HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – March 27th – Bridges Racing is proud to announce the race support and logistics of the Worthouse. Drift Team for the 2017 Formula Drift Black Magic Pro Championship, presented by BlackVue. Operating out of their Huntington Beach, CA shop, Bridges Racing will be conducting race prep, on-site track support, and logistics for all eight rounds of the championship. In addition to supporting the twin Nissan Silvia S15 cars of James Deane. and Piotr Więcek, Bridges Racing will continue to support Dean Karnage Kearney’s Dodge Viper in the Formula Drift championship.
“I’m already impressed with the professionalism of Piotr and James, and feel that they will be a great addition to the Bridges Racing roster” said team owner Bryan Bridges. “Both of them are quite accomplished in European drifting, and their experience in the sport already shows. Combined with our experience of competing in the Formula Drift series over the past six seasons, I think this partnership could be a winning combination”. Bridges Racing has supported several international drivers over the past several seasons including Michihiro Takatori, Daigo Saito, Robbie Nishida, and Kenny Moen in addition to their current flagship driver Kearney. Kearney will continue his partnership with Bridges Racing for the fifth season, and is looking forward to building on his top 16 finish in the 2016 final standings.
Kearney will start the season in his “001” supercharged Dodge Viper chassis, while the “002” twin turbocharged chassis will make its’ competition debut later this season. Kearney is looking for a return to the Formula Drift podium in 2017 after an off-season that included an appearance on the “Fast N’ Loud” television program on Discovery channel, promoting Gas Monkey Energy Drink. “Working with Richard Rowlings and his Gas Monkey brand was a great experience!” said Kearney. “We got some great exposure for our team and our sponsors, but now it’s time to prep our Oracle Lighting Dodge Viper to burn up some Achilles Tires USA tires on the Streets of Long Beach. Growing our team with James and Piotr is only going to push me harder to stay ahead of them in the standings.” Kearney and Deane have competed against each other for nearly a decade in Ireland, and will continue their friendly competition as teammates in the Formula Drift series.
Preparation of the twin Worthouse Nissan S15’s has already occurred at the Bridges Racing shop over the past week, and final prep will continue in the coming days leading up to the March 31st & April 1st season opening event in Long Beach, California. Deane and Więcek spent a full day testing and refining the settings on their Nissan S15’s last week at Willow Springs raceway, and are excited to debut their cars to the public later this week.
“This has been nearly a decade in the making, but I’m ready to make a run for the Formula Drift Championship” said Deane. “After getting a taste of Formula Drift behind the Falken Tire S15 back in 2010, I didn’t want to rush my return until I had the right opportunity. The time has come, and now I’m ready. This Worthouse Nissan S15 and the Bridges Racing team have given me everything I could ask for.” Deane has won nearly every drifting competition in Europe, and has turned his focus to running a full schedule in Formula Drift. Back in 2010, Deane competed in just four events, making the Top 8 in two of them. Deane will be driving on Falken Tires for his eighth consecutive season across all continents.
Więcek is equally as experienced as Deane, winning several events in and championships in Poland and across Europe over the last several seasons. “I’m excited to come to Formula Drift, I’ve been watching it for years on the livestream. To be here competing against all these drivers is going to be amazing!” said Więcek. While both Więcek and Deane’s cars look identical, they were prepped nearly 2,000 km’s away from each other. Więcek’s left-hand drive car was prepped at G-GARAGE in Poland while Deane’s right-hand drive car was prepped at DeaneMsport near Cork, Ireland. Both cars were air freighted to Los Angeles earlier in March before final prep happened at Bridges Racing.
Bridges Racing will handle pre-race preparation, transportation logistics, and track support for all three cars effective immediately.
