Gushi and Forsberg lasso podiums at Formula Drift: Showdown, Texas

For the third time this season, Hankook Tire drivers Ken Gushi and Chris Forsberg found themselves on the winner’s podium together following this past weekend’s racing at Formula Drift Round 6 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Gushi brought home a second place finish with Forsberg close behind securing a third place finish.
 
Conditions at Texas Motor Speedway were brutal during the weekend’s racing with high humidity and temperatures hovering around 100 degrees.  Adding to that was a new course configuration that challenged all driver’s skills.  That didn’t stop Gushi and Forsberg though from pushing it to the limit and capturing two spots on the winner’s podium.
 
Gushi, driving the Hankook Tire/GReddy Performance Scion FR-S, was pitted against Daigo Sato in his Nissan GT-R for the semi-finals.  Gushi put in an impressive run outdriving Sato to secure a second place finish.  Forsberg, in the Hankook Tire/NOS Energy Drink Nissan 307Z found himself battling Masashi Yokoi in his Nissan S15 in the finals.  After a close run against Yokoi, Forsberg piloted his 370Z to a third place podium finish.
 
“After so many One More Time runs in the Top 16 round and forward, consistency played a huge role in our success at Texas Motor Speedway.  The Hankook Ventus RS-3 gave me consistent tire grip even in harsh temperatures, allowing me to push hard battle after battle,” said Gushi.  “In the end, it was the consistency that took us to the final round.  We are very excited to be going into the finals at Irwindale carrying the lead in the tire manufacturer’s championship and with two Hankook drivers leading the driver's championship!
 
All of Hankook’s Formula Drift drivers race on Hankook’s Ventus RS-3 Extreme Performance tire.  The Ventus R-S3 is designed for serious sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan enthusiasts looking for race tire-like traction on the street or for use in autocross, drifting or track events.
 
Hankook Tire driver Fredric Aasbo qualified in first place for Round 6, and while he didn’t advance to the finals, he leads in the 2015 driver’s championship by 80 points going into the final round of the 2015 Formula Drift season.  Gushi’s second place finish places him in second place overall in the 2015 Formula Drift driver’s championship.
 
“Conditions on the track were really tough this weekend.  Ken, Chris and their teams did a great job under difficult circumstances,” said Paul Jho, Hankook Tire America Corp. Motorsports Marketing Manager.  “With Fredric Assbo and Ken Gushi in first and second place in the driver’s championship, and Chris Forsberg close in fourth place, we have the chance to see a Hankook first, second, third Formula Drift championship at Irwindale.”
 
Additionally, Hankook Tire again leads in the 2015 Formula Drift tire manufacturer’s championship, having won the 2014 tire manufacturer’s championship last year.
 
Formula Drift heads to Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California on October 9th and 10th for the final round of the 2015 season.