Ireland's James Deane Makes His Return To Formula DRIFT A Beaming Success

The Worthhouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15 driven by James Deane takes the 2017 Formula DRIFT season O’Reilly Auto Parts Round 1: Streets of Long Beach win. Image Credit: @worthousedrift via James Deane Facebook (2017)

Ireland's James Deane Makes His Return To Formula DRIFT A Beaming Success

Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras kicked off the 14th season with an exciting day of action at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.  Irish driver James Deane returns to the Series and gets the win in the Worthhouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15.

“What a way to start the season,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT.  “With not only a capacity crowd, record numbers on the Livestream, but proof that Formula Drift is truly an international series where the best of the best come to compete.”

The first event of the season commenced on the Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course.  The highly anticipated event was action packed from start to finish and the capacity crowd witnessed many competitive battles throughout the day.  The event also introduced new drivers to the field including Georgy Chivchyan from Russia and Piotr Wiecek from Poland and marked the return of Irish driver, James Deane.  The event broke records with the Livestream with over 1 million viewers tuning in from around the world over the two-day event weekend making for the largest viewership for a single event in Formula DRIFT history.

Deane returned to Formula DRIFT after a seven year hiatus from the Series in dramatic fashion.  Deane proved to be a contender after qualifying in second position and making his way through to the finals by defeating both former champion Michael Essa and the reigning and 3-time champion, Chris Forsberg.

Deane met with Ryan Tuerck in the Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86 in the semi-finals and with consistent driving all-day and a solid chase run he was able to advance to the Finals.

On the other side of the bracket in the semi-finals, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in the Falken Tire / Drifz Wheels / Ark Performance Nissan 240SX faced off against Alex Heilbrunn in the IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3.  After a hard fought battle that was too close to call, the drivers met in a One More Time battle and while chasing Heilbrunn, Bakchis made an error entering the hairpin giving Heilbrunn the win to put him in the Finals.  Deane’s consistency and technical driving was no match for Heilbrunn in the Finals and Deane won his first Formula DRIFT victory to take the lead in the chase for the championship.

“Man, what a way to start back in Formula DRIFT after missing out on the last seven years,” said James Deane, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.  “I owe a lot to my good friend and teammate, Piotr Wiecek, who came up with this whole idea to come back to the Series as a two-car team.  To come out with the win is just mind blowing.  What a feeling!"

For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat - formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT 2017 Round 1 Podium - (L to R) P2 - Alex Heilbrunn, P1 - James Deane, P3 - Ryan Tuerck. Image Credit: Formula DRIFT (2017)

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results

1. Deane, James
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
Winner

2. Heilbrunn, Alex
IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3
2nd Place

3. Tuerck, Ryan
Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86
3rd Place

4. Bakchis, Aurimas
Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240
4th Place

5. Aasbo, Fredric
Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM
5th Place

6. Coffman, Matt
Nexen Tire / Coffman Racing Nissan 240
6th Place

7. Forsberg, Chris
NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z
7th Place

8. Kearney, Dean
Oracle Lighting Dodgle Viper
8th Place

9. Gittin, Vaughn
Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR
9th Place

10. Wiecek, Piotr
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
10th Place

11. Gushi, Ken
GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota Racing 86
11th Place

12. Field, Matt
Falken Tire / Vapetasia / ARK Performance Nissan 240
12th Place

13. Rintanen, Juha
STR Racing / Nexen Tire Nissan 240
13th Place

14. Bluss, Kristaps
HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46
14th Place

15. Pawlak, Justin
Roush Performance Ford Mustang
15th Place

16. Essa, Michael
Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW M3
16th Place

----

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 1 Event

1. Deane, James
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
106.00 Points

2. Heilbrunn, Alex
IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3
84.00 Points

3. Tuerck, Ryan
Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86
69.00 Points

----

2017 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Toyota
121.00 Points

2. Ford
74.00 Points

3. Nissan
52.00 Points

4. Dodge
51.00 Points

5. BMW
35.00 Points

6. Infiniti
18.00

----

2017 Tire Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Falken
174.00 Points

2. Nitto
123.00 Points

3. Hankook
121.00 Points

4. Nexen
104.00 Points

5. Achilles
86.00 Points
(ht: Formula DRIFT)

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Formula DRIFT, Round 1, Long Beach, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Falken, Nitto, Hankook, Nexen, Achilles, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Dodge, BMW, Infiniti, James Deane, Alex Heilbrunn, Ryan Tuerck, The EDJE

