In third place was the Rockstar Energy Team of Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who had been in the hunt for the lead early on but suffered trouble with their transmission late Saturday that put them at a disadvantage.

After overnight repairs, Foust and Beavis were forced to start Sunday's stages with a replacement synchromesh transmission and they spent the day fighting to stay on the pace. It's the duo's second run in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

"It was pretty good out there," said Foust. "We were battling on the first day and putting good time on Travis until we had our problem - it's a promising thing for the car."

Top Open class cars use a dog-engagement gearbox that allows the drivers to shift without using the clutch - saving them time on every corner. Teams say it's worth a second per mile and while Foust's technical skills meant he put up an able fight, he was unable to catch the leaders.

The result means Comrie-Picard holds onto the championship lead with 48 points, followed by Pastrana and Foust, who are tied for second with 45 points apiece.

In fourth place were Polish ace Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski, followed by Super Production class winner Pitor Wiktorczyk and co-driver Grzegorz Dorman in fifth.

Young driver Dillon Van Way and Joshua Knott took top honors in the two-wheel drive class in their 2002 Ford Focus

Wiktorczyk and Dorman had been battling with Matt Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey for the Super Production class lead on Day 1, but brake failure for the latter duo took them out of contention.

Subaru Rally Team USA's newest member, Dave Mirra, and co-driver Derek Ringer were reported out of the rally late on Day 2. Mirra had said he was struggling to adjust to his new Subaru WRX STi.

Drivers smashed the stage record on the Brooklyn Stage on Sunday, with Pastrana, Foust and Comrie-Picard all wiping out Carl Jardevall"s top time of 6:33, set in 2004. After Sunday"s run, the new record holder is Pastrana, with a time of 6:27.9.

Subaru"s Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino suffered a turbo failure early Sunday and dropped out of podium contention. Team mechanics were able to repair the trouble, but they withdrew from the contest after further mechanical problems.

Weather in the region is notoriously unpredictable at this time of year, but the rally was clear and dry throughout. Teams lined up in Aberdeen, Washington, for the opening Parc Expose under sunny skies Saturday morning and, after a sprinkle of rain overnight, the sunshine continued until the Sunday finish.

The storied Olympus Rally is relatively new to the Rally America calendar, having returned to the national series in 2007. But the event has a lengthy history.

It was first run as a national event in 1973 and was a favorite stop on World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988. Rally racing legends including Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen and American John Buffum are among those who have claimed victories at the famed contest.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as "real cars, real roads, real fast." This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

Top teams in the series are also invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. Eight top teams have already been invited to this August's contest. Among the marques typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

About Rally America

Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2008, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Portland, Ore., to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow.

Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit www.rally-america.com.

On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA will host its official after party at the Sutra Nightclub in Costa Mesa, with a live DJ and performance by the Speaker Junkies.

D1GP USA
On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA Round #1 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim will feature the largest build-out of a drift track in history. Some of the highlights on and off the track will include:

Track Build
Largest build-out for a drifting event in history 1,000 foot long entry allows competitors to reach 3rd gear and high speeds before entering the 500 foot by 500 foot drift course. Newly developed half-circle truss clipping point markers within the course. Off-Track Entertainment Extreme AutoFest car show competition featuring more than 250 highly modified exotic and tuner vehicles. Stunt bike, shifter kart and skate demos. HPI Racing RC drift track. Celebrity drivers and cars from the Gumball 3000. Live performances by the reunited members of Sublime, Speaker Junkies and more.

Event and Championship Prize Purse
Event registration fees go directly into the prize purse, with 50 percent going into the event payout and 50 percent being added to the “pot” for the series championship. D1GP USA’s Progressive Prize Payout system ensures that the prize purse will be no less than $7,500 per event and $30,000 for the championship, although the amounts could be much higher depending on the number of drivers registering and any contingency money thrown into the pot.

Competition Format
Practice and qualifying rounds will take place on Friday, May 1. The top 16 qualifiers will compete in the “SUPER16” main event on Saturday, May 2. Features tournament style bracket and head-to-head battles (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.). Championship series points will be awarded to all 16 positions – from 25 points for the first place finisher to 1 point for sixteenth place.

Judging Format
The D1GP USA Pro1 system introduces advanced computerized scoring into the world of drifting competition, allowing 75 percent of the total score to be calculated from unbiased data measurements. Remaining 25 percent will be based on style points and averaged out between the three judges.

Event Head Judge
The head judge for the Anaheim D1 event will be Hisashi Kamimoto, who also serves as a judge for D1GP Japan.

Associate Judges
Recently announced series judge Brian Norris, Southern California native and one of the earliest adopters of the sport of drifting in the United States. Adam Andretti, professional race car driver and member of one of the most legendary families in all of motorsports.

Competition Director
Terence Jenkins – Jenkins founded Lateral G Racing and along with his driver Samuel Hubinette, the team went on to become crowned the first ever championship winning American drift team. Jenkins went on to form the WDC and since 2005 he has provided drift exhibitions, promoting the sport of drifting at major Indy Racing League events. Additionally Terence ran Octane TV, a cable TV On Demand, Broadband and Mobile network focusing on automotive programming.

Technical Director
Chiaki Goto – Goto’s storied racing career includes championship wins in the N1 Endurance Race in Japan for three consecutive years, from 1995 to 1998. He also served as the director and mechanic of the JIC Magic drifting team in 2003. From 2004 to 2007, Goto served as Race Operations Director for D1GP USA.

