MOPAR'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

[Jay Herbert]

MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

NEWS RELEASE
June 16, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TEAM MOPAR CONTACT:
Misha Geisert
J.R. Thompson Company
(317) 432-4110
[email protected]

MOPAR'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

Center Line, Mich. — Mopar's Samuel Hubinnette is one of the hottest drift drivers in the country, but that reputation hasn't come easily. Hubinette has squared off against some of the best drifters in the world, including Rhys Millen, Chris Forsberg and Ken Gushi, most recently at the Drift Houston event.

After qualifying his Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe in first position and advancing through the first round, The Crazy Swede faced the Pontiac GTO of Millen in the quarterfinals. The two drivers took their machines nose to nose; after two close, competitive runs, Hubinette was awarded the judges' nod. Hubinette drew Forsberg in the final four, and the two drivers put on an outstanding driving demonstration for the judges and fans.

When the smoke cleared, Hubinette had advanced to the final round.

The tone for the final round was one of anticipation, as Hubinette lined up to face Gushi for the title. It was clear that Gushi wouldn't go down without a fight, and Hubinette focused on making his final pass the best of the evening. Halfway through the final, Gushi suffered a broken axle, ending his evening prematurely.

We didn't want to win the event this way [with our opponent breaking], but it's exciting to win our second event, Hubinette said. The Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe is an awesome car, and we were able to come out and put on a good show for the fans. Drifting is all about entertaining the fans, and everyone here in Houston was great. I'm excited that we could win another event for Mopar.

Hubinette's win at Drift Houston marked the veteran drifter's second Formula D victory and gave him the distinction of winning back-to-back events in the seriesinaugural season. The Lateral G Racing team also continues to lead the Formula D points chase as they prepare for the third round of competition at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on July 11, 2004.

We're definitely looking forward to going to Infineon Raceway in July, Hubinette said. Winning back-to-back events gives us good momentum going to Sonoma. It's exciting to win two races in the inaugural Formula D season, and we're going to try to make it three in a row for Mopar.

For more information regarding Mopar, Hubinette or Lateral G Racing, log on to www.moparspeed.com, www.toxicdrift.com or www.lateralgracing.com.

Mopar is based in Center Line, Mich., and is the exclusive original equipment supplier of parts and accessories for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep® vehicles.

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

Good to know DC's priorities are to jump through hoops for the ricers. This crap will be dead in a year and sure as hell won't increase Viper sales. What good is creating brand awareness with people who have no money?

Put the SRT-4's in Speed touring car and build a Comp coupe fit for ALMS.

pathetic

 

[VIPERnXr4ti]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

i wouldnt be so sure, that drifting will be dead in a year...its been a mainstay in Japan for quite some time, and is VERY popular among the youth....i just think you wont be happy until DC does what YOU want...well hit the lottery and buy the company, until that day realize your not the only person DC is trying to impress/make happy....Drifting is a BIG MONEY sport in Japan, where HUGE amounts of money are put into R&D and building cars to compete is stuff like the D1 Grand Prix....there are cars at the pinnicle of Drifting that probably cost more than a comp coupe when you take in to account what went into building these cars....the success of the Viper in this form of motorsports introduces it to a culture, and area of motorsports where the car was thought to be "not made for it" it was always thought to be the playground, for the RX-7's, Skyline's and such, the Viper would have been joked about competing with these purpuse built drifters, but recent events are obviously showing otherwise. While i want to see, Chrysler return to Lemans/ALMS etc with a factory supported Viper racer you must realize this is a business....And id feel comfortable in saying that as far as the US is concerned they can make more money supporting the NASCAR effort, and potential of the Drifting scen in the US brings a huge potential profit because of the market it exposes the car too....

....now everyone go ahead and flame the young guy with less than 50 posts...

Anthony

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

i wouldnt be so sure, that drifting will be dead in a year...its been a mainstay in Japan for quite some time, and is VERY popular among the youth....i just think you wont be happy until DC does what YOU want...well hit the lottery and buy the company, until that day realize your not the only person DC is trying to impress/make happy....Drifting is a BIG MONEY sport in Japan, where HUGE amounts of money are put into R&D and building cars to compete is stuff like the D1 Grand Prix....there are cars at the pinnicle of Drifting that probably cost more than a comp coupe when you take in to account what went into building these cars....the success of the Viper in this form of motorsports introduces it to a culture, and area of motorsports where the car was thought to be "not made for it" it was always thought to be the playground, for the RX-7's, Skyline's and such, the Viper would have been joked about competing with these purpuse built drifters, but recent events are obviously showing otherwise. While i want to see, Chrysler return to Lemans/ALMS etc with a factory supported Viper racer you must realize this is a business....And id feel comfortable in saying that as far as the US is concerned they can make more money supporting the NASCAR effort, and potential of the Drifting scen in the US brings a huge potential profit because of the market it exposes the car too....

