Archive for March, 2010

2010 Dodge Challenger built

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Putting on the rear carbon fiber panels from AIT and getting the roof scoop in place.

Putting on the rear carbon fiber panels from AIT and getting the roof scoop in place.


We are now 1 day away from the tech day.
The suspension got all done over the weekend. The Weld wheels arrived on
Monday and we put on the BFGoodrich tires to put it on the ground.
AIT delivered the carbon fiber doors, fenders, hood and trunk on
Thursday. The engine was a week and a half delayed so that’s been
quite frustrating. The good thing is that we got to use another engine
for the engine mounts. The engine is arriving today…
The design wrap should arrive on Thursday from competition graphics
and be wrapped on Friday night.
At the same time we been working on our rig and truck. We got a 48″
trailer and a Dodge truck getting prepped too.
The Viper is waiting on parts to be modified for ACP. It is
competition ready but need to be prepped and fitted with his seats.
It’s all coming down to the last week and Brad an the boys at ES Motorsports are doing a great job to get the car ready in time.

The carbon fiber dashboard in it's place.

The carbon fiber dashboard in it's place.


BFGoodrich tires and the Weld racing wheel ready to go

BFGoodrich tires and the Weld racing wheel ready to go


Getting the carbon fiber parts from AIT

Getting the carbon fiber parts from AIT


challenger6
ES motorsports in Riverside is helping us build the car

ES motorsports in Riverside is helping us build the car

Drift Ya Later

Samuel

Two-time US drift champion takes on Japan

Friday, March 26th, 2010

ATTENTION NEWS, MOTORSPORT and AUTOMOTIVE EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two-time US drift champion takes on Japan

TOKYO, Japan (Samuel Hübinette Racing; March 24, 2010) — Two-time drift champion Samuel Hübinette is in Japan this weekend to make a surprise appearance in the D1 Grand Prix championship drifting series.

“It’s an honor to be competing in Japan where the sport of drifting started,” said Hübinette. “The style is different here and I’m really looking forward to competing against these guys.”

Hübinette was expected to show some American muscle, taking on the largely Japanese field in a Dodge Viper, but the logistics of this round mean he will take part in a vehicle provided by D1 veteran Takahiro Ueno.

The event will pose some unique challenges for Hübinette, who said he expects to have only about an hour of testing in the right-hand drive car before the contest starts on Saturday.

“Being in a right-hand drive car definitely makes it more challenging,” said Hübinette. “In drifting you need to make quick adjustments and there is no time for thinking – you just have to react. It’s going to take some time to get used to having the e-brake and the gear shift on the left side.”
(more…)

Tokyo Drift

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

I got a call last week to go over to Japan for the season opener event in Tokyo for the D1 GP.
After a long off season of not much of practice I saw this as a great opportunity to get some seat time.
I always wanted to visit Japan and see how a Drift competition would be over here. So to do it against the top guys over here is awesome.
Ueno is prepping a car for me as we speak. It’s going to be so hard, because first it is a right hand drive car and on top of that a car I never drew before.
So I don’t have to high expectations on myself for this one.
After breakfast we are heading out to his shop to get fitted in the car. Then tomorrow morning it will be an hour practice before the qualification.
I forgot my camera so unfortunately there will not be many pictures from my side.
Stay tune for more info from the qualification.
Samuel

Hübinette Forms Samuel Hübinette Racing, Announces Two-Car Team for 2010

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Newport Coast, Calif. (SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING) — Two-time Formula DRIFT (FD) champion Samuel Hübinette is returning to the FD series with a new factory-backed Dodge team in 2010.
After six successful seasons with the NuFormz Mopar/BFGoodrich team, Samuel Hübinette is moving on to a new chapter in his illustrious career. Hübinette will strike out on his own in 2010, forming his own racing operation, Samuel Hübinette Racing (SHR). With support from sponsors including Dodge and BFGoodrich tires, Hübinette’s SHR organization will field a two-car team for the 2010 FD season.
“This is a new chapter for us,” said Hübinette. “I’m very excited to be back in competition and to take on a new role as team owner this year.”

2010dodgedriftchlngr3

The veteran Hübinette will drift his new Dodge Challenger, while FD newcomer Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard will take the wheel of the team’s familiar Dodge Viper SRT10.
“We’re looking at a strong year and a strong team for 2010,” said Hübinette. “We’re pleased to bring the Dodge Challenger into the series, while still showing off the capabilities of the Dodge Viper. I’m excited to see what ACP can accomplish.”
Comrie-Picard is an accomplished rally driver who won the 2009 North American Rally Championship.
Both Hübinette and Comrie-Picard will be competing on BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW tires.
Turning the wrenches for both Comrie-Picard’s SHR-Dodge/BFG Viper and Hübinette’s Challenger is Brad Manka. The SHR crew chief maintained Hübinette’s NuFormz Viper during the 2008 and 2009 FD campaigns.
Hübinette has competed in the FD Series under the NuFormz Racing banner since the series’ inception in 2004, capturing two championships in his first three seasons. Hübinette to date owns the most wins (nine) of any FD Series driver.
The two-time FD champion was dealt an enormous blow when NuFormz team owner Shaun Carlson passed away suddenly last October. Hübinette will carry on in memory of his departed friend and colleague.
“Shaun’s tragic death was a shock to us all,” said Hübinette. “We hope to do him proud out there this season.”

ABOUT SAMUEL HÜBINETTE
A native Swede, Hübinette has been living and competing in the United States since 2001. He became a US citizen in 2006.
When he isn’t drifting, Hübinette is also a working stunt driver in car commercials and in Hollywood productions including the Fast and the Furious franchise, Crank2, and the upcoming film Knight and Day.
Hübinette developed a taste for speed in his native Sweden, where he earned a reputation for pushing snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars to their limits. He competed as a driver in Touring Car racing on a team for Volvo from 1997 through 2000 and worked for Volvo Cars for nine years as a stunt driver and test driver in product development for the company.
He has also worked as a performance driving instructor, including a three-year stint at the Skip Barber Racing School, where he was a member of the elite Special Product Group.
Last year Samuel became a “specialist reserved officer” with LAPD.

SHR Partners: Dodge, BFGoodrich, Mopar, Eibach, Weld Racing, AIT, Sparco, K&N, AEM, Stack Performance, ES Motorsports, Royal Purple, Wilwood, Tilton Engineering, Os Giken, APR, ITI Performance, Magnaflow, Azunia Tequila, And more to come!!