Another new season began last weekend. The premier drift series in the USA, Formula Drift, kicked off in Long Beach. With rule changes, lots of new drivers, drama in the lead-up, and weather conditions – it was a pretty spectacular event. There were at least 4 Samsonas-powered cars on the grid at Long Beach – Ken Gushi with Toyota GR86, Forrest Wang with Nissan Silvia S15, Dan Burkett with Toyota Supra and Dean Kearney with Dodge Viper.
Ken Gushi, Forrest Wang and Dean Kearney automatically moved into the Top32 battle, which took place on Sunday, but Dan Burkett had to fight his way in Saturday’s seeding bracket tandem runs. The American with the Samsonas-powered Toyota Supra advanced to the semifinals of the seeding bracket, securing his spot in Sunday’s Top32 main event.
The main Top32 battles took place on Sunday. The aforementioned Dan Burkett had the misfortune of catching multiple Formula D champion Fredric Aasbø in the Top32 heat, while Dean Kearney in his Dodge Viper had to acknowledge Robert Thorne’s advantage. There was another unfortunate Top 32 duel between Ken Gushi and Forrest Wang, who both use Samsonas gearboxes. The Japanese driver with the Toyota GR86 showed some skill and drove through the Top16 into the Top8 and met Simen Olsen in the semi-final. On a very wet track, the Norwegian won the slow-motion duel between two masters of the wet track, where he met James Deane in the final.
The second round of Formula Drift in Atlanta, USA on May 9-11.
Was so busy this weekend I barely had any phone time. But we finished P4 at Long Beach @formulad ! Had some lucky calls go our way but really wanted to prove something once the rain came. First round with the @greddyperformance 3.2l 2JZ and the new @kendamotorsports Vezda UHP Max tires. Conditions were always inconsistent on track which made it challenging to find the best setup. I wasn’t really happy with my driving but the new engine package and tire setup proved to work really well in the wet. We have quite a bit of work to do before Atlanta but I believe we’re on the right track. I had so much fan and family support at Long beach! So thank you to everyone who cheered us on! ❤️
Ken Gushi
It feels great to be back at it and see everyone we missed last year, I’m super glad we made our return to Formula Drift this season. We pushed hard on our Friday evening battles and then we put it all on the line behind Fredric today in our top 32 battle. It was going great until I got into the super slippery section right on the wall in outer zone 3 and the car started to over rotate and I had to shut it down. We have 7 more rounds to make up points. The car is ready, and the team and I are ready for more.
Dan Burkett