed to appreciate it. All the causes for concern in 2009 just bit me in the ass and proved otherwise.
So with all of my negative thoughts out of the way, all that was left was the new Top 32 tandem format. It was used for the Red Bull event last year, and the results were great. Instead of the Top 16 only getting camera time and action, now you have 32 drivers battling it out. As for tandem judging, the format is idiot proof. There are no points, advantages or disadvantages. Just good old fashion "majority wins." After the drivers make their run, each of the three judges have only three options to choose from: Driver A, Driver B or OMT (One More Time). So if the board reads Driver A, Driver A, Driver B, that means Driver A moves on. In the case of Driver A, Driver B, OMT, that means the results were inconclusive, leading to an OMT.
With Fridays set for solo qualifying runs, Saturdays are dedicated for Top 32 tandem. The drivers are now more focused on tandem, and that's how it should be. Eighty percent of the drivers can lay down a simple qualifying run, but they need to do it in tandem. With the 32 format, for a driver to move on, they will have to be ready for anything. Under the old rules, if you could win three tandem battles in a row, you're already in Fourth. But now, you have to push extra hard to get to the Top 4. And a lot of the top drivers are a little timid when it comes to a new face in the series and will hold back, not following too close to the new guys--playing it safe, as I would call it. But in all respect, if that new driver chases down one of the top drivers with everything he or she's got, the top drivers should give the same effort and respect when they are following.
Ending the day with no driver or team manager yelling or bitching at me about something was a great way to start the season. Now, let's see how much we can push the drivers to get closer during tandem battles! Next stop: The Waffle House in the ATL!