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Book category finalists for the Motor Press Guild's Dean Batchelor Award. The annual award banquet singles out individuals demonstrating outstanding achievement in the profession of automotive journalism. Each year MPG presents the Dean Batchelor Award to the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Every year since 1995, when the Motor Press Guild decided to bestow it's true highest honor by naming the prestigious process of recognition on the efforts of its community of communications professionals after Dean Batchelor, the Dean Batchelor Award has set the standard of  automotive journalistic recognition.

Dean Batchelor's career spanned many disciplines, from aircraft builder, B-17 flyer, to race car driver and automotive journalist and through it all he proved to be the consummate historian, editor, racer, designer, and hot rodder.

The award builds from a series of awards honoring three publishing categories defined as Best Article, Best Book, and Best Audio/Visual.

Dean Batchelor Awards Images Slideshow (20 images) >>

The three finalists in each category are culled from potentially tens of nominations submitted by Motor Press Guild members who have seen an outstanding published effort and thought it worthy of recognition with in the year of the honor.

Best Article Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This year, the following finalists for Best Article were "Tambay: The Phoenix" By Thomas Stahler (Vintage Motorsport, May/June 2012) | "The Dillinger Trail" By Peter Egan (Road & Track, March 2012) | "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp (The Rodder's Journal, Spring 2012) with the Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp.

Best Book Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Book were "In The Red" By Jade Gurss (Octane Press) | "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen (Bentley Publishers) | "The Stainless Steel Carrot: An Auto Racing Odessey - Revisited" By Sylvia Wilkinson (Brown Fox Books) with the Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Best Audio/Visual Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Audio/Visual were "Corvette ZR1 Review - Exotic Driver" By Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker (EverydayDriver.com, September 27, 2012) | "A Look At London's BMW Art Drive" By Alistair Weaver (InsideLine.com, August 6, 2012) | "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com, February 22, 2012) with the Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book.

The 2012 Dean Batchelor Award is bestowed upon a choice from one of these three category award honorees Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp | Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen | Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book with the 2012 Dean Batchelor Award going to Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Book of the Month at Bentley Publishers becomes Book of the Year for Motor Press Guild. Image Credit: Bentley Publishers (2012)

This edited and excerpted from Bentley Publishers (and was included in the presentation from the podium during the award presentation) -

Classic and Sports Car - December 2012 
BOOK OF THE MONTH

Porsche - Origin of the Species 
by Karl Ludvigsen

It's hard to imagine that there's a Porsche stone unturned for respected marque historian Karl Ludvigsen. But, inspired by an early 356 - comedian Jerry Seinfeld's treasured Gmünd coupe 2-040 - the American historian set out to reveal the story of the landmark 1950s sports model. And top studio photographer Michael Furman provides a superb set of the historic survivor.

Ludvigsen's journey of fastidious research took him from factory archives to owners and specialists while unravelling this fascinating tale. This hefty, 344-page title covers the evolution of pre-war streamliners through to the early operations in the wooden sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. Putting Porsche's development in context, the book also covers VW Beetle-based specials and coach built variants.

Ludvigsen's writing style is a captivating joy to read, plus the main text is accompanied by fascinating panels including Robert Cumberford on styling, Miles Collier on preservation and Alex Finigan on ownership. The final pages are devoted to a complete reproduction of Porsche's trial reports on '040', and an early 1949 356 Betriebsanleitung (operating manual).
[Reference Here]

A wonderful time spent with like-minded folks and meeting new friends. The Petersen Automotive Museum provided the backdrop for the evening's presentations and all of the finalists from all categories were equally honored to be mentioned along side of the eventual 2012 Dean Batchelor Award honoree.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Sponsors for the evening included Hyundai, Mothers, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda, Ford, Audi, General Motors, Infiniti, Mazda, Porsche, Subaru, and Toyota - Thanks.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as 2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species" on Technorati **