Welcoming a sold-out crowd for the first time at downtown Long Beach, the Formula Drift Pro Series 2012 took off in great fashion, with one of the tightest qualifying ever as drivers qualified within a point of each other. A repeat of history was witnessed when the final battle saw Justin Pawlak go up against Daijiro Yoshihara again.

Like last year, Dai's America's Tire/Falken Tire S13 lost to the Falken Tire Ford Mustang of JTP and Dai was a little frustrated. He said, "I met JTP twice last season and I lost to him both times. This time I really wanted to beat him but I didn't, so I'm kinda frustrated. Still, a second place is a good start to the year.."

A most interesting highlight of the day had to be the battle of Dai vs. Daigo! The 2011 Formula Drift USA and Formula Drift Asia champions met in the semi-finals and it was the first time they ever competed against each other. 

Daigo lost to Dai this time, but you can be sure he will not let Dai off so easy. He said, "My aim is to finish first in everything I compete in and I'm a little disappointed that I only came in third, but I will keep trying my best and the top is always my goal. Was it tough against Dai? Well if it was easy I would have won! Ha ha ha!"

Daigo has proven to be a strong force to be reckoned with, clinching a podum finish on his Formula Drift USA debut in third after beating Matt Powers in the battle for third.

Don't forget - It's Daigo's first time competing in the States and although he feels a little uncomfortable largely because of the language barrier (he cannot speak English at all except for "Thank you" and "Bye"), he adapts to the track quickly and just wants to win.

Here are the results of the rest of the battles:

Congratulations JTP, Dai and Daigo!

Here are more shots from Day 2:

During the drivers' meeting I stole a quick shot with the boys from Speedhunters.com (Rod Chong and Larry Chen):

For a moment this may seem like circuit racing, but on closer look you realise it's the Top 16 driver parade:

I wouldn't mind having such a pretty bonnet damper! 

During the champagne spray-out, Dai and JTP popped their bottles first and poor Daigo literally got sprayed off his block.

He took his time to open his bottle and got JTP back IN THE FACE!

For more photos, view:

> Formula Drift 2012 Long Beach: Battles

> Formula Drift 2012 Long Beach: Qualifying

> Formula Drift 2012 Long Beach: Setup + Street Parade

The 2012 Formula Drift season officially starts today with 60 drivers competing in Round 1: Streets of Long Beach (#FDLB). 

Here are some significances of Formula Drift 2012:

• Formula Drift 2011 champion Daijiro Yoshihara is competing again to defend his crown
• Formula Drift Asia 2011 champion Daigo Saito embarks on his debut Formula Drift USA season
• New technical manager Kevin Wells for Formula Drift
• New judge Brian Eggbert for Formula Drift who replaces Tony Angelo (who went back to drifting)
• This year is the largest ever rookie batch with 19 of them
• For the first time in FD history, Formula Drift has sold out all of the seated tickets in downtown Long Beach

Driver Entry List for Long Beach:

I was covered in head to toe, hair to nail in tyre dust. This was what I found within my bag flap - my bag was on the floor behind the wall. I do not want to think about the amount of tyre dust in my hair!

I caught a cold and was sniffling as I struggled to hold the leaking nose between shots, but here are some highlights from today's qualifying session:

Formula Drift 2011 champion Dai Yoshihara qualified 6th with 90.5%

Formula Drift Asia 2011 champion Daigo Saito officially makes his Formula Drift USA debut with his new drift car (the Lexus SC430), qualifying in 18th with 78% on his first run (he messed up the second run).

Ryan Tuerck sets the pace for Long Beach - he qualified 1st with 97%!

Emmanuel Amandio does Asia proud with a qualifying score of 92% in 6th place

with a rebuilt 350Z (the winning car of Formula Drift 2009 champion Chris Forsberg)

Ken Gushi takes the Scion FR-S sideways in its official Formula Drift debut to 14th in qualifying

Can Justin Pawlak (JTP) win tomorrow just like he won last year at Long Beach?

Here are the full Top 32 qualifying results:

(I apologise for the poor quality of the picture)

... and here's the Top 32 battle bracket:

(again, I apologise for the poor quality of the picture)

I made some new friends at the track and here's June from MotoIQ.com:

My nose is so red! Catching a cold within the first hour of arriving in Los Angeles is not funny, not funny at all. 

Anyway, there was a driver's autograph session today as well and this fan actually lugged a FALKEN tyre around the autograph tables and got the drivers to sign it:

By the way, just to digress a little, did you know Dai Yoshihara started his own line of DY wheels?

No, he was not signing and giving out these wheels at the autograph session unfortunately. Daigo Saito however, was giving out these really cute EAT, SLEEP, DRIFT car fresheners!

