WAYNE, N.J., April 13, 2015 – Hankook Tire driver Fredric Aasbo brought home a first place podium finish this past weekend in Long Beach, California at the opening round of the 2015 Formula Drift season. The first race of the season again saw Hankook Tire as an official sponsor of the series.
Competition was intense from the start of the racing weekend which saw Aasbo qualify in third place on Friday in his Hankook Tire/Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC, placing him in an ideal position for the following day’s battles. After making contact with driver Masashi Yokoi early on competition day, Aasbo quickly worked his way through the field meeting up against Aurimas “Odi”Bakchis in the Final. After a close final battle, Aasbo piloted his tC to a first place podium finish, putting him in the 2015 championship points lead and Hankook in the 2015 Tire Championship number one position.
“This is the perfect way to begin the 2015 Formula Drift season,” said Aasbo. “After losing second gear earlier in the day I had to shift between first and third for the final battle, but my Hankook tires performed great all weekend and gave me the edge I needed to bring home our first win of the season.”
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.
“Fredric and his team did a great job this weekend, from qualifying on Friday to the podium on Saturday,” said Paul Jho, Hankook Motorsports Marketing Manager. “A first place win at Round 1 is the perfect way to begin the season.”
Formula Drift heads to Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia on May 8th and 9th for round two of the 2015 season.