Posts Tagged ‘Matt Powers’

Drift

2013 Formula Drift Awards

Posted by: Patrick Walker on

So last night Formula D held it’s annual end of the season banquet and handed out it’s awards. This year, as we all know, was special as it was Formula D’s 10th anniversary and therefor it had some special awards as well.

The normal awards for the season and who took them home are…
• Ace of the Year – Chris Forsberg
• Top Gun of the Year – Daigo Saito
• Top Qualifier of the Year – Vaughn Gittin Jr
• Most Improved Driver – Darren McNamara
• Comeback of the Year – Michael Essa
• Hardest Charging – Robbie Nishida
• Manager of the Year – Michael Essa
• Best Drifting Style – Daigo Saito
• Best Personal Style – Matt Powers
• Spirit of Drifting – Robbie Nishida
• Fan Favorite Driver of the Year – Fredric Aasbo
• Fan Favorite Car of the Year – Danny George
• Crew Member of the Year – Shawn Hilliar & Aldo Villagran of Papadakis Racing

Now to mark the 10 year anniversary of Formula D a handful of ‘Decade’ awards were handed out, and here is what they are and who took them home…
• Ace of the Decade – Vaughn Gittin Jr
• Top Gun of the Decade – Daigo Saito
• Best Qualifying Average of the Decade – Tanner Foust
• Most Event Wins of the Decade – Samuel Hubinette

Drift

Formula D Round 6 at Texas Motor Speedway Video Round-Up

Posted by: Patrick Walker on

So today is the pre-big day… yea, not sure where I was headed with that, but today is Qualifying for Formula D Round 6 in Texas at Texas Motor Speedway. New location, new track, new layout, new fun, new videos!
Drivers are reporting entry speeds in the high 90s to the low 100s. Early in the day the highest entry was 101mph by Robbie Nishida in his Achilles Radial 2jz powered Lexus SC300, and by last night we saw posts on Facebook saying that D-MAC, Darren McNamara, had an entry of 104mph in his Falken Tire v8 powered Nissan S14.
Another big thing that is causing a lot of commotion is the insane temperatures on the track. Outside temperatures were in the high 90s to low 100s. One driver, Mats Baribeau, reported that outside temp was 39c(102.2f), pavement temp was 58c(136.4f), and the floor temp under the pedals in his Gold In The Net Drift JZX90 was 80c(176f)! I can’t imagine how these drivers are feeling after a single day of practice at the track, let alone how they will be come Sunday when all is said in done. Some drivers were even posting pictures of there NOS tanks on ice in prep for tomorrow.
Anyway without further a due, here are some of the videos posted yesterday and circling the interwebs.
Chris Forsberg testing the track for Formula D Officials (video via facebook.com/ChrisForsbergRacing)


Matt Field giving us some of his opinion on the track (video via YouTube.com/OMGDriftDotCom)

Frederic Aasbo laying some tire to the new track(video via facebook.com/faasbo)

More random assorted videos featuring Vaughn Gittin Jr, Matt Field, Tyler McQuarrie, Justin ‘JTP’ Pawlak, Matt Powers, Tony Angelo, Forrest Wang, Dai Yoshihara, and Corey Hosford. (videos via respective Instagrams & Facebook)

Drift

The Nitto Tire Drivers teach us why grip is so important in drifting

Posted by: Leah Abusiewiez on

Nitto and YAER productions speak with the Nitto Tire sponsored FD drivers to give us some insight on why grip and tires are so important in drifting.

Drift

Matt Powers Announces New Engine and Partner For 2013

Posted by: Patrick Walker on

Moments ago Matt Powers announced that he will be running a new engine provided by his new sponsor Katech Performance. He will be running Katech’s Time Attack 463 7.6L v8 that produces over 700hp (specs below).
20130208-123613.jpg
Bore: 4.165”
Stroke: 4.250”
Displacement: 463ci/7.6L
Horsepower: 700
Torque: 650
Redline: 7000RPM
CR: 13.0:1
Block: RHS aluminum, billet main caps, ARP studs, piston squirters
Crankshaft: 4340 forged steel with ATI damper
Connecting rods: Forged H-beam steel
Pistons: 2618 forged aluminum, hardcoat anodized, skirt coating, gas porting and DLC-coated pins
Camshaft: Katech Track Attack 472 spec
Cylinder heads: CNC-ported LS7 with bronze valve guides, ARP studs
Valves: Katech titanium/molybdenum intake, hollow sodium-filled exhaust
Induction: FAST LSXR 102mm
Oiling system: ARE or Dailey 5 stage

Drift

Matt Powers Ditching LS7 for 2013 Season

Posted by: Patrick Walker on

Matt Powers just posted a photo on Facebook of a naked engine bay in his S14 saying “This thing ripped and served me well, but was starting to get in the way of victory!”
MattPowersNakedS14
He continued in the comments by confirming he is keeping the chassis and ditching the engine. So what next? SR20DET? Or are they going to go extreme like the BenSopra 380SX that was just shown at TAS? VQ38 S14 drifting would be an interesting thing to see. Looks like we all will have to wait and find out.

Update 1-18-2013 – Later in the night Matt posted in the comments that he is going to just put in another LS but “a more built one” so it looks like any interesting combos is out of the idea for his s14.