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Monday, May 11, 2015

GReddy Event Coverage from Formula Drift Atlanta 2015

Ken Gushi drives the GReddy Performance X Hankook Tire X Scion Racing FR-S to a 2nd Place finish in round 2 of the Formula Drift Pro Championships at Road Atlanta!photo via. Scion Racing (Alex Wong / Larry Chen)

Saturday's Full Event Video via Formula Drift Channel. (here)

After a less then ideal season opener on the streets of Long Beach last month, the GReddy Team regrouped and came back stronger then ever. With a fresh GReddy 2JZ engine, drastic set-up changes, and just a couple weeks to work, the GReddy Team prepared the Scion FR-S for Ken Gushi's attack on the high-speed Road Atlanta roadcourse.

From the start of the Formula Drift Thursday practice till the end of the event, Ken drove with focused aggression. Ken utilized the full potential of his Hankook tires and the FR-S' newly found speed and angle. During Friday's Qualifying, Ken had a slight bobble on his first qualifying run due too being overly aggressive, but like a true professional, cleaned up his second run for an impressive 89pt and the number 6 position for the Saturday tandem battles.

In Top 32, Ken received a solo bye run, since the #27 seed, Mats Baribeau's JZX90 was unable to make the grid. This sent Ken directly onto the opening ceremonies and best 16 battle against the #11 seed, Alec Hohnadell in his V8 S14.

In the FDATL Great 8 there was an all GReddy battle between #14 seed, Charles Ng in is GReddy twin turbo VR38-powered G37 vs Ken Gushi's GReddy 2JZ. (video) After close battle with Ng, Ken moves on to arguabllly the best battles of the event with defending 2014 Formula Drift Champion, Chris Forsberg.

In this all Hankook tire battle, Ken and Forsberg made near perfect lead and follow passes, run after run. But after the second OMT (one more time) battle, Ken showed just a little more proximity in a crucial part of the the course, "the horseshoe" and that was enough to edge out the win and moving on to the finals.

* You really have to see these battles to appreciate the commitment from both drivers. Check out this Road Atlanta fan video. (here)

After a very long weekend of aggressive runs, the GReddy Performance x Hankook Tire x Scion Racing FR-S began to show some wear. But Ken still gave it 100% to finish the two runs in impressive fashion, against the finalist from the other side of the bracket, and current points leader, Odi Bakchis.

Congratulations to FDATL event winners: 1st Odi Bakchis & 3rd Chris Forsberg