With the 2012 season coming to its halfway mark, Daijiro Yoshihara and his Falken Tire/Discount Tire crew were in Wall New Jersey this past weekend for Round 4 of the Formula DRIFT Championship Series. In the chase for a second championship, sitting in 3rd position in overall championship points coming into this event, Yoshihara was poised and ready to be back on top.
Having great qualifying runs, Yoshihara qualified 4th overall that positioned him for another chance at the podium. During his Top 32 run, Yoshihara was matched up against Taka Aono. Due to a miss shift, Aono lost drift allowing Yoshihara to pass and easily moving on to the Top 16.
Yoshihara was paired up with Rhys Millen in the Top 16 battle where both cars exploded out of the starting gate. Yoshihara lead the first round with plenty of power and clean lines; while Millen drove a little too aggressive as he made contact with Yoshihara twice during the first run. The second run was just as powerful and aggressive from both drivers; however, the judges deemed Yoshihara winner advancing him to the Great 8.
Great 8 competition was against old teammate, Tyler McQuarrie. Yoshihara lead the first run out and both cars had awesome entries initiating drift simultaneously. Yoshihara was able to create a good size gap giving him an advantage over McQuarrie. During Yoshihara’s chase run, both drivers had clean lines; however, Yoshihara was close in proximity and matched McQuarrie’s angles through each corner. A unanimous decision advanced Yoshihara into the Final 4 facing Daigo Saito.
Up against fellow Japanese driver, Daigo Saito, Yoshihara came out extremely aggressive as he rode the initial bank up high on the rails continuing through the course hitting each clipping zone. Saito followed in close proximity but Yoshihara had a slight advantage as Saito made contact from behind. Throughout the chase run, Yoshihara stayed close to Saito trying to oust his competitor; however, the judges felt the battle was too close to call so a “One More Time” was the outcome. The second round of battle was even a tighter battle; however, Yoshihara came out as victor as his lead and chase runs were cleaner and more precise.
In the final battle of the weekend, Yoshihara was up against 2010 Formula DRIFT Champion and teammate, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. Each round of battle from each driver was aggressive; however, Yoshihara straightened out on the last turn during his chase run that gave Gittin the advantage and the eventual win. Yoshihara obtained the 2nd place spot on the podium this past weekend alongside Gittin (1st place) and Forsberg (3rd place). Yoshihara remains in third place in overall championship points but closes the gap to first place by only 51 points. “I had an awesome time this weekend,” explains Yoshihara. “All my competitions this weekend was exciting and I’m happy that I’m on the podium again. Congrats to my teammate, Vaughn Gittin, Jr., for the win!”
In the continued effort by Yoshihara to help with the relief project in Japan, he was able to meet with fans and supporters and collect donations for his very own charity, Relief For Japan (www.rfjp.org). Yoshihara was able to collect a total of $300 over the weekend.
Round 5 of the Formula DRIFT Championship series will be at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA on July 20-21. Please visit www.daiyoshihara.com for more information.