VIDEO: Sam Hubinette in Formula D action
When you're winging a vehicle as expensive and powerful as a purpose-built Dodge Viper drift car, being fearful will only lead to a bad ending. Sam Hubinette doesn't have any such compunctions while sliding sideways at 90 miles per hour. Should he inadvertently hit the wall, whoops. Fretting over potential contact will likely only make it inevitable. The hairy-chested car guys over at 0-60 were hanging out at the third round of Formula Drift competition in Englishtown, NJ, and caught up with the Skidding Swede for a few minutes while shooting a larger video of the competition. The smoky event saw Hubinette's Viper place second to Tanner Foust's Nissan 350Z. Foust, you'll recall, is one of the hosts of NBC's domestic "Top Gear." Good to know he can drive. Now's your chance to take shots at drifting and complain about how it's not racing, and doesn't require any skill, though we assure you it is, and it does. You still don't have to like it. Video posted after the jump
Gallery: Formla D round 3
[Source: 0-60]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tuna 8:09PM (6/27/2008)
Foust can drive, just hard to watch him talk about cars... like nails on chalkboard.
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Franz 8:17PM (6/27/2008)
+1. I've said this before. He's a great driver, but he's no good in Supercars Exposed... no personality whatsoever. The driving is top notch, but his presenting skills... not so much.
LOs 8:24PM (6/27/2008)
Tyler Foust? I thought it was Tanner Foust.
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matt 8:36PM (6/27/2008)
yeah who the hell is Tyler Foust?
typos are one thing, but getting the names of TG hosts is another level entirely...
of course, it's not like he's Jezza or anything, so we don't have to kill you.
Tyler Faust 5:47AM (6/28/2008)
I resent those statements.
Cop Car 8:39PM (6/27/2008)
A drifter is he, this whole American Top Gear show is sounding worse as details are announced.
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Derek 9:55PM (6/27/2008)
Yes, he's also a rally driver, ice racer (as was Hubinette) and has competed in the Baja 1000 and Pike's Peak Hill Climb not to mention he's a stunt driver too. He probably also knows that when a manufacturer rates the horsepower of an engine at the crank you wont get the same numbers when you dyno it at the wheels, I'm looking at you Hamster....
jb1830 8:51PM (6/27/2008)
Hope you guys enjoy the video! Thanks to Hubinette for the interview and the awesome ride in the Viper :) It was the smoothest ride ever.
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why not the LS2LS7? 10:28PM (6/27/2008)
What does drifting have to do with being able to drive?
It's bad enough Top Gear and Fifth Gear spend all their time drifting cars around the track, now we're going to have a host who does it for a living?
The fastest route around the track rarely involves breaking traction. And few of us are going to spend time grilling our tires day to day. I'd rather see cars evaluated for max performance or what they're actually going to be used for, not for smoke shows.
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PockyPowah 10:38PM (6/27/2008)
Drifting has everything to do with being able to drive. I dont care if people find it pointless, it still takes an incredibly show of skill and CAR CONTROL to be able to hold a drift like these guys do.
Show me an average person who "cant drive" who can drift, and i'll shut up. (inb4 nick hogan)
why not the LS2LS7? 11:01PM (6/27/2008)
Show you someone who can drift?
I won't. Thankfully I don't have any friends who drift.
Yeah, it takes a certain kind of car control to drift. That doesn't mean you can drive like a race driver should.
PockyPowah 11:15PM (6/27/2008)
Ill agree, drifting isn't RACING.
I never said it was.
All I said was, drifting is an incredibly show of skill, car control and performance. And It shouldn't be demeritted just because you don't agree with it.
I think nascar is ridiculously stupid, but I dont run around bashing it. I still respect it because I know its not easy.
why not the LS2LS7? 2:11AM (6/28/2008)
I don't bash drifting at random.
The article actually suggested we do so. So I did.
The article also suggested that a drifter is a good race driver, and that's not necessarily true either. Just because you can control your car doesn't mean you know where to put it on the track for maximum speed.
tankd0g 11:22AM (6/28/2008)
You really think it's more likely that Joe Sixpack is going to be driving his Mustang at 10/10ths on his way to work than lighting up the rear tires in the KFC parking lot at night?
I think American drifting is pretty stupid anyway, Nascar for gen-X. I was all excited when it came here from Japan, but then I saw what they did to it, huge cars on courses with 2 or 3 turns. Give me a break. One of these cars wouldn't even fit on a Japanese Touge let alone drift it.
Frank 12:26PM (6/28/2008)
I think its a reasonable deduction that those who drift well are above par race car drivers. They necessarily must make better race car drivers than, say, the average driver, because not only does drifting necessitate a solid understanding of the limitations and abilities of a car, most of them are, in fact also some sort of racers as well. Not any idiot can do that w/ an SRT, and i'll bet not every race car driver can either. Reasonable thinking will lead you to the same conclusion, and besides, who the hell really cares? =)
PockyPowah 10:35PM (6/27/2008)
I dont know what you're talking about, hubinette didnt even place in the top 3 at englishtown. it was Foust for first, T. mcquarrie for second and rhys millen for third. I remember being happy that hubinette didnt place.
Sourse: http://formulad.com/pro-championship/englishtown-results.html
Also, I was there.
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mroverlord 10:45PM (6/27/2008)
Viiiiippppeeeerrrrrrrr (pulling jaw off floor).
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why not the LS2LS7? 11:04PM (6/27/2008)
Wow. I missed a sentence. The article says drifting is racing, it most definitely is not. Even ask drifters if it's racing, they'll say it isn't.
Even when it is timed, the timing doesn't really come into play in picking a winner. It's some sort of competition, but it isn't a race.
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Tyler Faust 5:47AM (6/28/2008)
How about you cut down on your excessive posting/ranting?
tankd0g 11:32AM (6/28/2008)
It is a race technically, because if you can overtake the lead car in a drift, you win. But that is not generally considered the goal.