NAVIGATION
Posts Tagged ‘Vaughn Gittin’
Formula Drift Atlanta Controversy
So I was able to make it up to Atlanta this weekend for Round 2 of Formula D, and I have hundreds of photos to sift through and started writing the recap but after working on the site latency and the 12 hour drive back yesterday I’m still a little winded. So that will wait, in the meantime I will say that I feel that I was extremely lucky to be there for 2 really controversial events that I feel will not be forgotten anytime soon.
First was the race between Danny George and Ryan Tuerck, both drivers I am really fond of and was rooting for, I went into this match thinking that the new 2JZ FR-S was going to just be a monster and pull but it didn’t and Danny did an amazing job on his lead run. The trouble started right off the bat on Tuerck’s lead run where Ryan claimed that Danny hit in and caused the spin and the judges (after a long review) awarded Tuerck the win. It seems now that more video is being released, this one by LORENinHD, that seems to show a different angle.
The other monsterous(you’ll get it in a second) event was when Vaughn Gittin JR seemed to forget he was following another car and powered over the front of Fredric Aasbo’s tC. When it first happened my jaw dropped but then to see both drivers continue the run was amazing, not a single person was sitting. They ended up going OMT for an unknown reason and giving Gittin the win, but it was an amazing match.
Neither of the results from these matches were favored by the crowd and it was loud and clear to everyone there, I have never heard a FD crowd boo as loud as when Tuerck was announced the winner or when Gittin moved on. So check back tomorrow for a full recap but there are two of the most talked about events as of right now. The other things that I’ll go into more detail in the recap was the amazing run Forrest Wang dropped vs Daigo Saito as well as the qualifying results disaster than left a lot of people confused going into Top32.
Vaughn Gittin Reveals Awesome 2013 Livery, Spes & Schedule!
We weren’t really sure what JR was going to do to top his last year look as it was a huge fan favorite, but it looks like he did it. Keeping with the matte feel and his colors but scrapping the Falken scallops for the first time in… forever? Anyway check it out in the video below…
Our only question is, will the rims glow in vegas or was that just the black light?
He also released a huge schedule that includes demos and ride alongs at numerous military bases. Was this one of the things he wanted to expand into that Falken wasn’t in favor of?
Monster Energy Nitto Tire 2014 Ford Mustang RTR Specs
- Roush Yates Racing Engines/Ford Racing Aluminum V8 (845HP)
- Weight – 2900 LBS
- 4 Speed Dog Box Transmission
- MoTeC M84 Engine Management and Dash Display/Logger (CDL-3)
- Nitto NT05 Tires (295/35/18 Rear, 275/35/18 Front)
- Mustang RTR Wheels (18×10 rear, 18×9.5 front)
- Recaro Racing Seats
- Takata 6 Point Harness
- Carbon Fiber Body with RTR Appearance Package
- Custom Exedy 4 Disc Clutch
- Quick Change Differential
- Driveshaft Shop Custom Aluminum Driveshaft
- 6 Piston Front Calipers and Dual 4 Piston Rear Calipers with ASD Motorsports Rotors Hats and E-Brake Assembly
- Magnaflow 5” Racing Muffler
- Bosch Fuel Injectors, Spark Plugs, Alternator, O2 Sensors, Fuel Pump
- K&N Air and Oil Filters
Stale, But Still Kicking. Shift-Therapy’s Alive & Has a Look At Our Upcoming Driver Profiles!
I know the site hasn’t been posting much in the last couple weeks, but to be honest anyone who follows drift news knows that this is a sort of tight lipped time when people are holding onto big sponsor news and car releases until the technical inspection and the opportunity for big press. Also in my defense this is at the moment mostly a one man show and I do have a full time job, go to school part time and do some free lance graphic design work here and there. Either way, no excuse, the site is still here and kicking and I haven’t forgotten about you. To wet your appetite here is something that I am working on and hope to bring to you in the upcoming weeks. Here is a preview of the Shift-Therapy.com Formula D drivers profiles.
Now the information in this preview isn’t verified vs the data i’ve been collecting for this project, but again it’s just to wet your appetite. I am planning for the initial batch to be the Drift Alliance brothers (Tony Angelo, Chris Forsberg, Vaughn Gittin Jr, Justin Pawlak and Ryan Tuerck).
I have been collecting driver statistics for all drivers qualifying events back as far as 2007 and podiums as early as 2005 in addition to working some math some places to figure out average qualifying score, how many events they have qualified for since the rookie year and even what track they have performed best at. Upon launch the profiles will be limited to the profile page itself but I am hoping to grow each drivers profile to include a History/Time Line, List of Cars that they currently drive and/or own both in Formula D and personally as well as previous cars from past seasons. I will at least have photos but hope to also include as much technical info as possible.
These driver profiles are what inspired me to bring back Shift-Therapy as drifting/automotive blog to form a single place people can find out as much about the drivers as possible and keep up on general news so I am really looking forward to launching this project. Also as Shift-Therapy is a small site I don’t have access to the drivers or information as some much larger blogs do so it’s a lot slower for me to have to collect data manually throughout the internet and videos, blogs and driver sites, photos and etc, BUT don’t count us out as we have gotten a lot more than we anticipated and are hoping to bring you the best place for Formula D driver info short of the drivers mouth itself.
So stick around, we are just tightening the bolts before we start shaking this puppy lose.
What will be of Formula D in 2013 – Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Entering the 2012 season many were unsure of what Vaughn Gittin would be able to do, after winning the 2010 Formula D championship his 2011 follow up season ended with a lackluster 11th place. His first race in 2012 Vaughn showed up with his new Falken Tires & Monster Energy 2013 Ford RTR Mustang with some stunning livery and he looked like he was ready to take another run at the title. He qualified 3rd at round 1 but then amazingly gifted Odi Bakchis a win in his first match and fell out in the top 32. Vaughn Gittin Fans were not quite sure what to expect when he had a similar performance at Road Atlanta and was knocked out in the top 16. Round 3 was slightly better qualifying first, but falling out in the top 8th. But then come round 4 and 5 it seemed like the old JR was back with a new hunger taking back to back wins and putting him in the running for the championship. Vaughn placed 3rd in Vegas and was in 1st place in overall points entering Irwindale. It seemed like Vaughn had worked everything out in his RTR and wanted that 2nd Formula D Championship badly. Then in the top 8 after a pretty conservative run he unexpectedly spun out while chasing Patrick Mordaunt. All Vaughn could do was sit back and watch where he stood when all the smoke settled. In the end of 2012 Gittin finished in a very respectful 2nd place in overall points.
Now looking forward to the 2013 season with word that ASD & Falken tires were going to be splitting ways it was no surprise, at least in my opinion, when Vaughn Gittin Jr announced that in 2013 he would be partnering with Nitto Tires. With this news, the fact that Ford is now an official partner and Vaughn growing his RTR brand with them there really isn’t much to wonder about how Vaughn looks going into the 2013 season, the only things we have to look forward to is an obvious new livery now that the famous Falken scallops will not be gracing the car and how the new Nitto tires will effect his performance. Will the Nittos be enough to give JR that little bit extra to take his 2nd Formula D championship? Looks like we’ll have to wait and see.