BFGoodrich Tires Brings Drifting and Off-Road Talent Together for Baja 1000
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Off-Road racing and drifting will collide this year in Baja, as some new faces join the BFGoodrich Tires Baja Challenge team for the 41st running of the Baja 1000.Two-time Formula Drift champion, Samuel Hübinette, and Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) phenom, Casey Currie, will team up with Baja veterans Tracy Jordan and Bill Weber for the grueling off-road endurance event, which starts and finishes in Ensenada, Mexico. The team of Hübinette, Weber, Currie, and Jordan will be competing in Baja Challenge Class buggies outfitted with BFGoodrich® Mud-Terrain T/A®KM2 tires and are among nearly 70 percent of the race teams in the SCORE Baja 1000 riding on BFGoodrich® tires.
“BFGoodrich Tires is fortunate to have such a mix of driving talent on our side down in Baja yet again,” said Joe Mazur, light-truck category manager, BFGoodrich Tires.“This contingent, combined with all the other teams competing in every other class, BFGoodrich Tires should be well represented at the award ceremony.”
Currie, a third generation off-road racer from Anaheim, Calif., began his racing career on motorcycles at the age of five and eventually transitioned into off-road trucks, earning a tenth place finish in the CORR Pro Lite division in 2006 and second place in 2007.Weber, a retired Navy Seal turned off-road enthusiast now works as a consultant for several off-road motorsports related companies supporting vehicle development and training.He is also a guide for Wide Open Baja Adventure Tours and has two Baja 1000 victories to his credit.Jordan, a rock-crawling pioneer who holds numerous rock-crawling championship titles, is also an off-road racing veteran, having run the Baja 1000 in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Hübinette, aka,“The Crazy Swede” from Newport Beach, Calif., earned his nickname due to his uncanny driving skills which he honed by sliding cars around on arctic frozen lakes, has gained a reputation as one of the best drifters in the world.The two-time Formula Drift champion has been drifting competitively since 2003, but has never competed in a sanctioned off-road race before.Hübinette, who recently earned his second runner-up title in the 2008 Formula Drift series, is eager to experience the challenges of Baja for the first time.
“I’ve done some cool stuff and wild drifting maneuvers in competitions and movie stunts, but nothing is going to compare to the Baja 1000,” said Hübinette.“We’re going to be racing through the desert in some of the toughest conditions known to man and machine, with only a map to lead us.BFGoodrich Tires has been generous enough to give us this once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we hope to make them proud.”
This year, BFGoodrich Tires will be looking for its 22nd victory at the Baja 1000, an unprecedented winning record for off-road racing’s most famous and prestigious race.The BFGoodrich Tires BC Challenge team will be among many teams in Baja riding on BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/AKM2 tires, which brought home the entire 18-car Baja Challenge Class field at its Baja 1000 debut in 2007.
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More than 350 entries from over 35 states and 15 countries, competing in 28 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs will take part in this year’s SCORE Baja 1000.It is the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the Baja California peninsula every year except 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.
Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 30 years, BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag, desert, dirt, rally and extreme rock-crawling.BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle.Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at www.bfgoodrichtires.com
Mopar® to Debut 2009 Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger for Media and SEMA Show Attendees on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4:30 P.M.
Mopar®, Chrysler LLC’s Global Service & Parts division, will unveil Team Mopar driver Samuel Hübinette’s much anticipated 2009 Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger during the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, scheduled for Nov. 4–7 at the Las VegasConvention Center.
·SEMA Show — Las VegasConvention Center Mopar Booth # 43129
·Who:
·Samuel Hübinette, Team Mopar driver and two-time Formula Drift champion
·Shaun Carlson, NuFormz Racing team owner
·SpeedFreaks host Kenny Sargent, emcee
·Steve Shugg, Director of Sales and Marketing, Mopar
·Why:
·Mopar is reaching out to a new generation of enthusiasts and continuing a commitment to the growing motorsport of drifting. Vehicles such as the 2009 Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger back up the Mopar theme — if you can dream it, you can build it with Mopar.
