BALTIMORE, Md. (June 3, 2013) – Over the weekend, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the RTR Drift Team made their way to Palm Beach International Raceway for Formula Drift Round 3: “Invasion”. It was a night of extremely tough battles for the 2010 Formula D Champion and the Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR supported by ASD Motorsports, but the weekend’s hard work paid off with a 4th place finish overall.
Even with the unpredictable weather, thousands of fans came out to see their favorite drivers battle it out on this high-speed entry and very technical course. The RTR Drift team activation area was a prime destination for the fans, a place where they could check out the ’69 Mustang RTR-X, the 2014 Mustang RTR Spec 2, grab some VGJR, Drift Alliance, Speedhunters, Electric Visual, and RTR swag, or take a picture with the lovely Monster Energy models.
Back out on track, Vaughn battled his way through Ryan Kado in the top 32 rounds, advancing himself to the top 16 main event. He was met there by Conrad Grunewald and his Camaro, a American Muscle match made in heaven. After two One-More-Times, Vaughn took the win and was able to move on. Watch the VIDEO of the second OMT that secured Vaughn the win.
Waiting for Vaughn in the Great 8 was Fredric Aasbo, a rematch from their infamous battle at the last round of Formula Drift in Atlanta. Vaughn led first, throwing down an amazing lead run while Aasbo pushed to follow the Monster Mustang. When it was Vaughn’s turn to chase, he gave it all he had to keep a close proximity to Aasbo, while following his line like a shadow and leaving a bellowing Nitto Tire smoke trail behind him. Vaughn was awarded the win and would move on to the semi-finals.
Vaughn met his “rival” Daigo Saito in the final four. The both threw down amazing runs, but minor mistakes from both drivers caused the judges to call a OMT. Watch the VIDEO of the first battle between these drivers.
During the OMT, both drivers pushed hard and refused to back down. Unfortunately Vaughn made a mistake when following and caused contact, damaging his Mustang beyond repair and giving Saito the win.
The ASD Motorsports crew worked feverishly to get the Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR back onto the track within the 5 minutes allotted time before running in the consolation round for the 3rd place position. But with such little time, Vaughn had to forfeit his chance to battle for the last podium spot and finished the night off in 4th place overall.
“This event proved to be our toughest of the season thus far,” says Vaughn. “This track is one of the most technical on the Formula Drift circuit and we had some absolutely crazy battles with some great drivers. Unfortunately I made a bad decision when following Daigo, causing damaging impact to our car that cost us a spot on the podium. While I am not fully satisfied with the result, this is drifting and these kind of things happen when you are pushing as hard as we do out there. The ASD Motorsports crew worked super hard to get us to the line in time to battle for third place and unfortunately it just was not possible. We all worked really hard and gave it one-hundred percent and I am pumped about that!”
With his 4th place finish, Vaughn bounced back a spot to 2nd place overall in the Formula Drift Championship, only 13 points behind Saito in first.
Next up for Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the RTR Drift Team on the Formula Drift circuit, they head to Wall Stadium in New Jersey for Round Four. For more information, please visit VaughnGittin.com or Facebook.com/OfficialVaughnGittinJr.