Scion Racing/Greddy Formula D FR-S

Scion Racing uploaded this behind the scenes build of Ken Gushi’s FR-S drift car for this year’s Formula D Drifting Championship. Aftermarket parts manufacturer Greddy handled the construction of the car. The video had a few interesting details that I was still curious about. They advertise the engine as a flat-4 that produces 500hp. I didn’t think it would be possible for them to have already developed the stock 2.0 liter with a brand new direct injection system to that level. There’s a scene in the video where they clearly show a Cosworth engine going into the car. That means it’s more than likely a Subaru EJ25 based engine much like Hibino’s D1 car in Japan. I’m excited to see how well Ken Gushi and Scion Racing does this year after having to campaign a special exception rear wheel drive converted tC for the last four years.

 


Source: Scion Racing on YouTube

Nitto Drift Team at Formula D Long Beach

Here’s one more piece of media coming out Round 1 of the Formula D Drift Championship at The Streets of Long Beach. This one is from the Nitto drift team. Their lineup includes Matt Powers in the Need for Speed S14, Joon Maeng in a Mazda RX-8, Mike Essa in his GSR Motorsports BMW Z4, and Toshiki Yoshioka in the RSR S15. Their highest placing driver at Long Beach was Matt Powers in 4th place.


Source: Nitto Tire YouTube Channel

Daigo Saito in Formula D for 2012

Some of the biggest news this year for the Formula D drift series is that Japanese drifting star, Daigo Saito, will be coming to the US to compete. Saito is the 2008 D1 champion and is well known for his high speed drifts. This video is of the 2010 D1 round at Ebisu circuit. Ebisu is a regular stop for the D1 circuit, but in 2010 the judges allowed the drivers to straight line the chicane before the judged section of the track. This allowed them to bring more speed into the first jump which caused high speed specialist Saito to get a crazy amount of air at the start of his run.


Daigo works as a bus driver for school children when he’s not competing in D1. The kids that he drives make him good luck cards before every competition. For Formula D, Saito purchased a Toyota Soarer (Lexus SC430) that was flood damaged in the tsunami for $3000. He then put a 1200hp stroked 2JZ engine into it and shipped it here to the US. Head over to Speedhunters to look at some detailed pictures of the car as it went through Formula D tech inspection. Saito placed third in Round 1 of Formula D at The Streets of Long Beach.


Source: theTRIBEagency on YouTube

**UPDATE** Daigo Saito was also a feature in this Achilles Tire Drift Team video:


Source: GT Channel