Big news for Japanese Drift fans: Drift Muscle, a new national drifting racing series designed to offer “affordable” high-caliber drift competition in Japan, has kicked off its inaugural season this year with Federal tires.
Being appointed as the series’ presenting sponsor and spec race tire supplier, the tire manufacturer has heavy involvement in the event. Being an Official Partner allows it to promote its range to enthusiastic performance drivers, and increase brand awareness within the Japanese drifting scene.
The third round of the race, which recently took place on the Nikko Circuit, was a hugely successful event. Federal is proud to be associated with Daijiro Inada and Keiichi Tsuchiya, who are founders and organizers of the series. Having those heavyweights in motor racing industry will surely add to the drama and the high adrenaline of the event.
Drivers competed in four classes: "Ladies Class" for all-female riders; “Muscle Challenge” for beginners; “Drift Muscle” for experts; and “The 86 Class” for spec car modification. Isogai Noahiro, with an obvious power advantage over most other cars, had no problem climbing his way up through the course, making full use of the capabilities running on Federal 595 RS-R competition tires. He was announced the winner of the season’s third event of Muscle Challenge, while Nakamura Naoki earned the pole sitter in Drift Muscle.
Commenting on the 2011 series, Henry Lin, director of global sales for Federal Corp., noted, “Federal has become a recognized tire in motorsports playing field among other local brands, particularly in the birth drifting’s motherland.
"By teaming with Japan’s premier talent shows such like 'Drift Muscle' and 'Muscle Challenge' as an excellent platform to start up a bigger invasion of Asia, we can not only ensure a fabulously dramatic drifting actions for potential driving youngsters and experienced veterans alike, but also showcase our ultra-high performance racing products and technology to local enthusiasts throughout the race season. Most importantly, the partnership further demonstrated to tire retailers how we are supporting talented individuals, so that they can be confident in building Federal sales."
For full access to tons of drift coverage, simply log onto Federal’s official motorsports Web site at www.federalmotorsport.com.
