Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the RTR Drift team journeyed to Tianjin, China for the first round of the World Drift Series and their first international event of the season. WDS is China’s premier drift series and attracted over 50 thousand fans to its season opener held at the Tianjin Olympic Stadium. Vaughn and his brand new China-spec Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR-D had a perfect event; by qualifying in 1st place in a field of drivers from all over the world and then battling his way through the tough competition to take 1st place overall. This marks Vaughn’s third year in a row taking 1st place in Tianjin, as well as his third consecutive podium of the 2013 season.
After defeating top Chinese drivers Jin Yi in the top 16 battle and Qian Hong Shen in the top 8 battle, Vaughn met and defeated fellow American driver Kyle Mohan in the semi-finals.
In the final battle of the night, Vaughn was faced with 2012 Formula Drift Champion Daigo Saito, who is quickly becoming one of Vaughn’s ”rivals”. After an exciting battle, Vaughn achieved the win and secured the top position on the WDS podium.
“It was awesome to meet with a fellow Formula Drift Champion in the finals,” says Vaughn. “We had an epic battle, and I’m pumped that my team and I were able to bring home a win for America and represent the USA in such a global platform. “
Vaughn continues: “WDS put on an incredible event and I couldn’t be happier with the entire RTR Drift Team’s performance this weekend. We had some significant curveballs thrown at us due to the customs delays and late arrival of our brand new 2014 Ford Mustang RTR-D, resulting in very minimal practice/setup time in comparison to our competitors. We stayed positive, focused, and stuck to our plan despite the obstacles, and it just feels awesome to overcome the odds together and bring home the event win for the third year in a row here!”
Next up for Vaughn Gittin Jr. on the WDS circuit, he will return to China September 21st for Round 2 in Luoyang where he will strive for for another podium finish. For more information, please visit VaughnGittin.com or Facebook.com/OfficialVaughnGittinJr.
