Stephan Verdier
Takes His First Victory and the Championship Comes Down to the Finals
Long Beach, Calif. - August 22, 2009 - Formula DRIFT returned to
Infineon Raceway for Round 6: Locked and Loaded joining the Indy Grand Prix
of Sonoma weekend. Stephan Verdier in the Cooper Tires / Crawford Performance
Subaru STI takes his first victory in Formula DRIFT competition.
"This is a dream come true," said Stephan Verdier, winner of
Round 6: Locked and Loaded. "My first victory after 3 years of
competition and it is also the first victory for a Subaru and for Cooper
Tires. Today I'm number 1 and it's a great feeling."
Round 6: Locked and Loaded was the first event in Formula DRIFT history to
share the same weekend with IndyCar for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Fans
were treated to both drifting and open wheel racing action for an exciting
combination of motorsports that kept everyone entertained.
Current Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust in the Rockstar Energy Drink /
Hankook Scion Racing TC battled against Hankook teammate Ryuji Miki in the
APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 for third place and after 2 hard fought One More
Time battles Miki finds the podium once again. The final round had Ken Gushi
in the RS*R / Scion Racing TC and Stephan Verdier battle for the top spot. On
the first run of the final battle, Ken Gushi ended his run with a blown motor
forcing him to take a bow and give Verdier the victory.
"This event proved that drifting can co-exist with other motorsports
and provide quality entertainment for all fans and we are very proud to be a
part of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend," said Ryan Sage, vice
president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. "With only 1
event remaining in the season it will come down to the wire and we will be
crowning a new champion."
Formula DRIFT returns to the "House of Drift" at Toyota Speedway
at Irwindale on October 15-16 for Round 7: Judgment Day for the season
finale. Reserved tickets are available now via the Formula DRIFT website at: www.formuladrift.com
Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings
1. Forsberg, Chris
NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z
470 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan
Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice
414 Points
3. Gittin, Vaughn
Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT
401.50 Points
4. Hubinette, Samuel
NuFormz Dodge Viper
399.25 Points
5. McQuarrie, Tyler
Falken Nissan 350Z
396 Points
6. Foust, Tanner
Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC
373 Points
7. McNamara, Darren
Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky
370.50 Points
8. Verdier, Stephan
Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI
364 Points
9. Nishida, Robbie
Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z
362.25 Points
10. Pawlak, Justin
Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8
354 Points
11. Miki, Ryuji
APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7
341.75 Points
12. Gushi, Ken
RS*R Scion Racing TC
333.50 Points
13. Brakohiapa, Tony
Cooper Tire Ford Mustang
331 Points
14. Petty, Ross
Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15
329 Points
15. Aono, Taka
Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla
321.25 Points
16. Mordaunt, Patrick
PM Racing Nissan S13
317.25 Points
Round 6: Locked and Loaded Event Results
1. Verdier, Stephan
Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI
Winner
2. Gushi, Ken
RS*R Scion Racing TC
2nd Place
3. Miki, Ryuji
APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7
3rd Place
Tires.com Triple Crown Bonus Point Standings after 2 of 3
events
