JITB
10-19-2012, 10:15 PM
PHOTOS BY: PERRI MINOT (http://pminnow.wordpress.com/)
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The smoke has come and gone and the Formula Drift 2012 season has now ended. Daigo Saito has been crowned the 2012 Champion. Never before has a Formula Drift Rookie won the championship so this is a great feat for him and the Achilles/Bridges Racing team.
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Coming into the event, Vaughn Gittin Jr. seemed likely to take home the championship.
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He made an awesome comeback after winning RD 4, 5 and a podium finish in RD6 that gave him a small lead going into the finals.
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He made it into the Top 16 as usual.
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He only needed one more win against Pat Mordaunt to secure his championship lead.
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He ended up spinning out behind Pat which made the rest of the night all the more interesting.
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For Daigo, his championship day began with a Top 32 match against Taka Aono
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Not only had Taka been suffering mechanical issues... (blown turbo, head gasket, etc)
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But with his temp. motor in place, I had never seen Taka fly so fast.
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But during their first bout, Taka also smas hed his car into the wall. This gave Saito the bye since he was unable to fix his car in the 5 minute time frame.
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Saito’s next match would be against this year’s biggest rival...
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Conrad Grunewald and Daigo Saito started their feud back in West Palm Beach
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They had not one, but two OMT (One More Time) battles and have met each other a few times since then.
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Once at Evergreen speedway where Grunewald was able to defeat Saito.
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This time would be no different. A fight to remember. But Saito would get the upper hand.
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The absolute breakout performance of the day was by Matt Field.
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Matt’s LS1 powered S14 has about 1/3 of the hp of Saito’s car.
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and ran against the new champion...well..like a Champ!!
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Matt would lead first and have the best lead run he’s put down all season.
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As usual, Saito stuck as close to his bumper as possible.
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When it was Saito’s turn to lead, Matt returned the bumper to bumper favor.
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Just from watching, it was hard to tell who the judges would side with.
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While they waited for the judges decision, Matt’s car was checked out for what looked to be small flames coming from under his hood.
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If Matt Field would’ve beaten Daigo Saito then the championship could have gone to 3 other drivers, but the judges decided it was too close to call - One More Time.
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Daigo would move on to face Rhys Millen.
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Rhys had been his usual calm consistent self until his chase run against Saito.
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In an attempt to catch up with the ninja, Rhys too became one of many fallen victims of the inner bank.
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We watched as his wheel continued to roll on long after his car came scraping to a halt.
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You know that wheel is the spirit of Rhys not wanting to give up.
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This meant that Daigo Saito had unofficially won the championship so everyone came out to congratulate him.
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Both Vaughn Gittin and Rhys Millen came over to shake his hand. Rhys still had that tough walk back to his wrecked Hyundai.
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Saito would still have to face another long time season rival in Justin Pawlak. JTP would still have the opportunity to win the event and finish in the top 3 for the season.
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JTP and Daigo first had their run in at RD3 in West Palm Beach.
Saito barely held back.
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JTP went all out!
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On Saito’s lead run, JTP too would fall victim to the wall.
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I can’t imagine the crushing feeling of having the last run of the year come down to this.
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In an instant it was over and Daigo Saito would continue on his celebration.
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Daigo Saito has been racing all of his life and was also champion of FD Asia. He is one hell of a competitor and as I overheard Vaughn Gittin Jr. in very sportsmanlike manner say that Formula Drift is definitely home to the best drifters in the world. It goes to show that there is a lot of mutual respect amongst the drivers not only for their talents, but also for overcoming their hardships.
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The smoke has come and gone and the Formula Drift 2012 season has now ended. Daigo Saito has been crowned the 2012 Champion. Never before has a Formula Drift Rookie won the championship so this is a great feat for him and the Achilles/Bridges Racing team.
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Coming into the event, Vaughn Gittin Jr. seemed likely to take home the championship.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7711191718_9376e7b49c_b.jpg
He made an awesome comeback after winning RD 4, 5 and a podium finish in RD6 that gave him a small lead going into the finals.
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He made it into the Top 16 as usual.
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He only needed one more win against Pat Mordaunt to secure his championship lead.
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He ended up spinning out behind Pat which made the rest of the night all the more interesting.
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For Daigo, his championship day began with a Top 32 match against Taka Aono
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Not only had Taka been suffering mechanical issues... (blown turbo, head gasket, etc)
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But with his temp. motor in place, I had never seen Taka fly so fast.
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But during their first bout, Taka also smas hed his car into the wall. This gave Saito the bye since he was unable to fix his car in the 5 minute time frame.
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Saito’s next match would be against this year’s biggest rival...
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Conrad Grunewald and Daigo Saito started their feud back in West Palm Beach
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They had not one, but two OMT (One More Time) battles and have met each other a few times since then.
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Once at Evergreen speedway where Grunewald was able to defeat Saito.
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This time would be no different. A fight to remember. But Saito would get the upper hand.
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The absolute breakout performance of the day was by Matt Field.
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Matt’s LS1 powered S14 has about 1/3 of the hp of Saito’s car.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8103623074_f27663e5e9_b.jpg[/url]
and ran against the new champion...well..like a Champ!!
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Matt would lead first and have the best lead run he’s put down all season.
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As usual, Saito stuck as close to his bumper as possible.
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When it was Saito’s turn to lead, Matt returned the bumper to bumper favor.
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Just from watching, it was hard to tell who the judges would side with.
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While they waited for the judges decision, Matt’s car was checked out for what looked to be small flames coming from under his hood.
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If Matt Field would’ve beaten Daigo Saito then the championship could have gone to 3 other drivers, but the judges decided it was too close to call - One More Time.
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Daigo would move on to face Rhys Millen.
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Rhys had been his usual calm consistent self until his chase run against Saito.
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In an attempt to catch up with the ninja, Rhys too became one of many fallen victims of the inner bank.
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We watched as his wheel continued to roll on long after his car came scraping to a halt.
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You know that wheel is the spirit of Rhys not wanting to give up.
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This meant that Daigo Saito had unofficially won the championship so everyone came out to congratulate him.
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Both Vaughn Gittin and Rhys Millen came over to shake his hand. Rhys still had that tough walk back to his wrecked Hyundai.
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Saito would still have to face another long time season rival in Justin Pawlak. JTP would still have the opportunity to win the event and finish in the top 3 for the season.
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JTP and Daigo first had their run in at RD3 in West Palm Beach.
Saito barely held back.
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JTP went all out!
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On Saito’s lead run, JTP too would fall victim to the wall.
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I can’t imagine the crushing feeling of having the last run of the year come down to this.
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In an instant it was over and Daigo Saito would continue on his celebration.
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Daigo Saito has been racing all of his life and was also champion of FD Asia. He is one hell of a competitor and as I overheard Vaughn Gittin Jr. in very sportsmanlike manner say that Formula Drift is definitely home to the best drifters in the world. It goes to show that there is a lot of mutual respect amongst the drivers not only for their talents, but also for overcoming their hardships.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8103576827_be9c99910e_b.jpg (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8103576827_be9c99910e_b.jpg)