The concept of the Speedvision World Challenge Championships is to provide teams, manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers a competitive arena for production-based race cars. There are two classes of competition-Grand Touring (GT) and Touring Car. Vehicles are grouped based on their performance potential and market segments. Featuring standing starts and a maximum time limit of 50 minutes, the Speed World Challenge is the perfect vehicle for meeting a sponsor's promotional needs.

World Challenge competition was born in the mid-1980's with the SCCA Endurance Championship, transforming into the World Challenge in 1990, and then the Speedvision World Challenge in 1999. With Speedvision now renamed as the Speed Channel the series has been renamed simply the Speed World Challenge.

With the series being sponsored by a television network you would expect comprehensive coverage of the season and Speed Channel will not disappoint. The series has a comprehensive broadcast package with Speed Channel and Fox Sports Net featuring in excess of 50 hours of hour-long, prime-time broadcasts, with re-airs and season ending reviews. In addition to the planned series broadcasts, news and highlights from series and individual races will be featured on Speed Channel news and information programs.

The Speed Channel is a broad appeal 24-hour cable serice aimed at automotive, marine and aviation enthusiasts. As of 2001 Speed Channel boasts a household distribution of 45,000,000 homes.

SCCA SPEED World Challenge Website

SCCA Pro Racing Ltd.® and Slipstream Global Marketing, Inc. announced at the Special Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show a new partnership creating Formula Drift®, the first North American professional drifting championship.

Announced as a four-event Championship in 2004, SCCA Pro Racing will sanction the events, promoted by Irvine, Calif.-based Slipstream Global, which was responsible for the first professional drifting event in North America, the 2003 D1 Grand Prix.

“SCCA was responsible for the initial development of road racing in the United States 60 years ago, and it is logical that we be at the forefront of the first domestic professional drifting Championship,” said Garret Mudd, SCCA Vice President of Marketing. “Slipstream Global has asserted itself as the leading promoter and expert with its involvement in this year’s D1 Grand Prix at Irwindale.”

In the new agreement, which also includes car shows produced by Vision Entertainment, SCCA Pro Racing will provide event operations, technical inspection and services, safety procedures, licensing and series administration.

“To legitimize Formula D, SCCA Pro Racing has come on board as our sanctioning body,” said Jim Liaw, Slipstream Global Marketing, Inc. Co-Owner. “SCCA will provide the on-track know how and safety precautions needed for a successful program.”

In addition to the four-event Championship, Formula D will also include six to 10 exhibitions at main stream motorsports events in conjunction with SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge Championships, the American Le Mans Series and the Indy Racing League.

The 2004 series will be documented on ‘Formula Drift TV,’ with the series of programs going to networks at the conclusion of the season. Television shows will be produced by LivePlanet, the company behind the HBO hit series ‘Project Greenlight’ and founded by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sean Bailey and Chris Moore; and Want Media, a leading youth marketing and media production company on behalf of Slipstream Global.

Formula Drift Website