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JR and his Drift Alliance brother Chris Forsberg went to El Salvador to both teach a clinic on Drifting as well as introduce Drifting to El Salvador during the largest Annual Car Show. At first the two of them didn’t know what to expect, but they went down and did what they do best...... DRIFTING!!!

They arrived in El Salvador November 22nd, yes the day before Thanksgiving. As soon as the two got off the plane they where rushed to a huge press conference. After 2 days of madness with the radio, TV and Newspaper interviews the guys were ready to get to what they came for, and that was to teach a clinic on Drifting, and open up a whole new world to these young enthusiasts.


The Clinic went great and the Salvadorians were very interested to learn this amazing sport of Drifting, that up until now, they had only dreamed of learning.

After the clinic, Chris and JR jumped in their cars to practice for the big show on Sunday. Expectations were very high, and the anticipation was even higher. Both Chris and JR knew they had to put on a good show for the fans.

Chris was piloting a brand new stock Nissan 350z that a local had graciously agreed to let him beat on for the next 3 days. What you might not understand, is this car is super rare. Possibly one of only about 10 in EL Salvador!! Chris immediately disconnected the ABS and Traction control, which helped him get right in the swing of things. 

JR drove a Chevy Camaro z28, a Mazda Rx7 Twin turbo, a Toyota Corolla, and also the one and only 240sx Drift Car in El Salvador. JR jumped right into the Camaro, and found it had no brakes, but JR made it work around the course a few times and then decided it was too dangerous for tandem Drifting. The Rx7 was a great car but would overheat after just one pass with JR's heavy foot. The corolla was a ton of fun but did not have the power to stay in drift on the 3rd gear down hill. The 240 handled a little rough initially as it was the first time the car had been run, but with a few changes and about 55psi in the Falken Tires the car was able to hang with the 350z and was going to make a great Drift car for the show. JR was extremely excited about the event, as he said, "It was amazing all of the locals wanted us to use their cars. It was a great challenge to make most of the cars drift, however immediately when the tires were smoking you could see the owners jumping around as they were so excited. It was a great feeling and just a preview of what was going to happen on Sunday.”


JR and Chris ran into some free time and decided to go down to the beach as well as indulged in some local fare. JR was extremely amazed as he said, "The hospitality of the Salvadorians is something that I never imagined. Everyone did everything they could to make sure we were taken care of and comfortable at all times. The Car crews were like huge families and did everything and anything needed to help out. It was really impressive!"
 

This was the big day. The day that everyone around town had been talking about and waiting for. The Gates opened at 10:00 in the morning, and by 10:30 the 1.5 mile dirt entrance to the track was filled with cars and the line of cars continued over a mile down the highway. JR and Chris hit the track for the first time at about 1pm. They slowly rolled up to where the spectators were sitting and were introduced to the crowd. The screams and whistles of the spectators were incredibly loud and the excitement and anticipation was off the charts. This was their first time to see Drifting live, which created this electric atmosphere. It was one of the most amazing events either JR or Chris had been to.

Throughout the day JR and Chris performed 3 Demos on the track. Each demo went as planned and progressively got more exciting as the crowd got crazier and crazier the closer and faster they got during their tandem runs. Chris and JR even did a special “Bull Fighting Show” for them. Chris was outside the car holding a shirt and JR was chasing him like a bull in the Corolla. It was amazing and the crowd went absolutely CRAZY!!! Hey, when in Rome….. – right?


JR and Chris were working non stop all day with lines of people waiting for autographs and pictures. At the end of it all JR said, "It was just a great event that will go down in El Salvador history. It feels so good to be able to go to a place like El Salvador that is still developing and not nearly as fortunate as us in the USA, and be able to put a huge smile on everyone’s face because of Drifting. It’s simply AMAZING!"