Director of Track Operations
Naoki Kobayashi – Kobayashi hosted the first ever drift clinic in North America, called Drift Day. Soon after, he formed the Drift Association and started working with D1GP to host its first Ikaten competition. He also helped bring the first D1GP competition to the United States, co-organizing the 2003 event at Irwindale Speedway. Since 2002, Kobayashi has hosted well over 250 events nationwide. His most recent projects include the Pro Am Drift series and Drift 101.

Announcer
Will Mattox takes over as the voice of D1GP USA. He is currently the voice of Rally America and has played as host for the rally portion of X Games 14 and 15. Lisa Uchida, the voice of D1GP Japan, will also be calling the play by play in both English and Japanese.

Line Production
Dennis Condon & Associates –The Dennis Condon and Associates team represents the pinnacle of event production, with a resume that includes the Olympic Games, MTV Music Awards, Disney events, and Supercross. They will be responsible for all on-track entertainment as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Option Video

D1’s Option video will be filming with legendary host Manabu Suzuki - the voice of D1 in Japan

Ticket Prices
Bleacher & General Admission tickets are available at www.d1gp.com and at the event box office.

For more information about D1GP USA and the Anaheim event, please visit www.d1gp.com.

"The Drift Alliance team was the most consistent throughout the weekend," said Formula DRIFT judge Andy Yen. "They stayed the tightest through the hairpin turn with all 3 cars coming out together in unison, which the fans really enjoyed."

Judging for Team Drift was based on the teams ability to drift in unison, closeness between cars with the closer the distance the better, and overall excitement including fan reaction. Both Formula DRIFT judges Ernie Fixmer and Andy Yen judged the event on a 15 point scale awarding each team a maximum of 15 points based on their performance on Turns 9, 10, and 11 of the Long Beach Grand Prix street course. The 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship series continues on May 8-9 in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Proving Ground.

Formula DRIFT Team Drift Results
1. Team Drift Alliance Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, and John Russakoff 29.5 Points
2. Team TBA Samuel Hubinette, Conrad Grunewald, and Kyle Mohan 26.75 Points
3. Team Underdogs Michael Essa, Dan Pina, and Cody Parkhouse 16.75 Points

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com

Check out SuperGT.net for more info and full race detail.

Later, the temperature dropped significantly as the event went well into the night. Undeterred, Billy and the MDR-1 were sent back out for another session. Being a relatively stock car, the Genesis was able to keep up with several high horsepower, race prepped vehicles. At times, even keeping up with a Porsche 997 GT3 RS in the tight corners! The MODE Racing team packed up after an exhausting and cold night of racing but were content about how much they’ve learned about the Genesis Coupe 2.0T.

Billy Brooks commented: “We’re looking forward to the next event and especially with generous help that we’re receiving on development of the car from supporters and sponsors. In addition, MODE Racing’s products that will be on the car and ready for other Genesis Coupe owners to own will also help us obtain the winning edge that will bring MODE Racing to the podium within the next few events.”

MODE Racing would like to thank all of the sponsors and supporters that have helped MODE Racing so far: APR Performance, Instyle Graphics, Fizix Media Labs, M2 Motoring, Motul, Seibon Carbon, Memphis Car Audio, Genesisforums.org, Toyo Tires, Robi Spec, JRZ Suspension, HB Speed, and of course the hard working crew of MODE Racing.

During the test session, which took place after Rally Portugal, Sordo helped evaluate the car in two different environments. Firstly, a road section that passed through the village of Barranco do Velho, which was open to normal traffic. And secondly, on a narrow and twisty road similar to an asphalt stage in the World Rally Championship.

“In electric mode, you can drive through villages without making the slightest noise, which is very unusual for a competition car,” said Sordo. “It’s better for the environment and also more comfortable for the crew, making road sections more pleasant.”

“On the stages, I would say that the overall behaviour of the car is slightly different to that of the C4 WRC, with more weight to the rear,” he said after his first few flying kilometres in internal combustion mode. “The boost function means that we can choose when to benefit from extra torque under acceleration. When it comes in, the effect is impressive...”

“It’s an amazing feeling starting the season off on top,” stated Ryan Tuerck, Round 1: Streets of Long Beach winner and driver of the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice. “This isn’t a one man show and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice team. It’s very satisfying to stand at the top of such a talented field of competitors.”

The 2009 Formula DRIFT season continues on May 8-9 in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Proving Ground. Tickets are on-sale now.

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

• 1. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 102 Points
• 2. Hubinete, Samuel NuFormz Racing / Mopar Dodge Viper 90 Points
• 3. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Scion Racing tC 84 Points
• 4. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 72 Points
• 5. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 65 Points
• 6. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 62 Points
• 6. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / AEM Nissan 350Z 62 Points
• 6. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 62 Points
• 6. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z 62 Points
• 10. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire / Sears Saturn Sky 61 Points
• 11. Pawlak, Justin Mazda USA / Cooper 58 Points
• 12. Grunewald, Conrad Tanaka Racing Chevy Corvette 57 Points
• 13. Ly, Quoc Driftspeed Nissan S14 56 Points
• 14. Ueo, Katsuhiro Driftspeed Nissan S15 55 Points
• 15. Jeff Jones Comp. Turbo / K&N Filters Nissan S13 54.50 Points
• 16. Hayashida, Kazu Maziora / Signal Auto Nissan S15 53 Points

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results

• 1. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 102 Points
• 2. Hubinete, Samuel NuFormz Racing / Mopar Dodge Viper 90 Points
• 3. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Scion Racing tC 84 Points