FORMULA D 2024

IRELAND’S DEANE SERVES NOTICE THAT HE IS ALL THE WAY BACK WITH A WIN TO OPEN 2024

The 2024 season of Formula Drift PRO SERIES Streets of Long Beach RD 1 kicked off last weekend with a pack of new regulations and a peck of new drivers to adapt to.

New Rules

The new season brings the elimination of single-run qualifying, meaning that all runs will be in tandem from qualifying all the way through to the Final—starting with the rollicking RD 1 event.

More Tire Latitude

Further changes make the competition more adaptable to the millions of viewers watching the livestream, most notably the extension of more latitude to drivers whose tires move while drifting. Now, instead of being ruled incomplete automatically when the tires curve, the drivers have the opportunity to straighten out after two seconds and be judged for the relative egregiousness of their errors.

Hall of Fame Precedings

The race was preceded by a memorable Drift Hall of Fame induction ceremony. After being inaugurated in last year's 20th anniversary season, 2-time champion Tanner Foust joined inaugural inductees Rhys Millen and Samuel Hubinette. Tanner's rousing speech gave credit to the series for giving him a career and thanked the league for the many doors of opportunity that were opened as a result.

New Bracket System

When the action began, fans were treated to a new seeding bracket system featuring 16 drivers fighting to secure eight remaining places in the race.

The new qualifying system in 2024 will see the top 24 positions in each competition bracket determined by the final 2023 previous finishing positions, with RD 1 starting positioning based on the 2023 season's final race.   

RD1 Starting Positions

With 2023 champion and final race winner Chelsea DeNofa having departed the series, 2023 final second place finisher Aurimas Bakchis was promoted to first in the standings, followed in starting position by USA's Matt Field and Norway's Simen Olsen.  

The Deane Run

However, the day belonged to three-time champion James Deane, who lost a championship for the first time last year, having won all three seasons he had previously competed in.

Mastering the New Wheels

Deane's win in his right-hand drive AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FDP indicated that he apparently has mastered the new wheels after one year and is ready to pursue his place atop the podium at full effect in 2024.

Hard Day

The win at Long Beach marked his first race championship since the 2019 Formula Drift St. Louis round.  Deane's day was not a breeze by any means.

Mid-week Fire

First Deane had to come back from a massive fire that actually engulfed his car during a Tuesday practice run.  Bearing the scars, Deane's vehicle battled through torrential rains on slippery track-adept Norwegians to take the day's crown.

Battling Through the Rounds

Deane downed Italy's Federico Sceriffo (Pennzoil / Nexen Tire / VP Racing Fuel / Drifting Dept 17 Ferrari 599 GTB) in the Top 32 to meet USA's Jonathan Hurst (MRCOOL Cadillac XLR) in the Top 16. After two OMT races and a short in Deane's car carrying over from the Tuesday race, Deane was able to move on to face three-time Champion Norway's Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy / Toyota Racing GR Supra) in the Top 8.  Deane move on from there due to his unshakeable proximity after knocking Aasbo off the line in chase. 

Final Four

In the Final Four, the skilled Irishman edged top seed Bakchis in another treacherous race.  Bakchis' contact with the wall in OZ1 while chasing proved to be the difference in another skidding, screechy rain-soaked encounter. 

Slipping Through

With cats and dogs of rain smothering announcers, spectators, drivers and livestream broadcast equipment alike, Deane and Norway's Simen Olsen virtually jet-skied down the track in the Final.  Deane was able to maintain astonishing and no less than masterful proximity on his chase run, and on the lead ran even deeper into the Zones, where Olsen was woefully unable to match Deane's alacrity on the curves.  

Stronger than Before

Deane's precision in such adverse weather conditions indicated he may actually have reached a new level of virtuosity on the track. The string of narrow victories he forged to take the podium served notice that Deane is ready to give a new level of best to pursue what would be the only fourth championship in Drift history.

Champion Speaks

The triumph of the moment actually brought Deane to tears on the day's podium: 

“I can’t believe what happened. When I was declared the winner I fell to the ground in the emotion. It’s been such a challenging week after coming back from the fire on Tuesday and the weird things happening to the car throughout the weekend. But we never gave up. And then it started raining. Conditions changed so much but we pushed hard and managed to reach the Final with Simen after beating some of the best. I’m so happy and so proud of the team. Bring on Atlanta!” 

Next Drift

Spoken like a hungry and heartfelt champion JD. The first round of 2024 standings are now James Deane with 100 points, Simen Olsen (84) and third-finishing Aurimas Bakchis (70).  Atlanta awaits from May 9-11.  Catch all the action on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen.

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FORMULA D 2023 by Lior Rozenman

DENOFA BARELY NEEDS TO DRIVE TO CLINCH THE 2023 CROWN, WHILE YET ANOTHER NEW HOPE EMERGES TO CLAIM THE FINAL DAY PODIUM

IRWINDALE, CA, October 23, 2023—With Chelsea DeNofa holding on to a mathematically surmountable 53-point lead going into the season’s final race, only Matt Field had a realistic chance of stealing the crown from him in RD 8: Irwindale title fight on the last day of the FORMULA DRIFT PRO 20th anniversary season of 2023 at Irwindale Raceway.

Coulda-Been Contenders

With 103 points available, as buoyed by the mastery of Denofa’s three wins in 2023, Norwegians Simien Olson (77 points behind) and Fredric Aasbo (81 points behind) remained the only additional drivers with a mathematical chance of pitching a shutout for the championship.

Qualifying 

The K&N Qualifying session provided the palette on which to paint a miracle for those trailing Denofa. The three points available in qualifying went to USA’s Nick Noback (Noback Racing Co E46 BMW), who scored 93 points in qualifying for the top position; followed by Lithuania’s Odi Bakchis (87.6 points in qualifying to earn 2 championship points); and Japan’s Ken Gushi (Three’s Racing Toyota GR86) (86.6 qualifying points, one championship point).  

Qualifiers of Note

Man to beat Denofa (Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD) checked in seventh in qualifying round in seventh with an 83.3 point run.  The other contenders lagged far behind, with Olsen in ninth, Aasbo in 17th and Field in 18th.

Damage In Medias Res

The competitors shockingly found Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette) already trying to battle back from a practice collision with Ireland’s James Deane before the K&N qualifying session. The collision, which Deane described as the hardest hit of his career, saw Deane’s AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD thrown into the air and before careen against the wall on two wheels.  

Mainframe

Then it was on to the main event, and a time for drivers beyond the Big 4 to shine.  

Long Season, Early Exits

In more stunning developments, three fourths of the four 2023 season leaders exited in the Top 32. Season leader DeNofa fell prey to a rogue nitrous injection failure, with Field and Aasbo subsequently hitting the wall and retiring from the contest, a long season behind them.   

Olsen Survives, for a Minute

Olsen did advance, with a chance to win out on the day and take the season’s top spot. But Olson was cut down in the Top 16 by a former champ. A dominant chase run by three-time winner USA Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z) closed the door on a season for which the emergent Olsen nonetheless can celebrate.  

DeNofa Clinches, Team Wins

Leaving the day belonging to DeNofa. Despite the early departure on the season’s last race, Chelsea’s three 2023 day wins punctuated a peacock-sized feather in the cap for his entire racing team, with teammates USA’s Vaughn Gittin Jr.  And USA’s Adam LZ contributing one race win each for the season to bring the team win total to five wins out of 8 total races in 2023.   

The New King Speaks

The impact of his first Drift victory sunk in marvelously for Denofa:

“I’ve been drifting for 20 years, with 12 years in Formula DRIFT, and you want to win this Championship. The team and I all worked super-hard and we did it!  It’s nuts!”

Champion’s Sweat

Like every champion, DeNofa described the nerve-wracking final moments, while revealing they were actually his last in Formula Drift:

“Coming to this event I realized it might actually happen. But I’m leaving the series and if I didn’t win I’d look like an idiot and be wanting to come back for the rest of my life!”

Feeling the History

Ultimately, the Denofa’s effort this year inscribed in the Drift books as champion forever, a glory that was not lost on DeNofa:

“The Championship was the goal. In everything I do for the rest of my life, the first thing that goes under my name is Formula DRIFT Champion. And that’s the best!” 

Passing the Credit

Speaking like all (true) Drift champions, DeNofa was glad to pass the credit to the full support team:

“I owe it to everyone for getting me here and getting me through the bad weekends. I can’t wait to share what I’ll be doing in the future and drive like a maniac as I always wanted to!” 

The Winning Formula

The new champion displayed the surreal spark in his demeanor unique to all Formula Drift champions:

“When you win one event you realize it’s what you want to keep doing but it requires effort, a plan, a team, crew, engineer, spotter, truck driver; and we did it! To leave my last Formula DRIFT Round with a Championship feels unreal.” 

First Chance to Reflect

As is the right he earned, Chelsea reflected with great pride and exuberance on the astonishing season he turned in for Formula Drift Year 20:

“It’s been an awesome year with three wins, some mistakes, some great battles, and ultimately we ended up with the trophy. So, thank you Formula DRIFT and everybody who’s been a part of the series and my career for the past 12 years.”

The Day’s Climax

For the day, there was still some racing to do, giving the also-rans the chance to be champions for a day, with USA’s Nick Nobak (Noback Racing Co E46 BMW) coming out of nowhere to claim the final day’s podium.

