This weekend I had the pleasure of heading to Long Beach, California for the Red Bull Drifting Finals. I’ve been attending import events for over 10 years now, and as hard as it is to believe, this was my first drifting event. That being said I could not have picked a better event to attend, Red Bull and FormulaD truly outdid themselves in the planning and execution of this event, and it ran flawlessly.

We flew in Thursday Night and headed to downtown Long Beach for the pre-party. FormulaD organized a pre-party upstairs at Smooths, and also arranged for the streets to be closed off so the cars could line up through downtown. It was a great time with plenty of beers and Red Bulls being consumed from friends of new and old, along with some of the best drifters from around the world. The drivers picked straws to determine their qualifying order and then proceeded to parade back to the pier for the following days testing.

Here is a quick video of the cars lined up in front of Smooths in Long Beach during the straw pull / pre-party.

On Friday a Pro-Am event was held on the course. Without access to the event we spend the day enjoying some of the fun things to do around Long Beach. I was highly impressed with how clean Long Beach as a city was. The air quality and Smog left a lot to be desired, but I can’t count how many people where picking up trash, washing sidewalks and windows, etc on the cities dime.

Saturday we walked from the host hotel, Westin of Long Beach, down to the convention center to catch our bus to the venue. I was a little hesitant of how this was going to work out as I read about the event, however parking and the bus schedule seemed to work perfectly, and I can’t remember waiting more than 15 to catch a bus. As we drove into the port of Long Beach, the scenery went from a plush cityscape to an industrial yard complete with oil tankers, cranes and container ships. FormulaD had built a small city within this landscape and in the middle was the track where the event would be held. Bleachers, VIP stands, catch fences vendor tents, everything needed to hold a proper event where brought into this shipyard. It was truly a work of art and one of the best places you could possible hold a drifting event. Qualifying took place and the competitors where scored on their runs, combined with entry speeds from 85-104mph. There was plenty of smoke coming from the competitors tires, and blowing in from the brush fires in nearby Sylmar fires being pushed with Santa Ana winds. Combined with the already thick Long Beach smog it made breathing a bit more difficult, however it added to the industrial environment the track was constructed in. There were some great solo runs to be seen but the real event was still to come on Sunday.

Sunday morning we again boarded the bus and headed out to the venue for the main event. A big thanks to Steve @ Scion for providing us with great hospitality in the Scion VIP stand. The event kicked off with the Red Bull air team sky diving in at 80+mph, then followed by tandem sessions with 32 of the world’s best drifters. The event format was a bit different at this event, drivers were not given advantages, just a win/loss/omt (one more time) at the end of 2 sessions. The first session a driver would lead the run, then follow the section run. If the 2 runs are 2 close to determine a winner an OMT is granted so that the 2 competitors can run again until a concrete victor is determined. There were plenty of great cars participating however those that stood out where an E36 Wagon, Quad-Rotor RX7 (one of the best sounding engines I’ve heard in a while), and the ever popular Mopar Viper. The day had plenty of great drifts, crashes, but in the end Red Bulls very own Rhys Millen wont the event with his consistent drifts, 3 digit entry speeds and great transitions. We boarded the bus after a great event and flew back to Florida to get things started for 2009. I truly hope Red Bull / FormulaD is able to make this event an annual event, as I had a blast and would love to see some other east coasters fly out and enjoy the event. Will you see a Titan Supra drifting in 2009? I can’t guarantee it, but it sure would be cool.

Some other fun things we did while in Long Beach

Aquarium of the Pacific – If you make it to Long Beach definitely check out this aquarium. The exhibits range from 5,000 gallons to 3,500 gallons allowing you to view the animals in a realistic environment.

Inn-N-Out Burger – The first place we went after exiting the plane was Inn N Out Burger. Inn-N-Out burger has some of the best burgers and fries I’ve ever had at a fast food joint. They currently only have locations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. If you make it out west it’s definitely worth the trip.

PinkBerry – Everyone is raving about PinkBerry frozen yogurt on the internet and in those gossip mags my fiancé is constantly reading. Currently only open in New York and California this chain serves some of the best yogurt I’ve ever had. Basically it’s all natural non-fat yogurts in Green Tea, Pomegranate, and Original Flavors, combined with some of the freshest toppings. I’ve got to admit I’m hooked, I can only hope they bring the concept to Orlando soon to kill my sweet tooth and stay healthy at the same time.

Yard House – 215 beers available on tap. Need I say anything more. Located in Shoreline Village this restaurant has just about any beer you could want and then some, most available in their half yard sized glasses.