Forsberg, Angelo Win Formula Drift Team Kick-Off
4/22/2008With a victory for Chris Forsberg and Tony Angelo, the first team event of the 2008 Formula Drift series was a smashing success. After qualifying first on opening day, Forsberg, Angelo and fellow driver Vaughn Gittin, Jr. racked up a nearly perfect score, with 29 points out of a possible 30 – 12 more than the second place team. The contest, held April 18-21 in Long Beach, California, drew more than 180,000 spectators.
Forsberg was pleased by the performance of his MA-Z1 Drift tires. “For the Long Beach Grand Prix competition, we’re required to run up to 20 minutes at a time, and the Maxxis tires held up to those extreme conditions - 20 minutes of extreme drifting - without delaminating or losing any traction or performance. This is our second straight first place finish out of the first two events, and we’re looking forward to having another excellent season on Maxxis tires.” A week earlier, Forsberg won the Formula Drift Pro opener, also held in Long Beach.
Tony Angelo believes that riding Maxxis has given him an advantage. “The weekend just went really smoothly. Once I switched to Maxxis tires at the beginning of the year, I noticed a distinct improvement. The car has a much better feel, and it’s actually much more fun to drive. It was fun to drive with my Maxxis teammate Chris Forsberg,” Angelo said.
Elated by the results, Maxxis’ Brad Williams praised both drivers. “I don’t think Chris accepts the phrase ‘You can’t win them all.’ He has competed in two events this year with the same results: first place finishes. Drivers like Chris and Tony bring a lot of value to our sponsorship program. We are fortunate to have them on board,” Williams said.
Maxxis congratulates Drift Alliance drivers Chris Forsberg, Tony Angelo and Vaughn Gittin, Jr. on their victory and thanks them for choosing the brand of champions.