
Irwindale, CA (October 13 2011, PAPADAKIS RACING) – The weekend of October 7-8 marked the final 2011 Formula DRIFT event. The sold out crowd eclipsed attendance records for the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale and is now the largest Formula DRIFT event in history.
“We had an uncharacteristically mixed season debuting the new Scion and driver” commented Stephan Papadakis team manager for the Need For Speed / Scion tC. “With a podium in Seattle this year and seeing Fredric’s top level driving all year I am extremely optimistic as we now look forward to next season. Our new car and driver combination has just started to work its self out. In the next 6 months leading to the 2012 season we will move forward with chassis and engine development and come out with a winning combination. That is our goal!”
“After sorting out some initial motor problems we were able to qualify alright and the goal was to end the year on a high note. Unfortunately I took it a little too high on the bank and sent the car and our hopes of a strong finish straight into the wall,” commented Aasbo. “Overall, however, it has been a great season working with a new team and I am extremely grateful for being brought onboard!”

Aasbo finished the championship’s first round in the Top 8, debuting the new car to a strong result on the Streets of Long Beach. He earned a Top 16 finish on the challenging Road Atlanta course for Round 2, creating one of the most memorable moments of the weekend when one run saw him enter the high-speed first turn nearly backwards at a speed of 94 mph. Round 5 saw the young driver take his first overall podium.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control skill. Drivers compete in knockout heats on a closed course, sliding sideways at high speed in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, it is the fastest growing form of motorsport in the world.
After running select Formula DRIFT events in the United States in 2009 and 2010, the 2011 season is Aasbo’s first full season of Formula DRIFT competition. The driver started the year with a win in the Middle East at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit and finished third at a similar event in Qatar.
ABOUT FREDRIC AASBO —
The 2010 Formula DRIFT Rookie of the year, Fredric Aasbo launches a new phase of his career in 2011 as driver for the Papadakis Racing squad in a new Need for Speed Scion tC. A two-time Nordic Drifting champion (2007, 2008), 2011 marks his first full US competition season in the premier Formula DRIFT championship. Aasbo ran select Formula DRIFT events in 2009 and 2010 and made his US debut at a global drifting invitational in 2008. Aasbo has built a reputation in the United States as an icon of David versus Goliath drifting battles, earning the nickname “The Champ killer,” for his ability to edge out senior drivers in competition. Aasbo has recently moved from his hometown of Ski, Norway, to the United States, where he makes his home in Redondo Beach, California.
ABOUT PAPADAKIS RACING —
Team owner Stephan Papadakis is a legend of sport-compact racing who began building his reputation in the 1990s with the first front-wheel-drive, tube-chassis drag car in the U.S.
The team earned multiple records and championships in the discipline, turning in elapsed times and trap speeds previously thought unattainable in front-drive drag cars. Papadakis’ successes in front-wheel drive were matched by his efforts in rear-wheel drive when he campaigned a Civic that became only the fifth car to join the NHRA’s Sport Compact 200 MPH club.
Aasbo is the newest member of Papadakis Racing, who signed the Norwegian driver when Tanner Foust announced his retirement from the sport after the 2010 season. The team began drifting in 2005 and has shown impressive results in five years of Formula DRIFT competition, earning two championship titles (2007, 2008). The team finished in the runner-up position in the 2010 championship, with Foust taking second-place points behind the wheel of the team’s first-generation Scion tC. The 2011 Need for Speed Scion tC is the team’s latest competition build.
PAPADAKIS RACING IS PARTNERED WITH:
Need for Speed, Scion, Hankook Tire, AEM, Motegi Racing, ACT Clutch, SPC Performance, Torco Oil
MORE INFORMATION/MEDIA IMAGES/INQUIRIES:
www.papadakisracing.com
www.fredricaasbo.com