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When they first announced Daigo Saito as a rookie this season I quietly rolled my eyes and wished we could figure out some better regulations to identify rookies. I have even spoked with Formula Drift co-founder Ryan Sage on my thoughts about improper identification of rookies and he made some valid points. I really felt like I was alone in this quest until I got to Road Atlanta this weekend.
The fact is about 30 people brought up his being a rookie BS and some people cited my sarcastic comment on the issue during the Driftstream Half-Time show at Long Beach. Team owners, drivers, and fans all have put in a .02 with me on why this makes no sense and here is my arguement before you cast a vote.
I will let Formula Drift slide and ignore that he is a D1 Grand Prix champion since that is another series in another land across one big ocean and say even with a championship in D1 he can have a rookie status in our sport. What I cannot get over is the fact that he is the 2011 Formula Drift Asia champion. Yes, Daigo has a Formula Drift championship trophy on his mantle at home in Japan celebrating his victory of Formula Drift. So either the Asia series is irrelevant and not a big deal (which I don’t feel is the case) or we should just ignore this minor issue. How does a mean with a championship from the same series get declared a rookie?
The rookie status of Daigo Saito is really a much bigger issue than many fans would realize at first. Becoming a rookie of the year is the next best thing behind a championship in any sport. It opens huge sponsor opportunities to a young driver who most likely footed his own bill that season. Looking at Odi Bakchis last year he was running without a title sponsor and buying Falken Tires for the season. Now he has M7 Japan as a title sponsor and is getting tire support from Nexen Tire changing the way he can operate his whole program. After two rounds Daigo already has double the points of what Odi Bakchis had after two rounds last year. I am glad Daigo is here and he might be the only chance to stop the Falken Tire championship from going three-peat this season but he just isn’t a rookie.
The other big issue I see here is finding another motorsport and how they set rookie rules is a little difficult. Most motorsports from country to country have large rule variations and car platform changes. Comparing Formula 1 to Indy is impossible or DTM racing to NASCAR doesn’t make any sense. At the end of the day drifting is kind of drifting since the rulebooks really lack restrictions and spec vehicles like these other sports.
I have now plead my case but cast your vote above so we can see what you think!
Posted in Daigo Saito, Formula D, International, Odi Bakchis, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | 38 Comments »