Noble Noback

Buoyed by the momentum from the pole position heat earned in qualifying, Noback stormed through to his first race win, in a young career which began as recently as a PROSPEC rookie in 2020 followed by a jump to the PRO Championship in 2022.

Automatic to Assistance

Noback gained an early edge in the final round by gaining a bye run through the Top 32.  Noback then narrowly avoided elimination in the Top 16, battling through two OMT battles to finally put away Dominican Republic’s Jhonnattan Castro (Gerdau Metaldom Toyota GR86). 

Track Support

In the great 8, Noback found an ally on the track: Outside Zone 1. OZ1 put down respective Noback opponents Forsberg in the Great 8 and USA’s Ryan Tuerck (Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla) in the Final 4, both of whom sequentially slammed into Outside Zone 1 attempting to keep up with the momentum of the surging Noback’s BMW in vain.

Odi Waiting

After watching the tow trucks drag away the vehicles of Noback’s two fallen formidable foes, Noback took on another Drift super heavyweight to truly earn his bones: Lithuania’s Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis.     

Final Curtain

The tight battle saw Noback hold form for a day victory that vaulted him from 20th to 12th in the final season standings, loudly trumpeting the viability of Noback as a top PRO contender for years to come.  

Noback’s Newfound Grace

However, the day’s soft-spoken winner was gracious, with a sentimental tone that hinted at hunger as well as a championship mentality:

“We wanted to finish the season on a high note, especially at Irwindale, which is where I scored my first PROSPEC podium.”

Passing the Credit SOP

Like a champion, Noback was sure to pass the credit to all whom to which it was due:  

“I wanted to do my best and was lucky enough to reach the podium. I’d like to thank my family and team, the sponsors and fans, everybody at FD and anybody who helped me get here. I can’t thank you all enough. Hopefully we keep the momentum going next year and can finish in the top three.”

Seizing the Opportunity

One driver was able to leverage the early departures of the top 4 drivers: Odi Bakchis jumped all the way to second in the season standings with his strong Title Fight performance.

Deane’s Final Surprise

Shout out to James Deane too, who though he lost a championship for the first time in his career, managed perhaps as unlikely an effort as the three consecutive championships under his belt by pulling to the podium of 2023’s last race in third place after having his car nearly devastated in the practice round.

Eerily Familiar

With a new champion crowned, it was only fitting that a new contender emerged.  And Noback did not sound so different as 2023 Formula Drift champion Chelsea DeNofa barely a year ago. The King is leaving. Long Live the King.

Good Season to All

All Drift fans will be able to look back fondly on the craziest of seasons for FORMULA DRIFT’s 20th Anniversary season that not only exceeded expectations, but surpassed the imagination as well. See you in 2024, for twenty beautiful more. Catch the Final heroics replay on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen!

DENOFA STORMS THE PODIUM FOR THE THIRD TIME AT ELEVATED RD7 TO TAKE CONTROL OF 2023

September 17, 2023—Formula Drift RD7 Elevation welcomed a 2023 repeat winner to a favored new venue, signaling that there may be a new champion in Year 20 of the FD PRO Series.

Truly Elevated Competition

With the Utah Motorsports Campus outside of Salt Lake City grabbing the hearts and minds of worldwide Drift watchers as well as the fancy of the drivers, Elevated’s new high-speed track 4000 ft above sea level track heightened it’s blossoming status as a legendary track in the last event of Formula Drift PRO series before the Irwindale Final.

Track Updates

Among the updates being introduced to tracks nationwide for the 20th anniversary PRO season, Utah Motorsports saw the replacement of one Inside Clip with a broader Outside Zone 2 to optimize track flow and enhance competition. 

Qualifying: Deane’s Last Hurrah

The lead position for qualifying was claimed by Ireland’s three-time FD champion James Deane (AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD), who came in to the race as a darkhorse candidate for the top spot on the season podium after a return from a three-year hiatus overseas. 

A Tone of Optimism

Sporting a career three-for-three record, Deane set himself up for his first possible day victory of the season with 91.6 points in his ongoing effort to maintain proximity to the season championship he had never conceded in his three-year career of stateside Formula D competition.

Other Qualifiers

Deane was followed in qualifying by Norway’s Simen Olsen (Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9), another season contender in 5th place for the season crown coming in—and season leader USA’s Chelsea DeNofa (Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD), whom it turned out was just warming up.

DeNofa’s Mastery

DeNofa was destined to take home a stunning third individual day championship for 2023 with a command performance to extend his season lead to a substantial 53 points with one race left and knock some very big names out of contention in the process.

Besting All Early Challenges

DeNofa (Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD) was meticulous in surviving the early Final Heats, as challengers such as USA’s Mike Power (Power Racing Type Nissan S15) in the Top 32 and USA’s Robert Thorne (ASM E46 BMW Sedan Pro Edition) in the Top 16 drove their vehicles into disintegration trying to outpoint Denofa before the Great 8.

Taguch’s Futile Quest for Pace

After DeNofa’s first two foes attempted to break away from the unsolvable Denofa, Japan’s Kazuya Taguchi (Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86) resorted in the Great 8 to off-roading across OZ2 in a desperate attempt to keep pace. Alas, DeNofa’s unshakeable rear wheels kept his car in position, maintaining the necessary advantage to advance to the Final 4. 

Denofa-Olsen Final Four

In Denofa’s Final Four match against the major 2023 emerger, Olsen also tried to maintain proximity in his high-powered machine to DeNofa’s Mustang. The result ultimately amounted to an over-commitment across OZ1 and an over-rotation in his drift that amounted to competition survival battle. 

Simen Maintains, At Cost

While Simen did miraculously maintain control, the loss of form did cost him the race, and left him to settle for a very respectable third on the day--as well as third in the season’s chase, 77 points behind DeNofa with one race to go. The deficit leaves Olsen only a longshot chance of winning the championship, but his move up to the top flight of the 2023 season leaderboard is a huge victory for his personal and professional development as a driver. 

Final Field

The Final saw DeNofa take on perennial contender USA’s Matt Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette), who is still looking for his first season’s championship.

Field’s Road to the Final

The two always aggressive Finals drivers were not equally fresh, with Field having battled his way through a subpar qualification to get a timely bye in the Top 32 and bring Field all the way to the Top 16 for his first competitive head-on heat of the day.

Facing Down the Field

Facing Ireland’s Dean Kearney (HyperNFT Dodge Viper), the always resilient Field was able to survive the close battle by virtue of a superior chase run in the Top 16. Field had to negotiate a stiff test with three-time season champ USA’s Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z) in the Great 8, a test which Field handled with aplomb through an early initiation and major correction at Inside Clip 1 to send Forsberg home. 

Getting to DeNofa

In the Final 4, Field then took on USA’s Ryan Tuerk (Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla). Fresh off an upset of Norway’s Fredric Aasbo that plunged the Norwegian Hammer from second to an irrecoverable fourth in the season’s standings, Tuerk put up quite a drift but it just wasn’t up to the level of the hungry Field. So did Matt Field move on to the Final to face DeNofa in what looked to be a battle royale for two sizzling hot drivers.

Final Track Attack

In the ongoing quest to overcome DeNofa’s overwhelming speed in 2023, Field burst off the starting line in what can be described as nothing less than a hot pursuit chasing the season leader. Drifting aggressively into IC1, Field’s vehicle appeared to lock up on the front end, with the Corvette abruptly straightening and spearing the rear of DeNofa’s ride.

Repair Battle

The subsequent high-speed collision splattered debris across the tracks and sent both cars straight to the pits for repairs before the competition could resume, with 10 minutes of repairs allotted to DeNofa and 5 minutes to Field.

Settling the Outcome

After both teams expertly got their drivers’ rides rolling again for the second run, all it took was a conservative chase from DeNofa to bring home the victory. The big win in this run really belonged to DeNofa’s team for merely getting his car back on the track in the allotted time to preserve Chelsea’s participation and the victory.

Chelsea Marvels

As for the victory, Chelsea remarked on how unique the day’s Elevated win in Utah was:

“Usually we win by driving as hard as we can and being very precise, but today it was more about luck and making fewer mistakes than the other drivers.”

Everything Zen

As for the season, Chelsea revealed a simplified approach, potentially providing the building blocks for a season championship:

“A Championship would be cool but winning every event is the goal and maybe we’ll end up on top!”

The New Table Going into Irwindale

The day’s activity resulted in DeNofa’s third win of the season in the greater quest for his first championship. The day further saw Field move up to the second spot, and leaving Field in position to catch DeNofa if and only if DeNofa can be eliminated a bit earlier in the Final heats in Irwindale on October 13-14. Notable names Ireland’s James Deane and Lithuania’s Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis were mathematically eliminated. Only Fredric Aasbo (81 points behind), Simen Olson (77 points behind), and Field (53 points behind) still have a chance, with Field really the only one within shouting distance.

Catch The Final 2023 Stream!

Find out if anyone can upset Chelsea DeNofa in Irwindale October 13-14, and catch the action on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen. 

CHELSEA SHINES ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY OF THROWDOWN FOR A VIEW FROM THE FORMULA D 2023 MOUNTAINTOP IN SEATTLE RD 6

August 15, 2023—The Seattle Throwdown reached another level this last weekend in front of the largest Drift crowd in the venue’s history.

