Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the RTR Drift team traveled to Georgia for an action-packed weekend of Formula Drift fun on Saturday and a signature Smoke Show at Fort Gordon on Sunday. The monumental success of the event at Fort Gordon was only icing on the cake after Vaughn and the Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR supported by ASD Motorsports placed 3rd at Round 2 and moved into 1st place overall in the Formula Drift Championship.
Formula Drift returned for the 10th consecutive season to Road Atlanta track. Known for it’s die-hard fans and spectacular drifting under the lights, Round 2 did not disappoint despite the intermittent rain, the fans in Atlanta came out in force and stayed through to the end of the event. The Road Atlanta stop has the largest attendance for the Series outside of California.
The RTR Drift Team came to this round ready to turn up the heat, on and off the track. The RTR Drift Team compound was the “hot spot” for the fans all day; they came by to use the Ready to Rock Free WiFi, charge their mobile devices from the charging station, pick up the latest Vaughn Gittin Jr., Drift Alliance, Speedhunters, Electric Visual, and Mustang RTR gear, check out the jaw-dropping ’69 Mustang RTR-X that was on display, take a picture with the beautiful Monster Models, get an autograph from Vaughn, or to listen to the musical styling’s of DJ Ahuf that were jamming on the speakers.
Back on track, Vaughn placed 9th out of over 50 drivers in the first round of qualifying and therefore was obligated to omit taking a second run by placing in the top sixteen in accordance with Formula Drift rules. He battled his way through Dave Briggs in the top 32, Matt Fields in the top 16, and found himself faced with fellow Speedhunters driver Fredric Aasbo in the Great Eight.
“This event has always been an event that is just hard to predict as the weather always seems to test us. There were a lot of hard fought battles and a lot of that was due to the inconsistent weather,” says Vaughn. “With the rain, the track changed every run and every turn. We saw the first moment of insanity during my battle with Fredric Aasbo. I literally jumped over the front corner of his car, landed in drift and completed the course. The judges ruled that we would run again and I was able to hold it down to win the battle.”
Vaughn continued: “We had more insanity in my battle with Daigo [Saito] in the semi-finals. As soon as we entered the track, the tape that was holding the seam of his roof flew at me, and the six-foot streamer hanging off completely disoriented my timing. I went off through the infield and made some contact. On the lead run, I gapped him at every single turn and I was just driving as absolutely hard as I possibly could. Despite having our disadvantage from our chase run, we clearly dominated Daigo on our lead run and I look forward to battling him throughout the season.”
Vaughn then faced Michael Essa in the consolation round and earned the third place spot on the podium after throwing down two solid runs.
“I am just so pumped on the support from ASD motorsports and the entire RTR drift team; we all gave it one-hundred percent,” says Vaughn. “Finishing on the podium for the second event in a row and taking the points lead is an awesome result to all the hard work. We are looking forward to continuing the momentum through out the rest of the season!”
The day after Formula Drift, the RTR Drift team traveled to Augusta’s Fort Gordon for one of their signature “Smokeshows”. Vaughn Gittin Jr. gave rides in the Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR and fellow Formula Drift driver and Drift Alliance teammate Ryan Tuerck gave rides in the Gotta Have it Green Mustang RTR Spec 2. A huge crowd was onsite to witness the drifting skills of Vaughn and Ryan, as well as take in the whole experience which also consisted of getting the chance to drive many HPI Racing remote control cars, sample a Monster Energy drink, take a picture with the beautiful Monster Energy models, buy some Vaughn Gittin Jr. / Drift Alliance gear, check out the brand new Ford GT500 and the ’69 Mustang RTR-X that were both on display and on the track piloted Vaughn, and get autographs and high-fives from both the drivers. The event turned out to be a monumental success for everyone in attendance.
Next up for Vaughn Gittin Jr., he begins his international competition efforts by heading to China for the first round of WDS. For more information, please visit VaughnGittin.com or Facebook.com/OfficialVaughnGittinJr.
