Mazda BT-50 TRS Drift Team Make Impressive Competition Debut
Hot on the wheels of its unveiling at the Mazda Zoom Fest held early this year, the Mazda BT-50 Drift Truck excited spectators once again at the Castrol Edge Drift Underground Series where the team composed of Francisco Blanco, James Deakin, John Tyrell Esguerra, Mike Tuason and JP Tuason placed in fourth among a total of 40 competitors in its pioneering competition.
Living up to its Zoom-Zoom mantra of spirited performance and pure driving excitement, Mazda Philippines launched its Mazda BT-50 Drift Truck, in collaboration with the Tuason Racing School (TRS). “The Mazda BT-50 Drift Truck is a great way to showcase the toughness and handling of our new pick-up truck and we are extremely excited about the success of our young team and the performance of our Drift Truck,” Prudz Castillo, Brand Manager, Mazda Philippines.
The new generation Mazda BT-50 launched in October 2008, boasts of leading-edge driving dynamics developed by Mazda’s sports car engineers that makes the Mazda BT-50 pick-up perform effortlessly under any driving condition with superior stability and control. “Drifting as a sport is gaining a wider following among motoring enthusiasts and we felt that developing the country’s first drift truck would certainly be a head-turner”, Castillo added.
Two Mazda BT-50 -TRS Drift trucks were specially designed to compete in various drift events slated in 2009, the Castrol Edge Drift Underground Series being the first. Not only are the Drift Trucks a spectacle to watch, they are also the first and only diesel-powered drift trucks using Mazda’s powerful Common-Rail Direct-Injection Turbo engines.
Among 40 competitors, the one-month old team led by JP Tuason reached the top 4, and both Tuason and Francisco Blanco qualified for the Top 16. The team out-qualified heavily modified vehicles with more than 350 horsepower engines.
“This is really a testament to the passion of the team and the performance of the Mazda BT-50, we believe in the succeeding races we will be able to discover even more about the power and play of the truck.” Said JP Tuason, head of Tuason Racing School and first time drifter. Tuason impressed the crowds with consistent and very precise runs that would normally be thought impossible especially in a diesel pick-up truck.
Catch the Mazda BT-50 – TRS Drift Team in action again at the third round of the Castrol Edge Drift Underground Series on March 21, Alabang Town Center.
Mazda Philippines Media Release
Related posts:
