FREDRIC AASBO, SCION Driver For Team Need for Speed and Papadakis Racing

[AbigailBaker]

For Immediate Release
February 10, 2011
Media Contact: Abby@AbigailBaker.com

Team Need for Speed and Papadakis Racing join forces for 2011 Formula Drift season with 2010 FD Rookie of the Year Fredric Aasbo behind the wheel

BALTIMORE, Md. (February 10, 2011) -- Need for Speed and Papadakis Racing have partnered up for the 2011 Formula Drift season and have brought on board the 2010 Rookie of of the Year and Nordic Drift Champion, Fredric Aasbo, to drive the Need for Speed 2011 Scion tC.

Fredric Aasbo proved very successful in the 2010 season, finalizing the year in 13th place and voted Formula D’s “Rookie of the Year”. Joining forces with Need for Speed and Papadakis Racing will make for a strong season for an all-out, foot-to-the-floor drifter such as Fredric. "Being brought onboard by the Need for Speed family and to partner with Papadakis Racing is more than a dream come true - it's the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Fredric. “I feel extremely honored and I could not feel more inspired! I have huge shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of my idol Tanner Foust, but I can assure you I will give it all I've got - and then some - in the 2011 Formula Drift Championship piloting the Team Need for Speed Scion tC."

The Papadakis Racing team, whose extensive history in motorsports shows continuous achievements and success, is building a brand new competition car for talented drifter Fredric Aasbo to pilot in the rapidly approaching Formula Drift season. “Our new 2011 Scion tC is yet another challenging build,” says Stephan Papadakis of Papadakis Racing. “As other Formula D teams are still trying to keep up in competition by changing to V8 engines, we will break the trend and compete with a 2.7L turbocharged four-cylinder engine. I am confident that this car with Fredric behind the wheel is Championship quality. That is our goal!”

Adding a new car and driver to their roster, Papadakis Racing is excited to take on the challenge of putting the pieces together to build a strong Formula Drift effort for a highly-anticipated 2011 season. Stephan continues: “After watching Fredric drive in 2010, I felt he had what it takes to make it big in Formula Drift. He was my first choice when we looked for a new driver and the new Scion tC will suit him well. Our plan is to work together and build from what he started as Rookie of the Year in 2010 to Champion of the series.”

Papadakis Racing’s previous driver, two-time FD champ Tanner Foust, will be stepping back from Formula Drift in 2011 due to transitions in his career. “Tanner is an amazing driver and great personality,” says Stephan. “It has been a pleasure to work with him for five years of drift. Our team thanks him for his hard work and determination.”

With the Formula Drift season opener right around the corner in Long Beach, California on April 8-9, the Need for Speed Scion tC will be there to make its competition debut with Fredric Aasbo in the driver’s seat. For more information on Team NFS visit TeamNeedforSpeed.com, become a fan at Facebook.com/NeedForSpeed, or follow NFS on Twitter @NeedforSpeed.

ABOUT TEAM NEED FOR SPEED

Team Need for Speed consists of an all-star roster of drivers renowned for their skill on the track and passion for the automotive lifestyle. With over 100 million units sold, Need for Speed is the best-selling racing game franchise in the world and is known for delivering unparalleled white-knuckle racing, creative customization and street style. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Need for Speed SHIFT returns to the track to deliver the most physical racing experience to date with SHIFT 2 Unleashed available March 29, 2011. SHIFT 2 Unleashed sets the bar for realistic racing and delivers all the excitement and intensity of race day in a groundbreaking true-to-life experience. For more information about Team NFS, visit TeamNeedforSpeed.com.

ABOUT PAPADAKIS RACING

Team owner Stephan Papadakis is a legend of sport-compact racing who began building his reputation in the 1990s with the first front-wheel-drive, tube-chassis drag car in the U.S.
The team earned multiple records and championships in the discipline, turning in elapsed times and trap speeds previously thought unattainable in front-drive drag cars.
The team began drifting in 2005, and invited Tanner Foust to join them a year later. Papadakis Racing has shown impressive results in five years of Formula DRIFT competition, earning two championship titles (2007, 2008) and one runner up (2010).

ABOUT FORMULA DRIFT

Entering its eighth season, Formula DRIFT is recognized as the North American professional drifting championship. Established on the streets of Japan, drifting has evolved into a worldwide competitive sport that challenges each driver's driving ability and vehicle control. Formula DRIFT provides a forum for professional drifters to compete in 7 events nationwide for the coveted Formula DRIFT Championship crown. As the first official series in North America, Formula DRIFT has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme, attracting fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life and establishes itself as the world-wide leader for the Sport. For a competition schedule and ticket information, visit FormulaDrift.com.

[Bebop]

Damn... I knew tanner was leaving but to take the title sponsor as well?

Interesting season ahead of us, rip it Aasbo!

[YOitzJDM]

Originally Posted by blaze1

Damn... I knew tanner was leaving but to take the title sponsor as well?

Interesting season ahead of us, rip it Aasbo!

Rockstar has made it clear that they sponsor Tanner Foust and anything he is involved in, not Papadakis Racing. Steph P got very lucky that Tanner brought in the money while he did, because i'm sure it was a 6-figure deal. But I'm sure NFS is bringing somewhere in the same ballpark of money as well.

Rockstar has no interest in drifting, there's not enough people there. we're just lucky that Rockstar stuck around for the last 2 years w/ Tanner, and from what I've heard, it's mostly because Tanner told them that they HAD to support his drifting if they also wanted to support his rally career. Props to Tanner if that's the case

[Bebop]

So why did Rockstar get involved with Pac Rim in 06/07? Drift Hype?

It would be odd to see them stay out with the other 2 of the big 3 still in it, but we have seen weirder.

[YOitzJDM]

Originally Posted by blaze1

So why did Rockstar get involved with Pac Rim in 06/07? Drift Hype?

It would be odd to see them stay out with the other 2 of the big 3 still in it, but we have seen weirder.

They sponsored Pacrim in '06 and '07, then decided they wanted a championship and put their money behind Tanner in '08 (after he became their only athlete to win Gold at X-games in '07). He won in '08, then didn't win in '09 and '10. They are a "win or go home" company.

Back in '06 / 07, the amount of money they were spending on pacrim was small, around $50k per car. They also were a big sponsor of the series I think in '07. With tanner, the budget is way way more than that, and the results aren't there. Even though he finished 2nd last year, 2nd place is first loser. Plus they have different people in charge now compared to '06, so those people have decided to move on from drifting.

I think the rise in publicity of NOS and Monster helped them expedite that decision. NOS is getting all the branding on the FD materials (notice how many fliers Forsberg was on last year compared to Foust), and JR got all the publicity (and rightfully so). Tanner won 2 events and podiumed at 3 others, but all the press was Monster or JR or Falken or NOS related. If I were Rockstar, I'd take my toys and go play in another sandbox too!

[INFO]

DRIVER BLOG: FREDRIC AASBO>> MY EXCITING NEW TEAM
http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011...-new-team.aspx

[INFO]

[Bebop]

feeling this render!

[my 1 88 u]

I like the white/black/orange better