Vaughn Gittin Jr. competed in Round 1 of World Drift Series
(WDS) over the weekend, China’s premiere drifting series. With help of
Autosport Dynamic’s Ian Stewart and Dean Steele, as well as Adam Browne of
Revolution Automotive, the Monster Energy Falken Tire 2013 Ford Mustang RTR was
ready for battle against drivers from around the world. It wasn’t an easy feat,
but Vaughn and the Mustang came out on top, starting of the season as the WDS
points leader and dedicating this earned win to the recently passed but
never-forgotten legend, Carroll Shelby.
Over fifty thousand fans filled north China's Tianjin
Olympic Center Stadium for this heavily anticipated drifting event. One noted
spectator in attendance and a new fan of drifting was former president of
Mexico, Vicente Fox and his wife Martha Fox. The three-hour action-packed event
did not disappoint, with acts such as fire breathing clowns, an amazing light
show, professional dancers, and more to fill downtime between the drifting
excitement.
“The local talent in China has gotten really good and there
was some insanely close and challenging battles on the track,” says Vaughn
Gittin Jr. “This event was truly amazing; the production and time WDS put into
everything around it was so impressive. It was like we were at the Super Bowl
of drifting. There is nothing like a crowd of over 50,000 on their feet in an
Olympic stadium cheering for you. It is epic to see how huge drifting is
growing globally!”
After defeating his competitors in the top 32 and top 16
battles, Vaughn moved into the great eight. He was matched with fellow Formula
Drift driver, Fredric Aasbo, for one of the most exciting battles of the night
that resulted in a one-more-time. After the OMT, Vaughn was deemed the winner
and would move into the semi-finals.
Vaughn was matched with Chinese driver Zhang Sheng Jun in
the semi-finals, and after an evenly-matched battle, a OMT was determined by
the judges. Vaughn really dug in for the OMT to let there be no confusion in
the eyes of the judges this time around. He took the win and would be moving on
to the finals.
In the finals, Vaughn met Taiwanese driver and D1 Grand Prix
veteran, Feng Ren Zhi. The competitors had a first battle that was too close to
call, and went to a OMT. Vaughn was able to take advantage and the win after
his opponent had a mechanical failure.
After being formally announced the winner, the Chinese, Hong
Kong, and international media swarmed Vaughn. He also took part in a jam-packed
press conference, giving a very heartwarming speech: "I would like to
dedicate this to win to a very special man that we lost recently, someone I had
the opportunity to meet just a few times, and someone that was a true
inspiration to me personally and to the automotive world as a whole. That man
is Carroll Shelby. He is someone that always did what he wanted to do no matter
what anyone thought and I know he would be proud to know we are drifting
Mustangs in Olympic stadiums here in China and bringing home a huge first place
trophy back to the USA!"
Along with an individual points Championship there was a
Team Drift competition before the start of the event. Vaughn was part of Team
USA, alongside fellow American Formula Drift drivers, Chris Forsberg and Matt
Powers. Matt, Chris, and Vaughn came out on top, with New Zealand in second,
and the Chinese drivers in third.
“Despite some serious jet lag, lack of sleep, and other
unexpected hurdles we were faced with, I am really pumped on the team effort
that resulted in a huge win for us,” says Vaughn. “I am very thankful to have
such incredible and unconditional support from the ASD crew and nothing but
pure passion and commitment could overcome what we as a team endured over the
weekend.”
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