Ken Gushi in the
GReddy Racing - Nexen Tire - SR by Toyota 86 claims
3rd place in the
2016 Formula Drift Pro Championships season opener on the
Streets of Long Beach course.
From Formula Drift press release:
"Round 1: Streets of Long Beach kicked off the new season in dramatic fashion. The volume of rain, the variable surface conditions of the street course, which made for treacherous conditions in general during Friday’s practice, created a rain delay, which ultimately resulted in the Series making the decision to draw on a provision of the Sporting Regulations that allows the Series to
forgo Qualifying in the face of inclement weather. Drivers were placed into the Top 32 bracket based on their 2015 ranking. The weather held up for the main competition and the drivers were able to give the fans a great showing to start the season..."
Saturday's main competition day, started off dry, but just before the
Top 32 match up of #2 qualifier,
Ken Gushi's Toyota 86
vs.
Faruk Kugay' 2JZ-powered Nissan S14, rain began to fall. With great control, Ken drove great lead line in the slippery condition and avoided contact in the chase position, when his opponent made contact with the wall. Ken took the win.
http://formuladrift.networka.com/ken-gushi-vs-faruk-kugay-top-32-number-fdlb-2016
During the Formula Drift Half-time break, the GReddy Team debuted the new
Boost Brigade Spring Collection. It was great to see many fans support the new brand in the stands. For more info. see the new online store:
www.boostbrigade.com
Luckily as the weather cleared up during the break. It allowed for a mostly dry exciting competition to the end of the event. With packed Long Beach grandstands, the
16 brackets saw
Ken Gushi advanced pass the VR-powered G37 of
Charles Ng, with solid lead and chase runs.
http://formuladrift.networka.com/ken-gushi-vs-charles-ng-top-16-number-fdlb-2016
In the
Great 8,
Ken Gushi went against
Forrest Wang's 2JZ-powered Nissan S14. Similarly to the his 32 battle
(except in the dry) Ken laid down a dominate lead pass, building a large gap, which pressured his opponent to make a mistake in the 2nd run. This moved the the GReddy Team onto the Semi Finals.
http://formuladrift.networka.com/ken-gushi-vs-forrest-wang-great-8-number-fdlb-2016-part-2-crash
In the
Semi Finals, the
GReddy Racing Nexen Tire SR by Toyota 86 of
Ken Gushi faced off with the eventual round winner,
Chelsea Denofa in his BMW E36. In one of the most evenly matched battles of the day, (which could have easily went OMT
-one more time), the Judges awarded Denofa the win. And with SR by Toyota teammate, Frederic Aasbo taking, second, Gushi was award the final podium spot.
The 3rd place finish in
#FDLB, continues the podium streak for the GReddy Racing Team
(2015 FDTX & FDIRW) and starts of the 2016 Pro Championship charge for Ken Gushi, while contributing to the
SR by Toyota lead for the FD Manufacturer's Cup and
Nexen Tires for the lead in the FD Tire Manufacturer's Cup.
The GReddy Racing Team is excited to welcome new 2016 technical partners to the team, Nexen Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, Redline Oil, BC Brian Crower, Takata and the Boost Brigade.
We would also like to thank the continuing technical partners: SR by Toyota, Rays Engineering/Gram Lights, KW Suspension, Wisefab, Wilwood, Rocket Bunny/Pandem, Turbo by Garrett, WPC, Supertech, OS Giken, Ignition Projects, Bluemoon Performance and Tuned by N8
