Finally, the Formula Drift Malaysia 2012 has come to the show. Today is qualifying round. There has been no different from Daigo from 2011. He started off the year with a bang; clinching podium finishes at both the D1 GP Japan Odaiba, Formula Drift USA Long Beach and Atlanta events. In honestly word, Daigo is acknowledged as the “best” drifter on the planet right now. Top notch is his usual equipment, and for the very first time in the FD Series, Daigo will debut his Lexus ISC.
Robbie Nishida – Japan – Achilles Radial & 36BOL
Robbie is pretty much overlooked all the time as he is often in the shadow of his more illustrious teammate Daigo, as they compete in three series across the globe this year, including FD USA and FD Asia. However, this year, Robbie should be able to shine out loud. It’s a must that to not forget that Robbie has actually been on the podium a few times in the FD USA series, but was stung by poor mechanical reliability for the 2011 season. He is going to debut a new car this year for the Asia series (Toyota Chaser), and he should be more competitive now. Growing up on the US air force base in Okinawa, Robbie has a good command of English and hence serves as translator for Daigo.
Tengku Djan – Malaysia – M7 Drive
In 2011, Djan took a break from competitive drifting to concentrate on building up his motorsports and racetrack business at Speed City. Most importantly, FD Malaysia would be the biggest event that Speed City has ever hosted to date. Djan would have a lot of pressure on him; he literally has to protect his home turf this time from the foreign invaders! Probably anything less than a podium position would be deemed a disappointing outing for Djan. In the past 2 FD Asia events he took part in, Djan crashed out in the early stages, so he really needs to claim back his former glory. When he took the overall FD Asia title in 2010, the competitors were mostly just ASEAN guys, but now that we have an influx of drivers from Japan and Oceania, can he keep up with the pace?
Manabu Orido – Japan – RSR
Orido is no doubt an icon in drifting. He is familiar to race fans in Malaysia as he competes full time in the Super GT Championship. He is going to use the same Supra from last year, when he made his FD debut at the Malaysia round. Having lost to Saito then, Orido is looking forward to a rematch!
The news is taken from www.36sports.com