Throwing Down the Intrigue

Formula Drift RD6 Throwdown in Seattle at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington provided surprisingly ideal summer conditions in the Great Northwest for this barnburner of a Drifting affair that was taken by a repeat winner in 2023 who has now positioned himself for serious contention for the 2023 PRO season crown.

Shocking Twists and Turns

Warm weather and a refreshing breeze clearing the track gave spectators an unparalleled view of the proceeding. They were treated to a race with a wealth of surprises in the form of so many top contenders falling early to give new (and returning!) bloods a chance to reach the podium.

Typical Start to a Beautiful Day

The day started normally enough, with perennial contender Matt Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette) qualifying in the top spot by turning in a 91.6 score that earned him a Bye through the Top 32 Heats.

Scrambling the Signals

Drift bedlam then ensued for the remainder of the competition. The top contenders among the total 30 drivers who ended up vying for the podium in the Final 32 Round started treating points like they were out of style. 

Departure Field

First off, two-time running season championship bridesmaid Field appeared so hungry he seemed to outpoint himself on the track, crashing out of the vital RD 6 competition in the Round of 16 against USA’s Rome Charpentier (Garagistic / Vitour Tires E36 BMW) by virtue of an overzealous chase that cost Field the race after a brush with the wall in Outside Zone 4 (OZ4).

New Position

The ninth-place finish plunged Field to fourth in the standings, leaving plenty of points out there for other contenders to pick up in front of the enthralled crowd.

Hammered Out

However, major point eater and season leader Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra) of Norway then shockingly departed early when the Hammer’s teammate USA’s Ryan Tuerk (Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla) took out Aasbo in the Round of 16 next. 

Aasbo’s tenth-place finish on the day knocked him off the top spot for the season into second, 28 points back of first place and a scant 12 points ahead of both Field and Lithuania’s Aurimas Bakchis (Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15).

Round of 16 Uproar 

Tuerck’s strong day was destined to end when he fell to USA’s Chelsea DeNofa (Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD) in the Final 4, but not before Bakchis got toppled in the Round of 16 by 2023 darkhorse Ireland’s James Deane (AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD), who absolutely cannot be counted out after returning to Drift PRO series competition this year after a three-year hiatus.

Deane Approaching 

Three-time champion Deane crept up into the third spot on the podium, to remain in shouting range of the season top spot, which he has never actually lost with a perfect record of three championships in three years of competition.

DeNofa Dominates

Ultimately though, this day was to belong to the still emerging Drift great DeNofa, who fearlessly powered his 100hp plus through three OMT battles to boldly claim the day and become the first PRO Series driver with two victories on the 2023 season.

Chelsea’s Rocky Journey

First, DeNofa took down Norway’s Ola Jaeger (Team Japan Auto Toyota Supra) in a searing Top 32 race which saw the Norwegian drop out of contention after a collision with the wall.

Top 16 Epic

In the Top 16, DeNofa took on big fish three-time Champion USA’s Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z) in DeNofa’s first OMT battle on the day, in which Chelsea finally triumphed by outpointing Forsberg on another trademark flawless chase run by Chelsea.

Top 8 Toppling

DeNofa then took down USA’s Rome Charpentier (Garagistic / Vitour Tires E36 BMW) in the Great 8 when Charpentier was disqualified for exceeding track limits trying to keep up with the momentum demon that is Chelsea’s powerful Mustang. 

Final Four for the Ages

DeNofa then advanced to the Final 4 to take on Tuerck in a battle that can only be called savage and then some.

The first run saw Tuerck collide with DeNofa in OZ3 and spin to a halt, resulting in an arduous video review. The video revealed DeNofa to have initiated late, causing a fault for contact with Tuerck’s machine to render DeNofa’s run incomplete and give Tuerck a major advantage going into the second run. 

OMT

Alas, Tuerck squandered his opportunity by over-rotating in OZ4 and making a glaring correction visible to all onlookers that stuck Tuerck with his own incomplete, making it OMT time. But the first OMT was not to the liking of the judges, and with no winner awarded it was time for yet another OMT.

OMT, Again

In the third round of competition between the two legendary warriors, Tuerck was forced into a hard charge to maintain proximity with the blistering DeNofa and ended up running wide into OZ2 and leaving three wheels loose. The disadvantage resulted in an elementary chase by DeNofa for the win and finally the ticket to the Final Race.

Mythical Warrior Waiting

In the Final, DeNofa faced an even greater warrior on the day: USA’s Dylan Hughes (Whip Racing / Royal Purple BMW), who with a splint on a broken finger battled through three OMT’s and a grueling Final 4 victory against dangerous Deane to meet DeNofa. 

The Final Call

The rip-roaring final saw Hughes careen dangerously wide into OZ2. Hughes compensated by straightening his approach in the second run, only to overchase DeNofa into OZ3 and collide with DeNofa. This contact ended Hughes’ day on the spot and gave DeNofa the top spot on the podium, a resolution that relieved the crowd after all the eye-bending action on the track.

New Drifter at the Top

The result catapulted DeNofa to the top of the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship standings for the first time this season with the aforementioned 28-point margin. Fellow RTR Motorsports driver Deane crept up to sixth as well, within 60 points of DeNofa with two races to go.

Podium Winner Speaks

After some understandably rabid celebrations on the podium, the season leader had this to say:

“It was a gnarly event. We had lots of One More Time battles but kept the car set up the same.”

Key to Victory

That unrelenting commitment has lifted DeNofa and his team to the top, with the title clearly within grasp the way DeNofa has been driving.

DeNofa’s Championship Prospects

DeNofa and his car seem to be gathering momentum towards the finale, and it’s going to be a dogfight to keep that top spot with 60 points separating the top 6, but if DeNofa can hold form, he has a real chance for his first championship. A big If considering the 2023 contenders list. 

Season Outlook

The only guarantee is that it will be a true battle royal to the finish of Drift’s 20th season, with all the powers seeming to converge as the 2023 PRO series season winds down to its last two races. 

Watch the Next Stream Here

Catch the second to last round of action Elevated in Utah September 14-16 on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen!

ODI BE ATOP THE PODIUM AGAIN: BAKCHIS SHINES AT THE CROSSROADS IN ST. LOUIS IN FORMULA DRIFT PRO RD 5

July 18, 2023--The global heatwave brought particular conditions to Crossroads RD 5 of the Formula Drift PRO series in St. Louis, and it took a certain kind of fortitude for one of FD’s familiar faces to get back up on the podium.

Forces of Nature

Complete with thunderstorms Friday and Saturday, the thirst for competitions of sweltering grandstands packed by undaunted Drift fans was fully quenched by a down-to-the-wire competition at World Wide Technology Raceway outside Saint Louis.

Crossroads Adaptations

In a season marked by updates and adaptations to the tracks, RD 5 saw track officials considerably widen the paved surface in Outside Zone 3 (OZ3) while repositioning OZ4 to afford drivers more fluid curving. Officials additionally raised curbs in OZ4 to help drivers feel the edge of the course and avoid contacting dirt with their rear tires.

Big Falls and Firsts

These improvements did not prevent weather delays nor keep some big names from falling prey to the ongoing challenges of drifting in adverse conditions, amidst unique highlights including the first all-female tandem run.

Qualifying

The K&N PRO Qualifying session Thursday evening featured three different legendary Drift drivers, led by Japan’s Kazuya Taguchi (Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86) who tallied 94 points as the top qualifier.  

Bye and Bye Q

The high level of performance in the qualifying runs saw both Taguchi and second-place finisher USA’s Nick Noback (89 points in Noback Racing Co E46 BMW by Jerry Yang Racing) earn bye runs through the Top 32 heats. Noback barely out-pointed the 88.6 points Ireland’s Dean Kearney (HyperNFT Dodge Viper) for an exhilarating result that proved the optical value of the Qualifying rounds. Brazil’s Diego Higa was unable to complete his qualifying run, to hand the bye to an overjoyed Noback. 

The Main Event

Ultimately, the day was to belong to one of Formula Drift’s most beloved (and hungry!) figures.

Odi Shows

Lithuania’s Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15) qualified fifth in fifth place, but it turns out he was only getting started on this momentous and memorable day for Formula D.

Grueling Top 32

Odi’s first heat was among the most competitive and unpredictable of the day for any driver! Battling the USA’s Mike Power (Racing Type Nissan S15), the drivers sharing the same chassis went at it on the 1000 horsepower charging each of the engines. 

Precedent of Precision

It was Odi that controlled with the most precision in the heat, clinching the race with what the aerial stream view revealed to be a near-perfect line around the course. 

Top 16 Cage Brawl

Moving on to the Top 16, Bakchis vanquished the first of three Drift heavyweights in succession.

Felling Field

Season points leader Matt Field was Odi’s first victim. Odi’s unshakeable chase proximity and angle eliminated Field in an OMT after a nearly flawless performance by both drivers--to hand Field a 14th-place finish on the night and topple Field from the top spot on the year. 

Bye Tuerck

In the Great 8, Bakchis was awarded a bye run victory over USA’s Ryan Tuerck as a result of something never before seen in Formula Drift competition: Tuerck was unable to advance out of the Final 16 after receiving a bye run himself against Japan’s Ken Gushi.

Bye, Bye Gushi

That’s correct, Gushi (Three’s Racing Toyota GR86,) could not meet the bell in his Final 16 Heat against Tuerck, leaving Tuerck needing only to complete a solo run to move on--but alas, Tuerck withdrew his Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla because the car was no longer in driving condition itself on the day!

Forsberg Follies

Bakchis was subsequently able to drive his car through the bye run in the Great 8 to move on to a controversial Final 4 against 3-time season champion USA’s Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z) which summoned what seemed like every clause from the Formula Drift rulebook.

Repair Reprieve

On the first run, Forsberg contacted Bakchis in OZ1 almost as soon as the drivers entered the curve, causing Bakchis to spin out. However, Forsberg was tagged with the fault, giving Bakchis’ team ten minutes to repair Odi’s S15.

Dismissing Forsberg in Final Four? 

The drivers finished the second run after the delay, with the on-point Bakchis dismissing flagging Forsberg on the judges’ decision.

Not Quite

As Bakchis prepared to watch the second Final Four and find out if he would face two-time defending season champion Norway’s Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra) and or Norway’s Simen Olsen (Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9), a protest was lodged by Forsberg racing to appeal the judges’ decision.

Grounds for Appeal

The appeal was based on the claim that Bakchis’s slowing at OZ1 was the true cause of the collision. After originally assessing the contact as “inconsequential” to the impact which spun Bakchis, Forsberg Racing’s argument ultimately won the appeal, swaying the race judges into calling for Bakchis and Forsberg to repeat the runs. 

Redo Repeat

The redo magnified the differences between the two drivers on the day, with Forsberg unable to keep two tires out of the dirt at OZ4 in the lead run and failing to maintain proximity behind Bakchis in the chase, giving the win decisively to Odi.  

Aasbo’s Battle

The other final 4 was even more grueling, as it required not one but two OMTs to give Aasbo a slight edge and leave Olsen in third for the day, but still with the second podium of the season for the rookie driver.  

Final Confrontation

In the Final, Bakchis maintained his momentum and form: he followed a fast and precise lead run with an aggressive chase that brought Bakchis the win and the day. Aasbo gained no small consolation in second though, turning a 41-point deficit in third place coming into the race into a 15-point advantage for the top spot on the season. 

King for a Day Speaks

The day however belonged to the consistent and persistent Lithuanian:

“What a crazy event!” gushed Odi after the big win. “Winning was no easy feat but it feels very special because it represents the tenth win in my Formula DRIFT PRO career.”

Thanks to All Support

Odi lauded his team for laying it all on the line with him and keeping the car together while Odi drove “super-hard” all day to hold his competitive momentum. 

Odi Moves Up

And as a bonus, Odi pulled all the way from sixth to third in the season points chase, with three rounds remaining.

Crowded at the Top

With seven drivers still one win away from potentially taking the top spot in the standings, and all Top 16 drivers still in contention for the 2023 crown, the final word from Formula Drift President Ryan Sage couldn’t have run more true: 

“Anybody could still take the Championship title.”

Next Race

To see what happens next, catch Rd 6 Throwdown in Seattle on August 11 and 12th on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen! 

DRIFT FANS AWAKE TO NEW PODIUM HOLDER ADAM LZ AS FORMULA D’s 20th ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN THREATENS TO BOIL OVER

The random nature of drifting asserted itself last weekend on June 24th, 2023 in RD 4 of FORMULA DRIFT PRO SERIES RD 4: The Gauntlet at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.

The main turnabout was the ascendance of 2020 Rookie of the Year Adam LZ to the top of the podium for the first time, providing another shakeup at the top of the leaderboard as the Formula Drift midpoint sees a multitude of contenders vying for what will be the most competitive season crown ever. 

Diverse Representation at the Top

A different driver has taken each of the four events of the 2023 PRO Series season as it reaches its midpoint, while some of the Drift’s toughest competitors occupy the top 3 spots.

New Track Township

Incorporated in 2021, the Old Bridge track offers a figure-8 layout to grandstands lining the entirety of the course. New season points leader Fredric Aasbo of Norway picked up where he left off by posting a smashing 94-point qualifying run in his Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra to lead all drivers as the last driver of the qualifying round. 

Aasbo Leads Qualifying 

Aasbo stole pole position from hungry competitors such as his teammate USA’s Ryan Tuerck (Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla) who had led until Aasbo’s final drive in qualifying with a 92-point showing of his own.

Other Top Qualifiers

The other top qualifier was USA’s Dylan Hughes (Whip Racing / Royal Purple BMW) whose 89.6 points just outpointed the 89 points of perennial contender USA’s Matt Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette).     

LZ’s Season Share

The Pro competition then gave rise to the long-awaited emergence of Adam LZ, who is sharing a car with recently returned Vaughn Gittin Jr., limiting each driver to only four races this season. It turns out that by the halfway point, each driver has in limited service snagged a podium top spot in 2023, with LZ at 13th and Gittin Jr. at 17th in the season rankings. 

LZ’s Victorious Gauntlet

But how LZ got his win in New Jersey is the story of the day. 

Powering Through Top 32

In the Top 32, LZ (RTR Vehicles Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD) took out USA’s Mike Power (Power Racing Type Nissan S15): Power was unable to keep up with LZ in the chase after both riders survived a slide into the wrong side of Inside Clip 1 (IC1) on their second run.

Top 16: Leading DeNofa 

The Top 16 pitted LZ against RD 3 winner and 2023 PRO second-place holder USA’s Chelsea DeNova (Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD). With each car booming with over 1100hp, the race turned into a flurry of sparks and dirt as each driver battled for superior position and form, with LZ taking the decision due to a superior lead run in the mud. The elimination put DeNofa out at 15th on the day, and dropped him 41 points behind the season leader, though still in second place.

Samba 8

LZ took on Brazil’s Joao Barion (Corvette Barbarius) in the Final 8. A tight race saw LZ emerge victorious after exhibiting superior precision in the chase position through the Gauntlet’s vaunted Outside Zones. 

Dethroning Deane

In the Final 4, most expected LZ’s bubble to pop as he faced young Irish legend James Deane (AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD), who returned to the Drift PRO Series after a three-year layoff following three consecutive Formula Drift titles in Deane’s three years of competition. 

Tight Lead Wins It

LZ took the challenge head-on by chasing Deane closely on the first run, leaving little room for Deane’s legendary chase-shaking cuts. On the second run, LZ blasted out of the gates at top speed, playing Deane into an early overcommitment at Outside Zone 1 (OZ1) that caused Deane to clip the wall. After his vehicle ran wide, Deane’s chase run was judged incomplete, sending LZ to the Final to meet another upstart on the day: Norway’s Simen Olsen (Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9).

ROY Battle in the Finals

Olsen, the 2021 Rookie of the Year, had established momentum coming into the Final after mastering his V8-powered Nissan to wins over Formula Drift heavyweights USA’s Taylor Hull in the Top 32, Japan’s Kazuya Taguchi in the Top 16, Lithuania’s Odi Bakchis (and Olsen’s engine designer) in the Top 8, and perennial contender Matt Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette) in the Final 4 in an epic OMT One More Time Battle. 

Field Moves Up

Though Field got taken out, he would place third for the day and regain the season points lead with that healthy 41-point advantage over DeNofa--thanks to defending 2022 champion Aasbo’s early elimination in wet track conditions by virtue of a chase error against Japan’s Ken Gushi (Japan) in the Top 32 that dropped Aasbo back to third in the standings on the year. 

Final Call

As for the day’s final pitting the 2020 Rookie of the Year against the 2021 Rookie of the Year, the hot drivers stayed with each other toe-to-toe in judges' categories of speed, aggression, precision, and proximity. It took an OMT round and multiple video replays for the judges to meticulously award LZ the victory. 

Winner Speaks

After clinching victory, the day’s winner still seemed to be gathering steam:

“The more I drive, the better I feel!” LZ said as he climbed triumphantly out of his vehicle.

“We seemed to get better with every battle to where I wanted to go One More Time because I was enjoying it so much. It feels fantastic to get my first win at the best place on earth here at Englishtown Raceway. And I can’t thank my team enough for grinding to get us the best car we could possibly have.”

Love to All

LZ expressed friendly regret for eliminating his teammates, which only seemed to deepen his satisfaction at winning the day for the greater group.

LZ Moves Up

The 100 points LZ earned catapulted him from 31st to 13th in the FD PRO Championship table, with Olsen rising from 14th to 5th. 

Prez Speaks on Turnabout

Formula DRIFT President Ryan Sage summed up the unexpected result best by saying:

“What a crazy way to mark the midway point of the season. Nobody expected Adam LZ and Simen Olsen to be in the Final but their determination allowed them to battle through some incredible competitors.”

Season Outlook

In this 20th anniversary season of PRO Drift racing, the word is expect the unexpected, with new blood and traditional titans battling on equal ground through the halfway point. Most remarkably, without taking a podium top spot in 2023, three-time champion James Deane is lurking 44 points behind leader Field in fourth place. With six more drivers currently within 100 points of the top spot, one race can still turn the leaderboard over completely. Find out what happens next July 13-15th at the Crossroads in St. Louis. And catch all the action on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen.

SIZZLING DENOFA ENTERS THE PRO SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT AFTER OUTPOINTING FORMULA D’S GREATEST CHAMPIONS HEAD-ON AT RD 3: SCORCHED IN ORLANDO

Under rare dry conditions, Formula PRO Series RD 3: Scorched ran with flying colors at Orlando Speed World.

