For as long as he can remember, Ryan Tuerck, has loved Extreme Sports, and at a young age he became interested in BMX and Motocross. At the age of nine, his father bought him his first dirt bike, and by ten years old he started racing motocross. As he progressed through the ranks of amateur motocross he had countless podium finishes. The highlight of Tuerck’s amateur career was placing 7th in the nation, at Lorreta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals. At 16, he received his professional license from the American Motocross Association (AMA), and by 17, Ryan earned the opportunity to travel Canada, to race in the professional Canadian Nationals. Some of the highlights of his professional career included, placing 5th in the 125cc Canadian NationalsChampionship, as well as qualifying for Budds Creek, and Unadilla in the AMA Motocross Nationals. Though Ryan’s motocross career looked promising, he was forced to stop due to personal reasons.
In addition to racing motocross at 16, Ryan also became interested in cars. When he stopped racing, he bought his first car, a 1990 Ford Mustang. Feeling the need to challenge himself, Ryan began sliding his car sideways when pulling out of stop signs, and sliding around in empty parking lots near his New Hampshire home. After having the Mustang for a year, Ryan discovered on the internet that sliding your car around, or “Drifting,” was a legitimate sport. He immediately sold his Mustang, and bought a lighter, better handling Nissan 240sx. He upgraded the suspension, and installed a 2-way LSD to help the car drift. In 2003, Ryan went to his first formal drifting event at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, where he met future “Drift Alliance” teammates Tony Angelo,Chris Forsberg, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Ryan excelled at his first event, winning the competition, and continued to do well everywhere he went, constantly spending all his money upgrading his car so it would handle better and make more power.
In 2005, Tuerck competed in 2 rounds of Formula Drift where he did well enough to get the attention of a few sponsors. In 2006, Ryan competed in all 7 rounds of the Formula Drift series with help from his Drift Alliance brothers, Cooper Tires, Discount Tire, and 240sxMotoring. Ryan had a successful rookie season that included a 6th place finish at the Sonoma round. In 2007, Ryan moved to California with his Drift Alliance teammate, Tony Angelo. Together they started “Team Snakebite” and ran the whole Formula Drift season independently, with help from sponsors including,Bridgestone tires, Origin Lab, Peak Performance, K&N, Sam’s Autoland, Autometer, SR Motorcars, Enkei Wheels, Tomei, Haltech, and Exedy clutches. Ryan finished the 2007 season 15th in points.
In 2008, Ryan was picked up by Gardella Racing, and drove a 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP sponsored by Gardella Racing, Mobil 1, GM Racing, and Maxxis Tires throughout the 2008 Formula D season. Tuerck had a solid 2008 season, finishing sixth in points, and winning the “Driver of the Year” Award. Ryan’s momentum only continued from there, and in 2009, he finished second in points, just six points behind his Drift Alliance teammate, Chris Forsberg. The 2009 season saw Tuerck on top of the podium with first place finishes in both Long Beach and Irwindale, as well as a third place finish in Atlanta.
Ryan’s continued success, and meteoric rise through the Formula D ranks did not go unnoticed. Prior to the start of the 2010 Formula D season, Mobil 1 stepped up their commitment to Gardella Racing and Tuerck by becoming the team’s title sponsor, helping to provide Ryan and Gardella Racing with the best resources on and off the track. In the off season, Tuerck also signed on to be an official Red Bull athlete, an enviable sponsorship for any extreme sports athlete.
For the 2010 Formula D season, Ryan Tuerck is driving a Pontiac Solstice GXP sponsored by, Gardella Racing, Mobil 1, GM Racing, Red Bull, Maxxis Tires, and YoParts.com.