My day then ended with this Hankook race queen saying to me, "Hey! Are you Cheryl Tay? I follow you on Facebook!" How cool is that!!! ;)

Next up, may the battles of Long Beach begin!!

Catch Formula Drift 'live' at www.formulad.com/live.

I'm at Long Beach this weekend soaking up the Californian sun and embracing the energy from the opening round of the 2012 Formula Drift USA Series.

I arrived in Los Angeles Airport (LAX) on Wednesday morning after 18 hours of flying and pretty much spent the rest of the day in a daze as I tried to adjust to the time difference (Singapore is 15 hours ahead!).

On Thursday, the track was being put together as the containers were unloading and the grandstands were going up. I even saw the steps of some of the grandstands being painted blue:

In the evening there was a parade for selected drivers to roll down the streets of Long Beach. I was on the open-top double-decker media bus ahead of the convoy to capture how they literally took the streets by storm and created such a presence, at all times accompanied by police escorts of course.

For a moment I thought we could have some real battles on the streets!

That was genuinely traffic-stopping action!

For more photos of Formula Drift Long Beach: Setup + Driver Parade, view here.

Look what I found at a corner of the track at Formula Drift Long Beach...

Yes... 

... it's the Scion FR-S convertible!

 The 86 has many faces - Toyota, Subaru and Scion... and according to the car's lead engineer Tetsuya Tada, "The GT 86 was designed from the outset that we can build it as a convertible."

Isn't it quite a looker?

I like it!

I used to hold the perception that Macau is a gambling hub filled with casinos and high rollers with no place for someone like me with shallow pockets. Then I learnt of a particular richness that Macau also holds – not rich in the monetary sense, but rich in its motorsports culture.

The Macau Grand Prix is an annual racing extravaganza held on its tight and narrow streets that have witnessed one accident too many, year on year. Yet, the excitement remains and this prestigious motorsport event goes into its 59^th edition later this year. Held every November, professional and gentleman racers from around the world, come to Macau to participate in different types of racing from Formula 3 to the World Touring Car Championship and motorbikes.

The streets of Guia have earned for itself a reputation of being probably the most demanding track in the world, to the extent that Formula 1 drivers are quick to name it as the most challenging and memorable circuit they have raced on in their careers. Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel said in an interview that the Macau Grand Prix during his Formula 3 period was “the most challenging circuit he has ever raced on in his entire career”.

During the rest of the year when the Macau Grand Prix is not being held, motorsport fans can get their adrenalin rushes at Macau Motorsports Club (MMC), a permanent circuit that hosts the high levels of kart racing like the CIK-FIA KF1 and KF3 Championships, as well as other karting races such as the Macau Kart Prix and the Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC). A mere 10 minutes drive from luxury casino complex The Galaxy, go-karts can be rented for a go at the challenging 1.2-kilometre karting track.

I was just there last December for the fifth and final round of the AKOC where some of our local karters did Singapore proud. Andrew Tang was crowned Senior champion of the AKOC despite missing the last two rounds due to an injury sustained during the fourth round of the AKOC in The Philippines. Mohammad Nasri Naufal (Opai) almost won the Senior race but had to settle for second place.

He said, “I just turned 23 years old a week before the race and I wanted to give myself a birthday gift by winning this race. I almost won it and it was a very close race, but I was facing a tyre disadvantage - due to some miscommunication I ran the race on used tyres while everyone else was on new tyres. I first raced in Macau in 2006, also in the AKOC, and I won that race. In 2010 I raced in Round 5 of the AKOC at Macau too, coming in 4th. I had a feeling of winning this time and I was aiming to, but that's racing! I really enjoy coming to Macau to race – it’s a really good circuit.”

Beyond motorsports, Macau also has another form of adrenalin rush that can be experienced at the Macau Tower. The adventurous may want to try the Mast Climb, Bungy Jump, Sky-Jump or Skywalk X from a height of hundreds of metres above ground. The Mast Climb takes one 100 metres up the mast’s vertical ladders to Macau’s highest summit of 338 metres where breathtaking views of Macau’s city skyline and all its neon lights await you. The estimated total time needed for the climb (ascent plus descent) is two hours, giving you a complete workout!

Pump your heart harder with the 20-second controlled descent from 233 metres above ground called the Sky Jump where one literally flies at 75km/h before slowing just as you near the ground. If you think you can take on braver stunts, go for the bungee jump or do the Skywalk X where you walk around the 1.8-metre-wide outer rim of the Tower.

After all that adventure, reward yourself with a good dinner at some of the world-class restaurants and a drink in one of the lavish lounges. When in Macau, do remember to try their Portuguese egg tarts too, especially the ones from Lord Stow's.