Free of typical tropical storms this time of year, Formula DRIFT drivers arrived to some updates to Orlando’s figure-8 course: a lengthened Outside Zone 1 and slightly shortened Outside Zone 2 streamlined the course to ultimately deliver a tight and lively competition that went down to the wire and welcomed a new winner with a familiar face atop the podium for 2023.

Qualifying 

Lit by Type S undercar lighting so the fans could follow the cars through the smoke during sunset qualifying, USA’s Ryan Tuerck finished first in his Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla, his 94.6-point run fueled by the new 10-point discretionary score Tuerck bagged from judges whom Formula Drift has empowered with to recognize particularly impressive runs in Formula Drift’s 20th season of competition. 

Tight at the Top

In qualifying, Tuerck placed just ahead of USA’s Chelsea DeNofa’s 94 points in his Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD, and Kazuya Taguchi of Japan’s 93.6 points in his Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86, leaving the top three drivers separated by one point and the top 18 all within ten points of each other, the first sign that the revamped Orlando track was going to yield dynamic and close performances.

Chelsea Checks In

DeNofa was to hold form through the Finals, battling through all kinds of adversity to take the podium for the first time since RD 6 2022 in Seattle. 

Denofa’s Epic Night

DeNofa’s real battle started in the Top 32 when he collided with emerging rookie Alex Holovnia (Huragan Racing / Cheap Racing Toyota GT86). 

Top Rookie Cracks

After two flawless runs by both drivers, the judges required a One More Time OMT, giving the drivers two more runs to decide a clear-cut winner for the Round of 32. After another flawless run, Holovnia finally blinked first when he lost control of his power steering entering Outside Zone 1 OZ1 and hit the wall. 

Airborne for Victory

The chasing DeNofa had nowhere to slide by, and smacked dab into the rear corner of Holovnia’s penalized Toyota, sending DeNofa’s Mustang RTR into the air and the next round. However, DeNofa’s Mustang had to come down, absorbing considerable damage upon landing.

Facing Another Champ

A timely two-hour intermission enabled DeNofa’s crew to replace the damaged parts entirely in time for a Top 16- battle against three-time season champion Chris Forsberg of the USA (NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z). 

DeNofa’s Precision Wins

Both accomplished drivers set impeccable paces in their lead runs, with DeNofa’s masterful chase tipping the scales slightly enough in his favor to move on. 

Battling Deane

DeNofa faced his teammate, another three-time champion in the Final 8, Ireland’s James Deane (AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD).

Unshakeable DeNofa

Both drivers were once again going toe-to-toe with flawless speed and precision, with DeNofa’s artful chasing swaying the judges in his favor and propelling him to the Final 4. 

The Power of Resilience

The momentum of DeNofa’s power once again was the prevailing factor against Taguchi, whose car speared the side of DeNofa’s door at Inside Clip 2, which imposed more suspension damage on DeNofa’s indomitable Stang. In the second run, after his team completed the necessary repairs, and despite an engine misfire, DeNofa held Taguchi off to clinch the victory and move to the finals, where yet a third three-time champion awaited DeNofa. 

New Challenge, Same Result

Norway’s Fredric Aasbo took DeNofa to the limit, even with DeNofa riding with new plugs and leads for his 1100hp V8 engine. But Denofa’s power and form held firm, undoubtedly buoyed by the steely reserve DeNofa had to maintain in driving through the day’s damages.

DeNofa Speaks

“It was a gnarly event and the team worked extremely hard all weekend,” the winner said.

“We worked through a number of gremlins in practice and the car was there when I needed it.”

Reshuffling at the Top

The victory vaulted DeNofa from tenth to second in the 2023 season standings heading into Englishtown New Jersey for Round 4. 

Field Falls into the Field

Early season PRO leader hungry Matt Field came into the event leading all drivers with a healthy 40-point margin but fell back to third in 2023 after losing to Tuerck in the Top 16 and placing 14th on the day. 

New Season Leader

Aasbo’s second-place finish on the day put him in lead position for the season by a mere 13 points, to fully heat things up going into the summer of Formula Drift’s 20th season.

Coming Up Next

Catch all the action in Englishtown, New Jersey on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen!

TWO-TIME CHAMP GITTIN JR RETURNS TO PROMINENCE IN ATLANTA FOR DRIFT ROUND 2

Thursday through Saturday’s race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta provided no shortage of thrills out of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Main Players

The Final Round on Saturday, May 13, 2023, featured the re-emergence of a recent champion as well as twists and turns from the new scoring system.

Moving Up Qualifying

In an adapted format, Atlanta along with the next race in Utah sees qualifying sessions moved up from Friday to Thursday.

Qualifying Run

Beginning at sunset, the K and N PRO Qualifying session was moved to sunset and continued under the night lights to galvanize track conditions on the cooling evening ground

New Judge’s Format

Judges new for this season are already adding line, angle, and style points up to 90 each, with an additional 10 points for x-factor making the driving quest more unpredictable and hardier to pursue. 

Top Qualifier

Top qualifier in this new hodge-podge of requirements was former champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. who is back after a one-year sabbatical. Gittin Jr. led off by setting the standard with a top qualifying score of 93.3-point run that nobody could subsequently touch to position Gittin Jr. in the lead position for final runs on Saturday. 

Other Key Qualifiers

Other key qualifiers included defending champion Norway’s Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra) in seventh place with 76.3 points, and 2023 Round 1 winner USA’ss Matt Field (Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette) in ninth with 85.6 points.

Vaughn’s Journey

The day was ultimately to be quite a journey for Gittin Jr., the two-time season champion made his way back to the finals in his Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD to face 3-time champ USA’s Chris Forsberg in his NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z, hearkening back to the first Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta ever since the same two great Drift Champions were pitted against each other 20 amazing years ago. 

Gittin Jr’s Opening Battle

Gittin’s road to the final included an opening battle in the final against reigning PROSPEC Champion Robert Thorne (USA) in his ASM E46 BMW Sedan Pro Edition. 

Deciding Factor

Gittin Jr. Set the tone with speed and precision as he outpointed Thorne at Inside Clip 1 where Thorne ran too deep and lost his proximity for the rest of his race against the masterful Gittin Jr. Despite a strong run by Throne in the lead position, Gittin Jr. Showed he was on point by riding Thorne heavily all the way to finish.

Top 16

In the Top 16, Gittin Jr. managed to knock Alec Robbins of the USA with Robbins spinning out twice in OZ2, unable to keep up with Gittin’s unwavering and increasingly ominous-looking Mustang. 

Top 8

The Big Top 8 contest pitted Gittin Jr. Against last Round’s winner and 2022 runner-up Matt Field. The showdown of two sizzling masters resulted in a battle to the death that riveted fans all the way around the track. Gittin’s grit in the chase position was the deciding factor in a gutty, rapid, and smoky victory.

Softening Field’s Blow

As far as the season’s crown chase, Field’s early exit was offset by 2022 champ Fredric Aasbo getting sent home--by the returning 3-time champion James Deane, whose return to the Formula Drift pro league after a three-year hiatus is easily the main X-Factor for all events and drivers. But alas, Deane then fell to Forsberg. 

Gittin’s Semi-Final

Meanwhile, Gittin Jr. soldiered on into the Final 4 against Latvia’s Kirstap Bluss in his HGK E92 BMW Eurofighter, who had knocked out his own set of Drift heavies on the way to the Final Four.

Outshined

In the chase, Bluss hung tough against Gittin Jr., bumping his door twice on Gittin Jr. through IC1 before tapping Gittin’s bumper again while attempting to transition through the Touch and Go Zone. Both cars were damaged, with Bluss having burned his Competition Time Out CTO to get penalized out of the race via forfeit. 

The Final Battle of Ages

So did Gittin Jr. Reach the Final to face Forsberg. And a Final for the Ages it was. The knock-down drag-out started with Gittin Jr. leaving the line like a bat out of hell. 

Lead Run

Forsberg was forced to run deep through IC1 to match Gittin Jr’s speed, staying off Gittin’s car and closing in on Gittin Jr in OZ 2 to hold competitively close before the drivers swapped racing positions. 

Trail Run

Forsberg was more nonchalant in the lead position, and a late initiation into IC1 caught Gittin Jr. By surprise before adroitly adapting to stay on Forsberg like white on rice. 

Deciding Factor

However, the revelation that Forsberg had deleted fourth gear translate into less agility in shifting gears to keep up with Gittin Jr. For the factor that delivered Gittin Jr. the win. 

Vaughn Speaks

The final word from the day’s champion marked the epic reversal in history from 20 years ago: 

“Chris beat me 20 years ago and it was amazing to be competing against him 20 years later.”

The Look of a Champion

After thanking his team as well, anyone in Michelin Stadium could tell that Gittin had the look, and the talk of a potential 2023 Formula Drift Pro season champion.

Next Up

Round 3 in Orlando in under two weeks. Catch all the action on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen.

AN UNWAVERING MATT TRUMPS THE FIELD AND ASSERTS HIS CONTENTION AFTER TAKING RD1: STREETS OF LONG BEACH TO LAUNCH FORMULA DRIFT 2023

With two legendary champions vying head-to-head for history, another constant x-factor laid his claim to derailing them both, promising the rue barnburner after 2023 Pro Series RD 1 Streets of Long Beach.

