300 words is not long enough to fully describe the magnitude of what all of us present at the autodrome St-Eustache lived last weekend during the inaugural event of the Formula Drift Canada Challenge. Several thousand people waited in line more than two hours before the doors opened up, forcing the FDCanada crew to open earlier than planned.
Fans really got their money’s worth with a huge Offset Kings show, incredible sponsors and vendor booths and pits that were fully open to the public. The accessibility of all drivers and crews, taking time to sign autographs and to chat with fans, and the amazing quality of racing on track, helped make this day a huge success. It was officially the biggest Drift event ever held on Canadian soil.
Few people gave a chance to the local DMCC drivers before the start of the competition. With heart and determination, Alex Michaud, Tomy Boisvert-Bellemare, Kevin Morin, Brad Carlton and Alex Gosselin managed to impress the Formula DRIFT drivers and crew. Unfortunately when the top 16 came around, no matter how hard they fought, the FD pros showed us the extent of their talent. Leaving absolutely everything on track, our local drivers were still defeated by the Forrest Wang, Marc Landreville, Kenny Moen, Dean Kearney and Daigo Saito’s of this world. Despite the elimination of our local fan favourites, spectators still got an amazing show with the FD pros delivering a spectacular top 4 and final, in the end won by the legendary Saito.
Hopefully, the success of the event, the professionalism of the organization, the enthusiasm of the fans and the quality of the drift scene in Quebec might have managed to charm the Formula Drift's organization and ensure the return of FD in Québec for years to come.