·Visuals:
·Reveal of 2009 Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger
·Samuel Hübinette and Shaun Carlson available for photo-ops with Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger
·Mopar Underground, SRT Engineering and other vehicles also on display in Mopar exhibit
·More Mopar at SEMA:
·Mopar Alley, located between the North and South halls, will feature the 2008 Mopar Top Eliminator vehicles, showcasing the most skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restyled or customized Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge vehicles. Also, the Mopar Alley will spotlight the “Evolution of the Dodge Ram” and “Evolution of the Dodge Challenger” with vehicles from the past and present representing the progression of both models.
·A Team Mopar autograph session will take place in the Mopar Booth at on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Show attendees will have the chance to meet Team Mopar drivers Gary Scelzi, Allen Johnson, Samuel Hübinette, Brian Collins, Chuck Hovey, Brad Sweet, Brady Bacon and Cindi Lux.
·Blues-rock star guitarist and noted Mopar enthusiast Kenny Wayne Shepherd will also sign autographs in the Mopar Booth on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at
Additional information and news from Mopar is available at http://www.mopar.com
Not really. But I tried out Ron Bermudez GSX-R 600 the other day when I was out testing at Irwindale. It is the new model 2008, and what a bike. Ron is the photographer for the Mopar Magazine and the Viper Magazine. He is also part of THE BIG DOG GARAGE race team. This is the team that Jay Leno is supporting.
Man they got them so fast now with only a 600CC engine. It was revving like an F1 car and got over 100hp with an amazing power to weight ratio.
I use to have a Honda CBR600 and a 900RR back in the days. They way they got the handling on this bike is amazing. It was so easy to ride. Great power and the brakes was so easy to handle. Anyone could look like a pro on this bike.
So hands down for the 2008 GSX-R. Take a look at the photos via the link below.
Team Mopar®’s Samuel Hübinette to Participate in Ante up for Autism Charity Event
Ante up for Autism will be co-hosted by Lance Armstrong and Jenny McCarthy – proceeds will benefit Talk about Curing Autism (TACA)
Hübinette provided two items for the auction – a drift ride-along in the Mopar® Dodge Viper SRT10® and an opportunity to be an honorary pit crew member on his Mopar NuFormz Racing Dodge Viper SRT10 team
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar®’s two-time Formula Drift champion Samuel Hübinette will join forces with event co-hosts Lance Armstrong and Jenny McCarthy to help raise funds in the fight against autism at the 2nd Annual Ante up for Autism charity event. Featuring a charity poker tournament as well as live and silent auctions, the event is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 3 at the St. Regis Hotel in Monarch Beach, Calif.
Hübinette is one of the celebrity contestants in the poker tournament. He also provided two valuable auction items — a spot as an honorary pit crew member on his Mopar NuFormz Racing Dodge Viper SRT10® team and a live drift ride-along in his Mopar-powered machine at the Red Bull Drifting World Championships in Long Beach, Calif. on Nov. 15–16.
“If I can use any celebrity I may have gained as a Formula D driver to aid other people through my involvement in an extreme motorsport like drifting, then I’m all for it,” said Hübinette, who is second in the Formula D standings heading into the final event.
Event proceeds will benefit Talk about Curing Autism (TACA), a non-profit organization that provides information, resources and support to families affected by autism. TACA works to strengthen the U.S. autism community by connecting families and the professionals who help them. TACA currently serves almost 10,000 families with much needed programs, educational services and support.
Hübinette is thrilled to be able to participate in the event and help contribute to a worthwhile organization like TACA.
“We can really do some good,” observed Hübinette. “Autism affects many, many families and an estimated one million people in the U.S. have autism. This will be a good event to create awareness and bring in money to help support TACA. By auctioning off a ride-along with me in my Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10, we can hopefully bring in some funds for this worthwhile cause.”