....now everyone go ahead and flame the young guy with less than 50 posts...

Anthony

Boy this doesn't surprise me

Keyword IN JAPAN The tools that like watching this crap will grow BORED of it especially because there are no affordable cars over here to do this with. WHo makes an affordable RWD car these days? None! You going to go drift with a miata? Not without modding the hell out of it. The thing is, the car Dodge uses isn't even a production car, it's a race car with a $130K price tag, how many people who watch drifting can afford that? I recognize the fact that it creates brand awareness, so do other things. I think that entering an SRT-4 in a respectable racing series that stands for something would better suit the marketing strategy of affordable performance from Dodge than some $130K Viper.

 

[VIPERnXr4ti]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

Boy this doesn't surprise me

Keyword IN JAPAN The tools that like watching this crap will grow BORED of it especially because there are no affordable cars over here to do this with. WHo makes an affordable RWD car these days? None! You going to go drift with a miata? Not without modding the hell out of it. The thing is, the car Dodge uses isn't even a production car, it's a race car with a $130K price tag, how many people who watch drifting can afford that? I recognize the fact that it creates brand awareness, so do other things. I think that entering an SRT-4 in a respectable racing series that stands for something would better suit the marketing strategy of affordable performance from Dodge than some $130K Viper.

i understand your point, and i do agree, that the average drifting fan is not going to be buying a Viper...nobody makes affordable RWD cars anymore but people are still buying used ones and drifting them...many people spending quite a lot of money for used RX-7's etc, and droping lots of mods into them...modding them to the point where a used GTS would not be totally out of the price range...

...btw, buy a limited slip differential for a miata and its actually not a bad drift car...im stretching i know

...everything taken into account, i DO AGREE WITH YOU that Chrysler SHOULD be concentrating on "real" racing with the Viper like ALMS, Lemans, Daytona etc. because even though not to many americans follow international racing, i have noticed that LOTS of people know the Corvettes won at Lemans, and that they have been very sucessful recently there....unfortunatly when tv crews talk about the C5-R's winning, they dont mention that the GTS-R's were bitchslapping the Vettes until factory suport was pulled, and the Viper was even more sucessful than the Vette....

...but i dont think that this drifting thing is a bad move...i would imagine its a short term commitment..maybe a couple years just to test the market...

Anthony

 

[Janni]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

"Formula D" what the freak is THAT? Is the Formula part supposed to add some legitimacy to this nonsense????

Racing my butt. It's Ice Capades on asphalt.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

i wouldnt be so sure, that drifting will be dead in a year...its been a mainstay in Japan for quite some time,
Anthony

Isn't Karaoke still big over there too?

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

Gosh, I guess I will get alot of flack here, but I am just glad we are seeing more involvement from DC in all forms of racing and not just Nascar. With contingency programs for Vipers in World Challenge, SRT-4s in SCCA events, and exposure in drifting, I am frankly happy we are seeing Snakes back on the track. Surprisingly the money some folks are spending on creating a 240 into a Skyline GTSR Clone, they could have purchased a Viper. Hearing from motorheads my son's age, they think the Viper is wicked cool, and I am just thrilled it is getting the notice. I remember the years I was Autocrossing and folks laughed about when was I going to do some real racing ( usually from dirt trackers, road racers, or drag racers ) and not just wiggle through a bunch of pylons. Randy Pobst, Jeff Altenburg, Peter Cunningham, Shauna Marinus, and others all came from a Solo II background, and they have had a huge impact in the World Challenge Series and others. So I am willing to look at this new racing form as a legitimate way to entice more gearheads into the fold, and having gazed into the past when DC ceased sponsoring the Oreca Team and went wholeheartedly after the Nascar Community, it is nice to see Snakes on the tarmac in:

1. SCCA ( ITE classes )
2. Viper Racing League
3. World Challenge Series - GT Class
4. Finally back in Super Stock in Solo II
5.and.......yes,.....in drifting.


Just my humble opinion,
Bill Pemberton

 

[pdmracing]

Re: MOPAR\'S HUBINETTE CONTINUES FORMULA D WINNING WAYS

"Formula D" what the freak is THAT? Is the Formula part supposed to add some legitimacy to this nonsense????

Racing my butt. It's Ice Capades on asphalt.

I agree, but anything that brings the young un's into the track is a good thing