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October 2012
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Fredric Aasbo Finishes 2nd in Las Vegas.
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Fredric
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Photographed by Nick Quigley Larry Chen
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TOP IN SIN CITY
Fredric Aasbo
taking a stroll down the straight after a
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quick drifting session .
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A view of Fredric’s 2011 Turbo-Charged tC from the rear.
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Fredric showboating to his fans with a beautiful drift around a corner.
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redric Aasbo sent shockwaves throughout the Formula Drift scene in his 2010 rookie season as he started taking out Formula Drift champions from the get-go. Nicknamed “The Champkiller� and quickly becoming an icon of the David vs. Goliath drifting battles, Fredric ultimately earned the prestigious 2010 Formula Drift Rookie of the Year award. Going all out no matter the circumstances, Fredric has garnered a strong transatlantic fan following spanning from California to Northern Europe and beyond. Born and raised in the midst of the Scandinavian countryside, Fredric was quickly introduced to the Norwegian rally scene. As a boy he was let into go-karts, and proved his car control skills at an early age being very fast under slippery conditions. Discovering drifting a couple of years later got him hooked on this new form of motorsports. Quickly earning a reputation for combining super aggressive drift-
ing with a humble personality in the pits, Fredric toured the North European drifting circuit for two years. With 30+ victories and multiple championship titles in the North European scene and with a dream of going up against the best, Fredric competed at select rounds of the Formula Drift championship in 2010. Ultimately, he became the Formula Drift Rookie of the Year and earned the Hardest Charging Driver of the Year award as well as the Insane Entry Award at the Irwindale finals. 2011 saw Fredric and his team earn their first Formula Drift Podium at Evergreen Speedway, as well win the Formula Drift Abu Dhabi Invitational, the British Drift Championship Finals at Silverstone and Ultimate Drift at Texas Motor Speedway. For 2012, Fredric and Papadakis Racing are set to take on the Formula Drift Championship in the Team Need for Speed Scion tC.
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (August 26, 2012 / Papadakis Racing) – Need for Speed driver Fredric Aasbo took down a parade of former champions to put his Scion tC on the podium this weekend at the sixth round of the 2012 Formula DRIFT championship in Las Vegas.
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he championship returned to Sin City this year for Round 6: After Dark and fans were treated to a night spectacle that included the Vegas ProAm championship, Slammed Society car show, and Targa Trophy display of vehicles. A new course configuration for this stop called for drivers to make a high-speed entry and demonstrate full commitment as they slid just inches from an unforgiving trackside wall at speeds approaching 80 miles per hour. Aasbo showed his skill from the start with a pair of strong runs in qualifying that earned him the Number 1 spot for the Top 32. The single-elimination Formula DRIFT format typically sees each round become progressively more difficult as drivers work through the competition ladder. But Aasbo faced stiff competition from the very first round, battling former champions in all but one of his six head-to-head battles.
him face off against 2005 champion Rhys Millen in a close battle for victory. He finished second. Among the keys to the team’s success were their Hankook RS3 tires, which ensured Aasbo had the traction he needed on the high-speed course. The four-cylinder, turbocharged Need for Speed/Papadakis Racing Scion tC performed flawlessly all weekend, despite the hot weather competition that saw other teams battle overheating. “The Need for Speed/Papadakis Racing Scion tC is a competitive package and this was a contest that gave Fredric a chance to stretch its legs against the best drivers in the field,” said team owner Stephan Papadakis. “We’re aiming for the top step of the podium at the final round in October.” The Las Vegas event drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, while the online Driftstream broadcast saw an estimated 150,000 viewers in a 24-hour period.
“We’ve never had
to take on such a crazy lineup of champions to get to the podium.”
“It was intense,” said Aasbo. “We’ve never had to take on such a crazy lineup of champions to get to the podium.” He bested 2009 Formula DRIFT champion Chris Forsberg in the Top 32, defending champion Dai Yoshihara in the Top 16, contender Tyler McQuarrie in the Great 8, and 2010 Champion Vaughn Gittin in the Final 4. His final round saw
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Aasbo will next travel to Europe to get behind the wheel of the Toyota 86-X he campaigns overseas. He will take on the best of Britain at the Trax Silverstone circuit before heading to Mondello Park in Ireland. He will return to what has become known as the “House of Drift” venue, Irwindale Speedway, for the final round of the 2012 Formula DRIFT championship October 12-13. “It feels good to be back on the podium,” said Aasbo. “We faced tough competition and fought hard this weekend.”
Written by Larry Chen
Fredric Aasbo showing the competition what he’s made of with aggressive
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asbo came into the Vegas competition as the number one qualifier and finished second overall. We caught up with the Norwegian Hammer to get some insight on what he thought of his weekend.s OMGDrift: Coming into this round, how prepared were you for the battles that you had to face? Fredric Aasbo: You know, we had a pretty good start to the season, placing second in Atlanta, then we had a couple of rough events, technical issues, me going off track, stuff like that. That really forces you to re-think, re-group, and get back stronger. I think that’s exactly what we did. Qualifying first yesterday and taking it to the podium today, it’s been an immense journey and I think this is going to be a long night. OMGDrift: How did the car feel from Thursday practice into qualifying? Fredric Aasbo: The car has been pressed in all weekend. We had a test day previously this week, and we had some pretty important things that we’ve been trying out this weekend in regards to the setup. I think for us what it really boils down to is taking a car like this, a front wheel drive grocery getter for a guy in college, you know, I’d have this car, and turn it into a drift car. And in order to do that, you
drifting.
really have to understand what’s going on and what makes a good drift car, rather than rely on having a good chassis that everybody knows how to setup. I think that’s given us an edge, because we realize more of what’s really going on. We obviously have a lot left to learn. But I think that it’s part of the key to make this car as fast as it is. OMGDrift: In your battle with Rhys, what happened to cause you to go in the wall and what broke? Fredric Aasbo: My whole strategy the whole way here was to put on a stellar qualifying run for my lead, and that was also the plan heading into the battle with Rhys. What exactly happened, it’s hard to say, but coming around turn one, I threw it into it a little bit too hard of a transition, it snapped over real quick and I caught it, but I think I caught it a little too much and when I got it straightened out, I was headed straight for the wall. I don’t know exactly what broke, but I lost a lower control arm, probably the axle and probably even the hub, so for these guys to fix this in five minutes is a huge testament to what I want to say is the best drift crew in the world.
Interview From OMGDrift.com
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