Over the weekend was round seven of the Formula Drift racing series and would take place at the Irwindale Speedway in Southern California. I was on hand for the event to see who would walk away with the championship and also get a hands on preview of EA’s Need for Speed The Run that will be releasing on November 15th on Playstation and Xbox 360.
I made my way over to the pits and got to find the Need for Speed Electro Lounge where people were allowed to play an early version of Need for Speed The Run. The demo for Need for Speed The Run that I was playing will be available October 18th for both Playstation and Xbox 360. I played on the Las Vegas desert and the snowy highways of Colorado. Since the game is using the Frostbite 2.0 engine that was created by DICE the game will feature new interactive environments for the different levels. So with the snowy highway for Colorado there were avalanches and boulders that had to be avoided when racing the track. I found that the boulders added a challenge to just normally racing on the track and brought realism to the environment which deepened my experience.
After playing the game for a bit, I was instantly hooked and wanting to play through all the real cities that will be represented throughout the game. At the booth people had a shot at winning VIP tickets for the fastest times both for playing on the console versions and the D-Box racing chair that was there. The time I was there I saw a consistent line for the D-Box chair and plenty of people waiting to play the game to try and beat the fastest times. I was told from the staff that there were some people playing the game and then getting straight back into line for another shot. It seems that the Need for Speed team has another hit on their hands when the game comes out next month.
Here are some pictures from the booth and people enjoying some Need for Speed The Run.
After I spent my time with the game and listening the musical styling’s of DJ Miki Taka who was keeping the crowd pumped up and giving out bandannas and prizes, the main event of the drift finals were about to take place. I would be cheering on the two Need for Speed drivers Matt Powers and Fredric Aasbo to get some good final standings in the event.
Here are the results from the event:
1. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Tire Nissan 350Z Winner
2. Millen, Rhys Red Bull / Hankook Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2nd Place
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 3rd Place
The 2011 Formula Drift series champion went to Daijiro Yoshihara! This is what Daijiro had to say about his 2011 win:
“After 8 years of driving it finally paid off. I owe a lot to my team and sponsors. My new goal will be to defend the championship and win it outright during the event.”
We look forward to Formula Drift in 2012 and what each team will bring, good luck to everyone next year!
For more information about Formula Drift race fans can go to www.FormulaD.com and for the upcoming Need for Speed The Run, fans can visit the website at www.NeedForSpeed.com on Twitter.com/NeedForSpeed and on Facebook.com/NeedForSpeed.