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Written by:
Bill Wood
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
02/13/2008 - 11:29 AM
Los Angeles, Calif.
The legendary GTO is coming back with new wrapping for 2008, and a new star teammate in Dai Yoshihara. (Bill Wood photo) ยป More Photos
2005 Formula Drift champion Rhys Millen made headlines this week even under doctor ordered bed/couch rest and the discomfort associated with three fractured vertebrae in his neck and two compressed and broken vertebrae in his back.
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,”
Now, the GTO will be rebranded from its familiar Red Bull livery to Bridgestone when the season starts at Long Beach in April. According to Millen, there may also be an opportunity for a drift exhibition between Rhys and Dai at Bristol before a NASCAR race, but that’s still a dream at the moment.
Yoshihara, who lives in Tokyo and commutes to the U.S., started drifting in 2003 and has been at the top of the game ever since. He was second in points last year in Formula Drift including wins in New Jersey and Seattle and a podium in Irwindale when another win could have earned him the championship. He finished fifth in 2006. His reputation as possibly the fastest in Formula D will be enhanced as the GTO gets an engine upgrade from the 450 horse LS1 package to a 550 horse LS7.
“From what the judges are looking for with big speed and big angle, Dai should be able to give them that with the GTO,” Rhys explained. He said the GTO is getting overhauled after suffering extensive damage at the hands of NASCAR driver and team owner Robby Gordon at the 2006 Mopar Drift vs. Grip extravaganza at Irwindale Speedway.
“That SOB never gave me a thing on (it) and the biggest part of the preparation is repairing the damage he did that night,” Rhys said with a half-smile. “The hit didn’t look like much but it bent everything.”
It also might have cost Rhys a second championship, as he was left with only three days to get the car ready for New Jersey. “We got second in the championship that year and we were leading it when he hit the wall,”
Millen added.
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