This Red Bull event, taking place November 15-16 in the Ports of Long Beach, certainly did not disappoint. Now, when they said ports, they certainly meant it. The location was so secret and so secluded in the ports that they had to bus everyone to the event from downtown Long Beach. There is nothing like showing up at a parking lot, tickets in hand, but catching no glimpse of the track or cars.
The Saturday and Sunday pictures are distinguishable by the orange-brown tint of Saturday's sky in contrast with the blue Sunday sky. Saturday morning started out bright and sunny, but by mid-morning, waves of smoke bellowed in due to massive fires in the Southern California area. By afternoon, ash was falling. Combined with the smoke created by the drifting, I think everyone needed to get some fresh air by the end of the day.
All in all, this event proceeded in typical Red Bull fashion, with spectators shouting at the three judges to have certain pairs of drift cars run "one more time." If it were up to me, the event would still be going on, as I would continually demand "one more time" until every car had hit the wall. Speaking of hitting the wall, there was plenty of this during the weekend, especially when there was nothing to lose by Sunday afternoon. With entry speeds into the first turn nearing 100mph, this seemed to be the location of the most impressive wrecks.
I'm sure there are some hardcore mini truck fans who think that cars should be eliminated all together, but really, this stuff is pretty sick.