New and Improved Conditions

Amidst a significantly larger prize purse and new rules designed to spice up the competition, a key competitive enhancement was the judging system updates to accelerate the pace of the PRO series qualifying and competition heats. The qualifying heat points are now based on average points awarded by each of the three judges, who also have the discretion of applying x-factor points to drivers who leave it all on the track. Judges analyzing the full run instead of formerly specific components such as line, angle, and style now have new sources of data including light systems in cars indicating deceleration or acceleration as well as in-car telemetry illuminating what the drivers are trying to do in their motions.

Heavyweight Return

The return of three-time champion James Deane (Ireland) to the competition on the RTR Motorsports team was augmented by the return in an RTR Mustang of two-time FD champion Vaughn Gittin Jr., the only driver besides Deane or Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo to take the season’s title over the last six years.

New Outerzone and HOF

The 2023 Season also introduced the official Formula DRIFT podcast Outerzone to deepen the connection with fans as well as the new FD Hall of Fame, with the first inductees announced by co-founder Jim Liaw as pioneering drivers Rhys Millen and Samuel Hubinette.

Pro Qualifying Heats

After a three-year break, James Deane stormed back in his Autozone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD to register 92.66 points out of a possible 100. The heady performance set a standard that was topped only by Ryan Tuerck (USA) at the very end of qualifying.

Top Qualifiers

Deane’s qualifying run in his AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD scored 92.66 points out of a possible 100. It put him in the top spot for most of the K&N qualifying session, only to be bettered by the 98.33 points of USA’s Ryan Tuerck (Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Corolla) at the tail end of the qualifying round, earning Top 2 Finishers Tuerck and Deane bye runs through the Top 32 Heats.

Lengthened Odds for 2022’s Top 2

Two-time defending and three-time overall champion Aasbo qualified in seventh in his Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra with 85.66 points. The challenge this posed to Aasbo’s path to the final was not as staunch as Matt Field’s mission after qualifying heats: the season runner-up to Aasbo two years running spun on his first run to ultimately qualify 27th with 78.66 points, pitting Field in his Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette against three-time FD PRO Champion Chris Forsberg (USA) in the first round of competition heats, a tough race for both masters to open with.

Pro Competition: Field's Warrior Day

Field v Forsberg (Nissan Z) was as rigorous as promised, requiring an OMT (of course) to determine the winner, with Forsberg’s impact at OZ 1 and subsequent correction costing him the race in the judge’s eyes and sending the extremely tough Field on.

Top 16 and 8

Field outpointed Dean Kearney in the Top 16 and Chelsea Donofa in the Top 8, when the always tough and hungry DeNofa overrotated in OZ2 to let Field through by merely completing Field’s Top 8 run.

Field Faces Aasbo in Top 4

Field took on his nemesis Aasbo in the Top 4, with Field spinning before OZ1, but the new “decel” lights indicated to the judges that Aasbo had momentarily slowed to correct a barely perceptible impact with the wall. The replay showing Aasbo at fault penalized Aasbo and gave the win to Field, who merely had to cleanly complete his lead run to move on.

Final Field

Field faced USA’s Rome Charpentier (Garagistic / Vitour Tire BMW E36). Amid concern about whether Field’s car would hold out after his damaging spin in the Top 4, Field maintained expert proximity in the chase run and then put down the deepest touches of the day on the walls of OZ1 and 3 on his lead run, which Charpentier just could not adrift with.

X-Factor is Back

Field’s prowess in the judge’s eyes surpassed Charpentier’s runs, and Field won the day to re-assume his regular place atop the Formula D Pro standings--except for at the end of the season.

Prepping for the 2023 Crown

On this year’s quest, Field said after the race that he “spent the entire off-season building a new car and trying to build a team for instances where you have very little time to repair the car.”

Field is prepared for the unforeseen on the track, a reminder that the tracks are still the biggest opponent of any of the top Formula D PRO drivers.

Field Speaks On the Day

Of overcoming the day’s adversity, Field told FormulaD:

“I’ve been waiting for this win for so long. Long Beach is my absolute favorite track and finally we showed up when it mattered and got the win. I had to rise to the occasion, forget about the mistakes and focus on reaching the podium. After the wreck, the boys absolutely killed it, which is why you need a great team. They got us on the top step of the podium.”

Field Wants It Bad

With Aasbo finishing third and James Deane finishing in sixth, Field has positioned himself to get that elusive cup once again. He has brought an optimized mindset, preparation, and hazard team to the season.

Outlook

Now, competing drivers, the fates, the judges, the new technology, and the rest of the tracks for 2023 will decide the rest.

For full results after RD 1, click here.

Catch RD2 Road to the Championship in Atlanta May 11-13th on the Exclusive Screen.

—

JAMES DEANE IS BACK FROM IRELAND TO STAVE OFF THE NORWEGIAN HAMMER AASBO

Co-All-time winningest Formula Drift champion James Deane won his three championships in his only three years of competition. Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo tied him for all-time season cup victories last year in Deane’s absence with his third win.

Crash Course for Four

Now Deane is back looking for another season’s victory with Fredric Aasbo on a two-season champion streak. If either of these drivers wins this year, they will become all-time winningest champion. If Aasbo wins, he will also tie Deane’s record of three championships in a row.

All-Time Supremacy

This duo have plenty to battle for, in terms of all-time supremacy. Add to that the hungry winless vets and previous chapions, and you have a rollicking Drift to watch for the twentieth season of competiuon.

Outlook

Stay tuned to the SPorting Art Exlcusive Screen to catch the epic action, starting today at 3 PM Pacific Standard Time.

FORMULA D 2022 by Lior Rozenman

THE HAMMER STRIKES TWICE: NORWAY’S NORWEGIAN HAMMER IS CARVING AN UNMATCHED PLACE IN FORMULA DRIFT FOLKLORE

October 23, 2022—A new PRO Series dynasty is here, and somehow it couldn’t be from a more appropriate driver.

Hallowed Ground

Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo elevated himself to mythical status with a perfect day to complete a historic season which tied him with driving dynasties James Deane and Chris Forsberg for most Formula Drift season championships at three.

Beckoning Throne

Aasbo also has chance to match Deane’s three-peat next year and become the winningest driver of all time on the Formula Drift PRO series circuit, a feat which looks extremely realistic in light of Aasbo’s Thor-like final day of 2022 in Irwindale Title Fight.

Aasbo’s Trifecta

Aasbo qualified in first and won Round 8 to clinch the 2022 FD PRO championship and snatch it from the grasp of ever-steady Matt Field, who is now the bridesmaid for the second year in a row.

Setting the Day’s Stage

Coming into Round 8: Title Fight, Aasbo was a mere 14 points behind Field, with the final combatants revving up for some revisionist drifting on the throwback 2019 layout at the Irwindale House of Drift.

Dominating the Qualifying

In front of a packed house with judges in full view of the racers on this classic trackscape, defending and still hungry defending champion Aasbo gave a strong taste of things to come in his Rockstar Energy Toyota GR by storming ahead of Field’s 87 qualifying points to put up 91 and take over lead position for the Final Round.

Field’s Grip Weakens

Field actually ended up fourth in qualifying and was knocked out of contention for any qualifying points (only available to the Top 3 Qualifiers), while Pacman-like Aasbo gulped three whole qualifying points to bring him within 11 points of Field’s overall season lead entering the Final Round.   

Last Grasp

With the second place finisher on any day conceding only nine points to the winner, Field could still control his destiny by finishing higher than third on the day to claim the season crown.

The Powers that Were

The weather gods would have something to say as well, with a gentle tap in qualifying transforming into veritable buckets raining a delay down on the Top 32 heats.

Top 16 Topples

Following the break, the remaining drivers returned to rapidly shifting conditions for the Top 16, which at that point featured a veritable mine field of dry and damp patches that blew out several top drivers and moved Aasbo along when Top 16 opponent Kyle Mohan (USA) was unable to repair his KMR / Renewable Lubricants / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 in the 5min Competition Time Out (CTO) after slapping the wall.

Spinning Wheel

The next heat saw sixth place Dylan Hughes of the USA spin his DHR / Royal Purple / Falken Tire BMW into the wall on his sighting lap, leaving him unable to repair his vehicle in the time allotted and giving an advancement victory to Lithuania’s Odi Bakchis.  

Caution Costs

A concerned Field took a sighting lap after seeing Hughes’ demise. Avoiding the problematic banking, Field’s conservative approach cost him everything when he spun his own Drift Cave / Falken Tire C6 Corvette immediately after initiating into the banking in OZ1. The season points leader fought to regain control of his vehicle, but was unable to avoid the wall, absorbing significant damage to his suspension.  

To Field and his team’s chagrin, there was no replacing the bent suspension parts, which allowed Aasbo to clinch the season’s FD PRO TITLE on the spot.

Field Speaks Nobly

Field nonetheless remained graceful in the midst of heartbreak:

“I want to thanks my boys. The way they handled the season gave me the energy to keep going.”

Field lamented losing the game of inches, saying it only reinforced his resolve to come back stronger next year.

To the Victor

There is no shame in a second place finish for sure, before leaving it Aasbo’s time to shine once again.  

