blog.CarlRydquist.com: In memory of a friend

Welcome

Hey, welcome to my official blog!

This is the place where you will find quick reports directly from my race weekends, plus a lot of other fun stuff going on, not always about racing.

Cheers! /Carl

Pic of the week

Grid before the race, Nordschleife 2008.

Songs to check out

1. Foo Fighters - The Pretender
2. Span - Baby's Come Back
3. Adam Tensta - My Cool
4. Outkast - Take Off Your Cool
5. Sia - Breathe Me

Food and Drinks

1. Vino Pasta, Gothenburg, SWE
2. Redondo Beach Brewing Co, CA
3. The Standard, Hollywood, CA
4. Paradise Cove, Malibu, CA
5. Nic's, Bevery Hills, CA

Other things

Spot to be filled with useful content.

In memory of a friend

Monday, April 6, 2009

A friend of mine was shot to death last Saturday when playing basketball. http://cbs2.com/local/shooting.Long.Beach.2.976541.html

I had no idea about this since at the time I was unloading the drift car to partake in the drift demo at NOS Center / Orange Show Speedway. The victory in the team drift demo/comp that I brought home together with Ryan Litteral and Michael Essa I tribute to you Gary. I know you weren't a huge drift fan but preferred regular racing, but I feel this is the right thing to do, my way of doing something.

At FD round 1 I will be wearing a black arm-band over my racing suit. I want to wear the band because I am extremely sad and upset about what happened, and especially how it happened to such a good-natured and peaceful guy.

I am a firm believer in that guns should be banned, from manufacturing to selling to purchasing to owning. Piece by piece I want law enforcement to strip the guns from the streets and destroy them. It will take years and years but it will be a safer place in the end. Guns don't help to protect anyone, unless in the hands of trained personnel such as the law enforcement.

We live in the real world. It is not a ganster-movie or a video game, bullets kill people and people don't stand up and walk away afterwards. We don't need this sh*t going on. Ban guns. Guns = greed.

My heart goes out to Gary's girlfriend, his family and his close friends. People take care and be careful and care for eachother. Life is precious.

posted by Carl Rydquist @ 9:17 PM

Fast Facts

Name: Carl Rydquist
Age: 33
Home: Redondo Beach
Web: CarlRydquist.com
Reel: Click to watch
Highlights: Winner of Swedish Endurance 8/12h GT Racing Championship (2001). Winner of Swedish Endurance 3h GT Racing Championship (2004). Winner of Zandvoort 500 (2005). Winner of Eurosport Super Racing Weekend Challenge (2001). 24 Hours of Nurburgring (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).
Memberships: FIA (intl racing license), Formula D, Performance Two Stunt & Precision Driving Team, Hollywood, CA, Screen Actors Guild.