The latest news making the pre-season rounds is that Top finisher in the 2007 Formula D points championship, Daijiro Yoshihara will be behind the wheel of Rhys Millen’s championship GTO.
Last Saturday night he completed a deal to bring his legendary Pontiac GTO out of mothballs to compete in a two car team with his Pontiac Solstice in the 2008 Formula Drift series. And the driver of that car? Daijiro Yoshihara, one of the fastest and most competent drifters in the world. It’s the first super team in drifting and, I believe, the first comprised of two drivers with Formula Drift event wins on their resumé. This could change the face of drifting.
“I needed to hire a driver who was equal to myself if not better,� Rhys told me this week as he recovered from a brutal pounding he took while practicing for a New Year’s Eve stunt that went wildly wrong Dec. 23.
“Dai’s one of those personalities that has a name and he can perform on the track, so I felt he was the perfect fit for the team,� Rhys continued.
He said the deal was conceived before the accident as dominoes fell in another direction. When Rhys’ close friend Tanner Foust won the 2007 Formula D championship and just missed on the Rally America title, his rally sponsor, Rockstar Energy Drink, decided to back Tanner in drifting too. That became a problem for Yoshihara, the Rockstar star in Formula D. Dai technically wasn’t homeless but his ability to keep paying the same mortgage was gone.
“I was aware of this very early on, so I offered up Dai (and the GTO) to Bridgestone,� Rhys explained.
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I hope to compete with the best drifters all around the globe soon enough
Comment by Adil Mughal — February 20, 2008 #