Day’s War Wagers On

Despite the clinch, there was still some more business to be completed on the track for the day. Field’s loss opened the door for Adam LZ to get all the way to the Top 4 and soften the blow of a lackluster season with that strong finish in LZ’s AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD.

Prevailing Elements

The weather gods did not want to let go yet for sure. The next Top 16 Heat saw Travis Reeder (USA) in his Travis Reeder Motorsports /  GT Radial BMW M3 contact third place lead driver Chelsea DeNofa’s (USA) Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD. The correction required of Reeder in that second run allowed DeNofa to pull away before actually spinning at the finish line.

Judges’ Reversal

Then the judges got together and decided the early contact was caused by an inappropriate handbrake tug by Chelsea, giving Reeder a judges’ decision and a path into the Top 8, where LZ took him down--leaving Chelsea DeNofa in 13th for the day and fourth on the season.

Lightning Crashes

Then another downpour necessitated clearance of the grandstands and camera positions to avoid lightning strikes and turning the track into the Formula Drift version of a carnival fun-house.

Final Four Flurry

First LZ spun on his lead run and allowed Aasbo to advance. 

Then Jeff Jones (USA) lost the front subframe on his Evol Auto Works / PRISMA Labs Nissan 370Z during his sighting lap, with Jones’ inability to repair his car resulting in full concession to opponent Ryan Tuerck.  

Saving Grace

Jones still had a highlight moment with his first podium, because he was awarded third place for the day due to a superior qualifying position than LZ.  

Risk-Reward

A drenched final pitted Papadakis Racing teammates Aasbo and Tuerck against each other.

To avoid recent history repeating itself, both Aasbo and Tuerck avoided sight laps.

Alas the risk proved greater than the reward for Tuerck, as he went into the day’s final spin of many, losing control of his appropriately named Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla in OZ1 after contacting the wall.

Aasbo Trails Home

On the second run, Aasbo calmly chased Tuerck to finish his weekend triumvirate of Heat, Round, and Season wins.   

Final Variation

Aasbo’s round victory in a row on the season also shattered the pattern of different winners each year on the podium for 2022, after having taken Round 2 in Atlanta.    

Tuerk’s Strong Close

Tuerk’s second-place finish on the day also vaulted Tuerck over Denofa into third for the season standings as well, 37 points behind second-placed Field.

Champion Adaptation

Aasbo showed prescience after clinching the season:

“I have some experience in this weather and I knew it was going to get gnarly.”

He also made the strategic decision that probably gave him the championship:

“I was so close to crashing on my first sighting lap and sure I’d crash on the first run against Kyle [Mohan] but got away with it. The Top 16 was carnage and I saw Matt [Field] in one of the most unfortunate situations but here we are; the three-time, back-to-back Champions. This is the stuff of dreams!”

The Wisdom of Age

On his second consecutive season crown, a more seasoned Aasbo said “this year has been all about growth; understanding what I needed to do well.”

The Power of Closing

Aasbo expressed particular pride in overcoming what he called a mid-season slump, and saying the trust he has in his support team freed him to work out more effectively and focus “on my mental game.”

Prez Checks In

It was also refreshing to hear from Rookie Formula DRIFT President Ryan Sage, who chimed in with his own special take:

“This was one of the most insanely challenging events we’ve ever done, which also proved to be one of the most dramatic because of the weather and how the Championship points changed across the board.”

Official Shouts

Ryan passed along his warmest congrats to Aasbo for his “perfect weekend,” and sent shouts to the other two podium winners with a special nod to “first-time trophy winner Jeff Jones, who’s been waiting his entire life for this moment,” whom Ryan said he was “especially excited for.”

Inspiration All Around

The passion for Drift was flowing on this unpredictable day, with the weather gods finally conceding to Odin.

Catch the unforgettable replay on the Exclusive Screen, and stay tuned for what Ryan promises will be an unforgettable 20th anniversary season of 2023 to see if the pride of Norway can forge a unique place in the cosmos of Formula Drift racing.

September 19, 2022

FIELD LEADS GOING INTO THE FINAL

Things just got clearer after a hectic day of drifting up high at Drift PRO Series RD 7 ELEVATED.

One Contender Falls Out

First off, third-place season contender Ryan Tuerck of the USA was eliminated from season contention after getting knocked in a Top 32 OMT battle with Mike Power to drop to fifth overall for the season.

Field’s Early Departure

Then, steady season points Championship leader Matt Field (USA) left uncharacteristically early after being eliminated from the top 16 Heats when he collided with traditional power Ken Gushi. A rigorous 5min Competition Time Out required repairs, only to see Field run off the track at Inside Clip 2 to end his day.

Field’s Lead Holds by Slimmest of Margins

Fortunately for Field, he was able to emerge on top for the season with a drastically reduced lead to a scant 16 points, to leave the final race in Irwindale wide open to contenders.

More Tough Departures

Other early exits took place in the Top 8 when fourth place Chris Forsberg (USA) and sixth place Dylan Hughes(USA) both were eliminated.

Forsberg’s Error

Forsberg lost to Chelsea DeNofa when he DeNofa outpointed him as Forsberg chased him in vain. Hughes also got lost in the smoke chasing the re-emerging Ken Gushi in the same round.

Defining Top Four

The Top 4 got things more defined at the top of the standings when fifth-place DeNofa got dropped by the Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo after a collision in Outside Zone 2. DeNofa got tagged with the fault for trapping Aasbo, with DeNofa settling for an eventual third-place finish which vaulted him to third place in the overall 2022 season standings.

The Gush Returns

The final in Utah brought together reigning season champion Aasbo and former champion Gushi. The Final was decided when Aasbo’s super Papadakis Racing team proved incapable of completing the necessary repairs to Aasbo’s GR Supra in time after the DeNofa collision.

Tight at the Top

The default victory to Gushi boosted Aasbo higher in the points standings, with his second-place overall position now reduced to a mere 16 points behind Field.

Gushi’s Return

Gushi’s win was another strike for variety in the 2022 season, with Gushi becoming the seventh winner in seven races in Formula Drift Pro Series 2022.

The win also marked Gushi’s first win since the Irwindale final in 2019 and bumped him up three places to seventh in the season standings.

Going into the Final

Despite all the tumult, six drivers have a chance to take the season trophy for the 2022 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship in the Final Round at Irwindale Speedway.

The Longshots

Realistically, fourth-place Chris Forsberg (-74) needs Field to basically break down completely and get Aasbo out of qualifying as well to storm in for a championship, which is a bleak prospect.

With a win on the day, Denofa (-66) still needs both leaders to virtually break down or earn no points, a tall task indeed.

The Picture On Top

This boils down to Aasbo (-14) and Field who are almost neck and neck. Assuming both cars survive the day, defending season champion Aasbo needs to win and keep the brutally consistent Field out of the final. If they were to meet in the Round of 4, that would amount to the race for the season’s championship.

Field’s Win-out Path

Regardless of how: if Field gets into the Top 2, he will have his first Drift season championship. The x factor at this point is the vehicles, and the support teams that keep the drivers rolling--in a season in which the track has been the most formidable opponent to the durability of the Formula Drift PRO drivers and their rides to date in 2022.

Catch the Final

Check the Exclusive Screen at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA for the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 8: Title Fight on October 14-15.

ELEVATED ROUND 7 PREVIEW

September 16, 2022: Will Field hold strong in the last two events to finally win a title?

Well, he is about to get swarmed by some hungry competitors.

From repeat winners to veterans looking for their first title, it’s crowded at the top of the Formula Drift standings.

Hopefully after getting ELEVATED for ROUND 7 in Gainsville, Utah, we will have a clearer picture, in the second to last race of the Formula Drift PRO series 2022 season..

—

Another Round, Another Winner: Denofa Touches Down for the Final Stretch at RD 6: Throwdown 

This throwdown was no joke.

2022 Contenders Emergeth..

Against the backdrop of temperate conditions and a familiar track, an all-out war on the champions' points total emerged for Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 6 Throwdown at Monroe, Washington. 

Podium Memories

The salad of drivers topping the podium for the first five rounds of 2022 included three first-time podium toppers, with the steady and by now familiar consistency shown by Matt Fields over the last couple of years steadying him atop the season leaderboard, hearkening memories of 2016 when Chris Forsberg eased through a bevy of individual round champions above him to take the overall points crown by simply staying in the thick of things the whole way. 

Ready to Roll

The sellout crowd assembled under pure blue skies to find out who the 2022 contenders would be.

Field Day?

The final day’s Top 32 Round first major battle saw contender Odi Bakchis (Lithuania) fall by the wayside against top man Field after a One More Time battle where the Falken Tire teammates had to repeat both runs, with Field skidding by on a judges’ split decision. 

Tuerck Overcomes..

Then third-place holder coming Ryan Tuerck (USA) had to rely on a 5-minute competition Time Out (CTO) to overcome a loose turbo pipe leaking large amounts of oil before drifting through his Top 32 battle against Kyle Mohan (USA). 

..Until Tragedy Strikes

However, that repair was to haunt the Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla driver in a tight Top 8 battle against another emerging contender in Chelsea DeNofa when Tuerck snapped an axle and tapped both the wall and DeNofa. With no allotted time left to make repairs, Tuerck was eliminated.

