With Formula D kicking off their seventh season, Formula D Diaries is back for its third, where instead of reading about each round of competition from a third-hand perspective, we have the drifters tell you, in their words, what went down over the race weekend. Every metal-crunching crash, heart-breaking mechanical woe, and door-skimming tandem battle is described, first hand, as if you were there . . . with the mind-reading mutant powers of Professor X. Geeky comic book references aside, there have been some slight changes to our format.
This time around, instead of following a cast of characters throughout the season, we have the winning driver of each round recant his fight to the top of the podium. Offering a differing perspective will be a second guest scribe from the FD series talking about his experience. For Chapter 1, the hard-charging Vaughn Gittin, Jr., in his newly sponsored Falken Tire/Monster Energy Drink Mustang writes about his crazy week in L.A., and Dai Yoshihara spills the beans about his completely redone Falken Tire/Discount Tire S13.
Vaughn Gittin Jr
If we had to pick one drifter to best represent the U.S., it would have to be Vaughn Gittin, Jr. Big and burly, loud and proud, quick to wear his emotions on his sleeves, speaking with a slight Southern twang, and rocking a Ford Mustang, he's as red-blooded American as apple pie, baseball, or Waffle House. When homeboy farts, he stands legs apart, knees bent, head up in a grimace, fists pumping, while the air resonates the Star-Spangled Banner.
The 2010 Formula Drift season started off like a dream for me. It all still seems surreal, and I cannot express how good it feels after an insane off-season for everything to come together like it has.
The Wednesday before Round One, we had a huge party at Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory to officially announce Monster Energy as a new partner to our program and to reveal my new 2011 competition Mustang. The turnout was insane; over 600 people showed up!
Being part of the Monster team was something I wanted for a while. I have always respected their athletes and how they promote and treat them. The Monster Energy guys have proved to be a passionate crew, and everyone I work with is just as excited as I am to have them on board.
Going out to the track on Friday, I could not wait to get into the Mustang and tear up the streets of Long Beach. Autosport Dynamics did an amazing job with the build of the Monster Energy/Falken Tire '11 Ford Mustang. Hands down, this is the best drift car I have ever driven!
During practice, we focused on getting the car dialed in for the Long Beach course and I was able to find a drift line that put me right up against the walls. With the new Falken RT-615Ks, we actually had to loosen the car up because it had so much bite. Going into qualifying with 60-plus cars, I ran the same line that I had practiced all day and was able to put down a score of 84.7 on my second run, putting me in Third.
Saturday was a sold-out event and you could tell by the amount of spectators who filled the stands and walked the pits. There was huge fan and media interest about the Mustang and the new sponsorship. Dean, my mechanic, calls me "TV Gittin" and busts my chops about whether I'm going to have time to drive at FD events.