Tag Archives: Yas Marina Circuit
Team Need for Speed Takes Home the GOLD at Formula Drift UAE Invitational
BALTIMORE, Md. (February 28, 2011) — Team Need for Speed took to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the Formula Drift UAE Invitational competition last week. Recently announced Team NFS member, Fredric Aasbo, came out on top after defeating 2009 Formula Drift Champ, Chris Forsberg, in the finals. Team Need for Speed’s Mad Mike Whiddett finished the event in a very respectable fourth place, after his battle in the consolation round against two-time Formula Drift Champion, Tanner Foust.
During the week leading up to the main event, both Team Need for Speed drivers participated in some pre-competition promotion and fun, like kart racing and drag racing with fellow Formula Drift drivers. Watch the VIDEO from the pre-competition festivities. Fredric Aasbo did a pre-event live-stream INTERVIEW where he talks to “The Voice” of Formula Drift, Jarod DeAnda, about his new team and his thoughts about Yas Marina Circuit. Mad Mike had the honor of flying into Abu Dhabi a week earlier for promotions and to give all the media and Yas Marina staff ride-alongs in the BADBUL Need for Speed RedBull RX8. Watch the VIDEO.
This event marks the first time in history that Formula Drift has competed at Yas Marina Circuit. “Having a Formula Drift event at what is probably the world’s most impressive racing facility, says a lot about how far the sport has progressed in under ten years,” says Fredric. “It started out on Japanese mountain roads, and now we are drifting at the number one state-of-the-art Formula 1 facility located in the geographical centre of the world. For a boy that learned to drive on snowy Scandinavian backroads, this is the ultimate drifting experien ce!”
The competition was composed of eight specially-invited and highly-renowned Formula Drift drivers. In the Great Eight, Mad Mike would battle his way through Michael Essa after qualifying fourth, and Fredric Aasbo was able to defeat Ryan Tuerck after qualifying eighth. Fredric and Mad Mike would then both move on the top four, only to be matched up against each other.