Podiums for Hankook drivers in Formula Drift

July 25, 2011

Hankook drivers Chris Forsberg and Fredric Aasbo took home two podium positions for Hankook Tire this past weekend at the fifth round of the Formula Drift season at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Forsberg and Aasbo finished in second and third place respectively.  Spectators and fans alike flooded the sold out event to see the best-of-the-best in Formula Drift battle for series points.

The race weekend, which is always an incredibly popular stop during the Formula Drift season, began with all five Hankook drift drivers qualifying into the top thirty two.  The ending was equally as exciting with Hankook drivers, Forsberg, Aasbo and Rhys Millen, fighting their way to the front and holding three of the top four positions. Aasbo narrowly beat out Millen for the third place finish.

The finals matched 2009 Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg, in the Hankook Nissan 370Z, up against Daijiro Yoshihara in his Nissan S13.  After an extremely tight race, Forsberg brought home a second place podium finish. Hankook’s second and third place finishes at round five bring its total to three podium positions in the past two events. Hankook driver Conrad Grunewald won last month at Formula Drift round four in New Jersey.

“The fifth stop at the Formula Drift Championship schedule all came down to which driver and team could put the car in all the right places, run after run.  We managed to do just that and made it all the way to the podium,” said Hankook Driver Chris Forsberg.  “We could not have been able to pull it off if it wasn’t for the consistency and grip characteristics of the Hankook Ventus R-S3 tire.  There is no better tire for drifting.”

Forsberg’s second place finish at round five puts him in third place overall in the 2011 Formula Drift Pro Champion point standings.  With only two more races to go in the 2011 Formula Drift series, drivers and teams are fighting for every point to finish the season on top.

“Coming off a victory last month in New Jersey, it is great to see our Hankook teams with two podium finishes in round five,” said Hankook Motorsports manager Paul Jho.  “It’s incredible to see all the teams do well and especially rewarding to see three Hankook teams in top four chasing for victory.”

Formula Drift next travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 6: After Dark on August 26-27.