Complete coverage by Armin Ausejo & Kyle Pope

Since the first Formula D Seattle in 2006, shooting trackside has been either one of two extremes: extremely hot, or extremely wet. Just about each year of Formula D has seen mid-upper 90s trackside, with the sole exception being in 2008 when the heavens opened up and washed away all traces of tire smoke. However, Day 1 of Formula D Seattle probably had the best overall weather in the greater Seattle area all year, resulting in mid-upper 80s trackside, blue skies with a few clouds, and zero humidity. While by Seattle standards that’s still pretty warm, Arizona native and NWMotiv Ringer Photographer Kyle “KP” Pope was more than comfortable in jeans, not even breaking a sweat. NWMotiv Senior Editor Armin Ausejo on the other hand definitely kept himself hydrated throughout the day.

With the trackside temps and weather nice and comfortable, Armin and KP were ready to capture the action of the practice sessions and qualifying. Both the Pro-Ams and the Pros were out in force, doing doughnuts in the hot pits to warm up their tires and practicing tandems with the ever changing clipping points throughout the course. Despite Friday being the less busy of the public Formula D days, a large crowd could definitely be seen in the stands from the track and cheers for the local favorites echoed off the K-rails. Cars zoomed through the main bank every 30 seconds or so, with the loudest, ear-buzzing area being right at the finish line. The view from the hot pits was always an impressive one, as each of the drift cars lined up to have their run at the track and heat waves blurred the first puff of smoke as they entered the bank.

Shooting photos trackside was a bit more difficult this year with the added banners on the center area, which limited shooting spots compared to previous years. On the contrary, the plastic blue and yellow barriers were completely absent, which helped our photographers capture the action in its entirety without having the bottom of the cars cut off. The end result is a fantastic collection of drifting photos that should make all NWMotiv visitors quite happy to view. Be on the lookout for Day 2 coverage coming soon!

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