TUERCK TAKES CONTROL AND BRINGS HOME FIRST PODIUM FINISH IN 2010 WITH A SECOND PLACE FINISH
~Enthusiastic Washington crowds greet Formula DRIFT at Round 4: Throwdown ~
HOWELL, NJ (July 12, 2010) – Consistency has been the name of the game for Ryan Tuerck in 2010. That consistency paid off huge dividends for Tuerck, and Gardella Racing, as he took the Mobil 1 Solstice on to the podium for the first time in 2010!
The weather in Monroe, Wash. was not as excruciating as it has been on the East coast, but it was hot none the less. This did not deter the crowds. The event sold out and then somehow the fans still kept coming into the gates.
Tuerck was anxious to get started in practice on Thursday. On his first practice run he spun out. It seemed innocent enough, but unfortunately the car he was practicing against didn’t see that he had spun out and ran full bore into him. This ended any chance of Tuerck getting any more practice runs.
The team worked hard the rest of the day and night to get the car ready for qualifying on Friday. They were extremely successful. Fortunately, Tuerck was able to make up for the lost practice on Thursday and take the Mobil 1 Solstice through a few practice runs to find his line. And boy did he find the line. He ended the day sitting in third position for Saturday’s competition.
The energetic crowd that filled the track on Friday came back Saturday to beautiful racing weather. They were stomping their feet, cheering and doing the wave to show their enthusiasm for the drifters.
In competition, Tuerck blasted through his first two opponents, Kyle Mohan and Joon Maeng. When it came to the third round against rookie Charles Ng, Tuerck had to take the Solstice through some extra runs to get past him. Ng put up a good fight, taking Tuerck into a “One More Round” ruling from the judges. In the semifinal round Tuerck was able dispatch of Michihiro Takatori.
This all set up a final round against the drifter sitting number two in points, Tanner Foust. Tuerck completely dominated the first run as the lead car. The cars were pretty much bumper to bumper, and then door to door throughout the run. On the second run, Tuerck decided not to leave anything on the course. He knew that in order to not get a “One More Run” decision he needed to drive aggressively. He was following Foust and the cloud of tire smoke was unbelievable. On the first turn in the banking it seemed they were together but only Foust came out of the bank. Tuerck had taken the left side of the car into the wall where the Mobil 1 banners were placed and suffered major damage. This ended Tuerck’s day with a second place trophy finish.
With the high qualifying and the podium finish Tuerck was able to move himself up the ladder in the Formula DRIFT driver standings. He is fourth, but only 21 behind third place Daijiro Yoshihara. More importantly he is closer than ever to the top position of Vaughn Gittin Jr. (-52 points behind).
You can see the see the photos of the crash on Wrecked Magazine at http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=183&page=15
Gardella Racing has some exciting news in the works that should be ready by the next event. Stay tuned for some of those announcements as the team gets ready for Formula DRIFT Round 5: After Dark at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Aug. 20-21.
