Lance Feliciano - Tentative Backgrounder

"Somehow, I knew that I was born to be a racer my whole life.” Fil-Am Professional D1 Champ!

Lance Feliciano: Fast becoming an icon in the Drifting arena.

Lance Feliciano made history in October 2006 by being the only Filipino-American licensed professional Drifting racing champ. At that time, he was among the only 38 licensed U.S. professionals from across America. In a press release by Drift & RWD sports magazine, he was named "one of the next superstars to watch in 2007”. Currently, Lance continues to be among the youngest professional racers in the world of Drifting. “I want to be the first Filipino car race champion in the United States. Now, it's more than a dream to me, it's my goal in life. I want to be the champion of Drifting. After Drifting, I want to go to different kinds of racing...”

As a kid, Lance liked to watch the popular drifting videos from Japan. His dad also used to teach him in

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the hills and mountains of Antipolo. He started joining amateur events in 2005. In October 2006, he entered the Pro-Am, amateur events you have to win if you want to turn Pro. “There was a Pro-Am within the whole west coast region. We all battled from the Irwindale Speedway, 55 to 60 drivers, and I won first.”, relates Lance.

He was ranked No. 1 in the west coast, and was sent to Las Vegas, in Laughlin, to represent the west coast region. Lance Feliciano won the 2nd over-all in the nationals and was one, among only four, to get a Professional license. In November 2006, Lance was only 19-years old and was the youngest racer in the world of Drifting to be given professional status

"I knew that I was born to be a racer my whole life. I feel so passionate about racing that I can't think of anything I'd rather do in my life but race. In 2005, I raced in the World Championship and people were saying, "Who is this kid trying to prove something – he just came from nowhere?' And I was coming on so strong that they wrote about me and mentioned me in their press release saying: The Japanese champions need to watch out because if the U.S. pro drivers are going to give them a run for their money. There's going to be plenty of rookies giving 100 percent, like Casper Canul and Lance Feliciano. These guys are definitely going to be the next superstars of Drifting."

Formula-D

Formula-D is the name of United States drifting series (incidentally, is Japan's equivalent championship in Japan, the D1 Grand Prix Series). The series is sponsored by the popular video game series, Need for Speed (official name is Need for Speed Formula Drift Presented by Circuit City. It was inaugurated in 2004, and is a division of the Sports Car Club of America).

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In the world of drifting, there's hardly any time to react or be scared when you're racing on the track or practicing so it's vital that the driver is very confident. You have to think very fast and be fully committed before you drift. “When I‟m behind the wheel, I learned to be very confident and to be very smart on the decisions that I make. I don't look back either. You have to have determination and full commitment when you decide something. I think that's what got me so far when it comes to drifting.” Drifting is a sport where you can't be in total control all the time. There‟s just so many factors involved. But Lance learns from every experience, whether if he incurred errors or whether if it‟s a remarkable run. “I probably went through about 5 cars to where I am now. There was one time when I was practicing late at night in the mountains. I crashed into the mountain and it was raining. I flipped over and my car was all messed up. It didn't stop me -- the next day I was drifting again!"

Drifting is one of the most expensive sports to be involved in. Not only because of the cost and the maintenance of the vehicle, but also because, at every run, the cost of tires is immense. Each tire costs at least $180. On a good day, Lance normally burns 8 to 10 tires a day! It‟s not also unusual if he burns out two tires every four minutes.

During the early days of his racing career, for the love of his sport, Lance sold virtually everything he owned. Plus, despite his busy racing schedule, he still holds a job. Becoming a licensed pro definitely helped in furthering his career as sponsors began to support his endeavors.

Be the Car Not to mention dangerous, the high-performance, fine precision sport of drifting takes an awful lot of focus, coordination, and technique. Being in the driver‟s seat requires being one with the car. Multiple tasks and actions becomes a single fluid motion. Like the conductor of an orchestra, Lance creates a drifting symphony from all the minutiae. The result is a graceful and powerful combination of art, technology, and human ingenuity in perfect harmony. A masterpiece. “When I enter a turn, whether if it‟s the first time or the same turn several times around, it‟s always different, one-of-a-kind, and can‟t be replicated. Often, I just feel my way and respond to the car, engine, speed, slide, tires… all the different details become touchpoints that help guide me through the slide...” Lance explains.

Drifting is definitely a precise sport. You need to have a keen mind, inherent talent, and a well-tuned, perfectly conditioned, rear-wheel drive car with excellent suspension. 3

Heritage of Champions

Although Lance is a pretty much self-made in what he has accomplished so far, his lineage can be traced from a bloodline of champions. At a young age, he was already growing up in an environment of speed and cars. His father, Larry Feliciano, used to be a rally champion in the Philippines in the 80's, and raced for Mitsubishi. Lance’s uncle, who also lives in California, was also a race car driver .and was a big influence to him. 4-year old Lance at the race track with his dad and uncle.

It is also interesting to note that Lance is the grandson of Olympian sharpshooter Chito Feliciano, whose father, in turn, was the fencing champion and partner of Philippine National hero Jose Rizal in the 1800's. At the 1954 Manila Asiad, Chito Feliciano won a gold medal in shooting and a gold medal in the 1958 Tokyo Asiad. He also pioneered TV production of GMA Ch. 7 in the 1960's and started the first dance show, which ran for 10 yrs. He died in a helicopter crash in the early „70s. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=8jDsc1uVgzI&feature=related)

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Lance Wows the Philippines

In his recent visit to the Philippines, Lance Feliciano performed high precision drifting demos at the Clark Freeport Zone. It was a well-attended event and Lance wowed the crowd with his awesome drifting techniques. He also was involved in creating the LF Drift Team and set-up a Drift Training School. Whiz Oil, LF Performance, Von Braven Corp., C! Magazine, Tsikot.Com, Top Gear, Auto Extreme, NU107, 99.5Campus Radio, SM Clark, PepTV, Titty Twister Bar, and The Sausage Bar helped support his brief stay in the country. Lance plans to be back in the Philippines in July 2008.

For more info: http://www.lancefeliciano.com/

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