September 25, 2008 (Orange, Calif.) – As is traditional for the fans of the Formula Drift Pro Championship presented by Circuit City, they will have the opportunity to meet and race with some of the best drivers in the series at Drift @ Dromo on Wednesday, October 8.
The fastest drivers of the night will race head-to-head with the two fastest Formula Drift drivers in the evening’s final event. Racers will be competing for prizes from Formula Drift, Dromo 1, and Sparco USA – including the main event prize, which will be a ride-along during practice at Irwindale Speedway. Fans will also be treated to an R/C Drift display courtesy of HPI Racing and Togue Knights.
At the last Drift @ Dromo event, Tanner Foust and Kyle Mohan advanced to the evening’s main event, with Mohan besting Foust at the end. Foust then returned the favor when he eliminated Mohan in the consolation round at the Streets of Long Beach a few days later.
Scheduled to represent the Formula Drift Pro Championship are:
-Tanner Foust, championship leader and winner of the last round at Sonoma, driver of the Rockstar Energy Drink / AEM Nissan 350z
-Samuel Hubinette, driver of the Mopar Dodge Viper
-Joon Maeng, driver of the Hankook Tires Nissan S14
-Kyle Mohan, driver of the Mazdatrix / Cooper Tires Mazda RX-7
-Patrick “Juicebox” Mordaunt, driver of the Braille Auto / RiceBoyTV.com Nissan 350z
Dromo 1 will offer racing all night for $20, and each race will feature at least one Formula Drift driver. EverythingDrift.com will provide event coverage, including race reports and event galleries.
Dromo 1, home of the most competitive indoor karting in Southern California, is located at 1431 N. Main St in Orange, Calif. More information is available at www.dromo1.com, and you can sign up for Drift @ Dromo by calling (714) 744-4779.
This week we had some really awesome cars out at the Big Track of willow Springs. The 2008 Dodge Challenger tuned by NuFormz with a Big NOVI Supercharger,700hp.It went up against the Ford Mustang GT500 Super Snake with a BIG supercharger. Then the 09 Subaru STI against the 09 Mitsubishi Evo10. Both tuned and redone quite a lot.
I also tested the CEC 997 Porsche Turbo against a fully tuned Nissan GT-R. And then the Porsche GT2 against the Streetfire Nissan GT-R stock. It was a packed day with so many great cars. Sorry guys for tearing up your tires.
Later today I am flying over to Arizona with Stina to get a test drive in the amazing Gumpert Apollo. The fastest street car on a race track I guess. Streetfire will be out there filming us ripping around with the car so I will post some videos in the near future. There are only two cars in the country, so we feel very privilege to get to test it out at the racetrack.
Here is a video clip from when we were shooting the car show Head to Head. I was the testdriver for the show. Had a blast puching around over 20 cars at the Big track of Willow Springs.
It feels great to be home again after spending a week at the Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. Yesterday I took Papp's with me and drew home to a smoky Southern California. On my way home I went by Ontario Dodge and dropped of my Charger for service. The AC stopped working so it was quite hot in the car on my drive to the dealership. 98 degrees, CRAZY!! I am getting ready to head out to Vegas for the SEMA show next week. I will be there Tuesday and Wednesday. Lot's of fun stuff is going on there for sure. I will be on Car and Driver radio show. Car Crazy TV LIVE interview and KICKER will do a TV coverage interview with me one of the days. My drift Charger will be on display at the Mopar booth so make sure to stop by there for sure. Wednesday night I will be driving out to Mammoth for a Dodge commercial. We will be there shooting till Saturday.
We were told that they were only going to have a shot at the car in the beginning and then suddenly they started to interview me. So that is why it was a little bit shaky in the beginning of the interview.
As you might know, if you read my blog you do, I signed posters for BF Goodrich at the SEMA show in Las Vegas last week. The poster looks great I think. What do you think? Click on link below to see a larger version.
As you might know, if you read my blog you do, I signed posters for BF Goodrich at the SEMA show in Las Vegas last week. The poster looks great I think. What do you think? Click on link below to see a larger version.
