Formula DRIFT Round 3 makes it way to Orlando Speed World for this weekend’s “Uncharted Territory” event.
For the second time since the debut of the Formula Drift Championship back in 2003, Orlando Speed World will once again host Round 3 of the 2016 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Season. Last years event saw a combination of bad weather and a new unfamiliar track which made for interesting conditions, forcing both the driver’s and crew to make adjustment on the fly in order to devise a winning game plan to tackle this challenging course. Orlando Speed World underwent major upgrades last year in order to host Formula Drift events and we will see if the returning drivers that ran in last years event have made any major adjustments to ensure success.
Round 2 overall winner Vaughn Gittin Jr. made it look easy with his win at Road Atlanta, clinching both the qualifying event and the overall Championship. “To have a perfect event with our brand new Ford Mustang RTR that my team has been working their butts off during the off-season to get ready I’m just pumped.” said Vaughn. “It doesn’t get any better than this. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Art of Gears caught up with Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the Team at RTR during his live takeover of the Formula Drift Twitter page this week and we were able to ask him a couple questions on his race prep for this week’s upcoming event.
AOG: “Are there any big changes that have to be made to the RTR car for the track at Orlando compared to what you ran at Atlanta?
Team RTR: “No big changes, we will just dial in the setup, likely different final drive gear and suspension settings.”
AOG: “Are you running the Nitto NT05 tires for this race? If so, how many sets do you go through on the final day?
Team RTR: “Yes we are!” We will go through about 40 to 50 total tires!”
AOG: “Thx and Hit em hard in Orlando #TeamRTR”
Overall, it was really cool social media event and the Team at RTR went out of their way to answer all the fans questions, no matter how crazy they got.
Art of Gears has got you covered with the link to the Live Stream and Saturday’s full event schedule.
Live Stream link for Round 3. Orlando Speed World here!
Schedule courtesy of Formula Drift for Saturday onward:
Saturday, June 4, 2016 – Main Event
9:00am – 5:00pm – WILL CALL: Open for credential pick up – Will Call Tent
10:00am – VENUE OPEN: Credential Holders Only – Venue
10:00am – 6:00pm – BOX OFFICE HOURS – Box Office
11:00am – 11:30pm – PRO: Mandatory Drivers Meeting – DR HQ
11:00am – 9:00pm – GATES OPEN TO PUBLIC – Venue
11:30am – 12:00pm – MEDIA: Mandatory Meeting for ALL “Hot Area” Access Holders – FD HQ
12:00pm – 1:30pm – PRO: Open Practice – Top 32 – Track
1:40pm – 3:30pm – PRO: Main Competition – Top 32 – Track
3:30pm – 5:00pm – HALF TIME BREAK
4:00pm – 5:00pm – VIP EXPERIENCE: Track Walk – TBA
5:00pm – NATIONAL ANTHEM / OPENING CEREMONIES – Track
5:30pm – 7:00pm – PRO: Main Competition – Round of 16 to Finals – Track
7:00pm – 7:30pm – TROPHY CEREMONY & CLOSING
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Congrats to Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the Mustang RTR Racing crew on their Formula DRIFT victory at Round 2 at Road Atlanta. Does he have what it takes to remain on top? After Vaughn’s domination at “Hotlanta”, the #25 RTR Mustang is sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboards. But with Round1 Long Beach winner Chelsea Denofa only 36 points off the lead, the Championship is still anybody’s race. In fact, the remaining top 5 drivers are only separated by 19 points! Look for Chris Forsberg, Ken Gushi, and Mad Mike to press the action this weekend to close that gap on the leader.
Who do you think will take Round 3 in Orlando?
Hit us up on Twitter @ArtofGears and let us know. I still have my eye on Vaughn Gittin Jr. taking home the top prize. If you’re wondering what the Top 32 standing looks like based off of rankings, click here to see how it’ll all go down on Saturday.