Hughes’ Flight

Fifth-place holder coming in Dylan Hughes (USA) had to overcome damage against Norway’s Simien Olson to stay alive after that Top 32 run, after a massive collision resulting from the slow transition by Olson’s Boost Racefuel / Toyota GR Supra into OZ4 blocked the massive momentum of a trailing Hughes DHR / Royal Purple / Falken Tire BMW and sent Hughes airborne. Hughes’ technical team made an outstanding recovery in the ensuing hours before the Top 16 to render the vehicle viable for the next race. 

Noble in Defeat

Hughes would ultimately distinguish himself in defeat in a six-run epic against Fields that was only decided after Hughes tapped the wall in OZ1, ambushing Fields 777 Corvette into a spin-out for which Hughes was ultimately pinned with a disqualification, leaving Hughes at fifth for the day and fifth in the 2022 standings. 

Stretching Field

The unperturbable Field kept moving, all the way to the Final of the day to meet a raking Denofa, who had toppled two previous round winners and three-time champion Forsberg to meet the most consistent Drift driver of the last two years.

Geared Up

Neither of these final racers was neophytes to the winner’s podium, so the crowd knew they were going to see something special. And the drivers did not disappoint, with the two drivers maintaining perfect form as the race progressed. 

Chase Error

The first crack came when a chasing Field brushed the rear of DeNofa’s Mustang during the OZ3 transition, pushing DeNofa off-line with Field being ruled at fault. 

Repairs OMT

Repairs starred for one final moment that day, with DeNofa being allotted time to check his car and Field utilizing his own 5min Competition Time Out. 

DeNofa’s Winning Glide

With both cars and drivers sorted, DeNofa effortlessly shadowed a hard-driving pace from Field, showing a veteran Drifter’s aplomb to earn a top spot on the podium. 

Winner Speaks

DeNofa handled his victory speech to a visibly delighted crowd with equal grace, saying his true goal was to have fun and enjoy drifting again:

“I didn’t want to be so competitive and worry about every aspect of the weekend. I’ve been doing it for 20 years, so I just trusted my gut on every run and drove as hard as I could, and it worked out. I ended up on top!”

Summertime Rolls

Joining Denofa atop the podium was the elated crowd, and all the Formula Drift streaming viewers, who were treated to perfect racing amongst ideal conditions to close out a magnificent weekend of racing and weather.

Updating the Leaderboard

With his first top spot this year after a whopping three last year, Denofa moved up from sixth to fifth in the standings, within striking distance (94 points) of season leader Field, who himself stretched his lead to 56 points over second place challenger Fredric Aasbo. Ryan Tuerk remains a close third, 59 points back, and Chris Forsberg is now just ahead of DeNofa in fourth, 84 points back.

Contender Horizon

With Denofa gathering momentum for the closing races, and Field hungry for a victory after being eclipsed by Aasbo last year, along with the skilled Tuerck and Forsberg clogging the championship contention like an accordion, 2022 is shaping up as a wild finish among this illustrious Top 5.

Catch the Replay

To catch the replay of the amazing Throwdown 2022, check the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen. 

Hey Gang! How ya been?? Welcome back to Sporting Art checking in for the stretch run of Formula Drift 2022!

ROUND 6 PREVIEW

Leading into tonight’s Round 6 Final action at Evergreen Speedway’s “Throwdown” in Monroe, Washington, we see some familiar names atop the season leaderboard:

A hungry Matt Field (415 points) is trying to fight off the indomitable 2021 Champ and overall 2-time winner Norwegian Hammer Frédéric Aasbo (383 points) for the Top Spot of 2022, with Ryan Tuerk (380 points) hot on the trail and Ryan Tuerk (336 points) still well within striking distance.

This time around Mr. Field is going to be as determined as ever to hold that Top Spot to the bitter end for the 2022 Championship.

But part of the beauty of the Formula Drift is how quickly one race can shake up the landscape, and where these contenders finish today will give us a clear profile of how the stretch run of Formula Drift Series One 2022 is going to look.

What we do know is that Aasbo and Field have been the hottest drivers in the Formula DRIFT Series 1 since last year, and for someone to overtake their state-of the art driving is going to take quite an effort—but all it takes is one slip up from Field or Aasbo to open the door…

With several other contenders a little bit farther down the leaderboard in position to swoop in and challenge for that top spot as well, what happens in today's Final of Round Six Final showdown at the Throwdown will reveal who will have a realistic chance to take the top spot for the season, putting all eyes on today's final race.

Don't miss the Throwdown action on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen!

————————————

FORMULA D REPORT 2021 by Lior Rozenman

RD 8: IRWINDALE ROCKS THE HOUSE TO END 2021 ON A POWER CHORD AS THE HAMMER FINALLY FALLS BACK INTO THE RIGHT PLACE

Well, 2021 is in the books Drifters, and a more riveting finish there hardly could have been.

Repeat Winners

Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis book-ended the 2021 season with a first place finish in Irwindale Rd 8 to complement his victory in Atlanta Week 1 AND RD 7 Long Beach for a smashing third first place podium on the year to match the all-time high for wins in a season, but the biggest winner on the day was still Norway's Fredric Aasbo.

Hungry Hammer

The Hammer has long been a face of Formula Drift, but was hungrier than ever coming into 2021: coming up short despite furious finishes to each season since his last championship in 2015.

Elite Company

Now, Aasbo joins a shortlist of five multiple season points winners in Formula Drift Pro series racing history (Samuel Hubinette, Chris Forsberg, James Deane, Vaughn Gittin Jr.).

House of Drift

The final day of competition took place on a revamped course layout for the oldest and most reliable track in the Formula D racing history: Irwindale Speedway.

Revised Layout in I'Dale

The House of Drift—as Irwindale Speedway is affectionately know—is the only track that has always remained on schedule, including through the pandemic.

The revised layout featured a more defined Outside Zone 3 by adding concrete K rails to accentuate driver performance passing through the zone.

Goodbye Forefathers

The final race represented more than an historic victory, but the farewell of legendary champions who helped define Formula D as a league and major sport: pioneering 2011 FD PRO Champion Dai Yoshihara (Japan); 2010 and 2020 FD PRO Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr; and Formula DRIFT president and co-founder, Jim Liaw.

A new era in Formula Drift is certainly at hand, but we would not be here without the invaluable contributions of these three champions.

The Action

Coming into the day, there was a dogfight for the final points championship, with fast-finishing Fredric Aasbo; relentless and consistent Matt Field; and 2021 podium regulars Chelsea Denofa and Odi Bakchis all comprising skilled drivers realistically vying for the top spot.

Hammer Power

When the smoke cleared, and prior to losing in the Final Round to Bakchis' third season victory, Aasbo was able to amass sufficient points to clinch the season crown through four second-place finishes and a Round 6 win in St Louis.

All Choked Up

Aasbo was as usual at a loss for words, buoyed by the competition he overcame:

“When you win a Championship against this field of drivers, it’s hard to describe how it feels. It’s been six years since we won the first Championship and this was a much harder fight...I’d been in a slump and wasn’t sure if I had it anymore, but I think it’s pretty clear I still do, which gives me renewed energy to prepare for 2022.”

Final Day Fortitude

Aasbo earned his points by battling through stiff competition in the final rounds equipped with a new stroked engine designed to increase power and reliability. After a bye run in the Top 32, Aasbo put down top-performing rookie on the day USA's Jonathan Hurst (Cash Racing Infiniti G37) in the Top 16; followed by a thrilling triumph of precision over Toyota teammate USA's Ryan Tuerck (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla Hatchback).

Dethroning the Champ

In the Top 4, with a chance to clinch the season, Aasbo fittingly went head-to-head against last year's defending champion and arch nemesis USA's Vaughn Gittin Jr. (Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D). In an epic duel, with both drivers wanting the win badly, Aasbo's ride narrowly came away with the race win before a tearful torrent of relief overcame him.

Record Final

Aasbo was able to regroup for the finals and stage a stiff battle with Bakchis, before the Hammer fell in a judge's decision with Bakchis taking his third win of the year to vault to third in the standings for 2021, and add to his growing stature as a new face of the league.

Oh to Be Bakchis

“I came into this Round putting pressure on myself to make up points so I could stand on the Championship podium and we did it!” said a pumped up Bakchis after the race.

“As we were battling through the rounds we just kept looking to the next one, but everybody around me in the points chase was also advancing, which made it tough. But winning the Round secured third overall and energizes me to get that Championship win next year!”

Contenders Finish Strong

The other main competitors did not exactly back off, but could not keep up with the high performance consistency of the winners.

Chelsea's Challenge

Two-time 2021 race winner Chelsea Denofa was pushed to seventh on the day—only because he ran into the other contender Matt Field in the Top 8. With both still in contention for the trophy, Denofa blazed a spectacular lead run but could not shake the famously uncompromising Matt Field.

Unbeatable Field

Despite two fall starts with the positions reversed in the second run, Field in the lead car outpointed Denofa, feinting him into a double clip which dropped Denofa to the wrong side of Inside Clip 1 and partially off the track.

A manic attempt at recovery by Denofa resulted in another hit at Outside Zone 2, before the drivers finished together, rendering Field's relentless chase in the first run the difference in moving on and ending Denofa's amazing season.

Field's End

In the Top 4, Field came up against Falken teammate Bakchis, who was also vying for a slight but realistic chance at the top spot at that moment.

Field was faulted with a collision at Inside Clip 2, which proved to be his undoing in the race when he was unable to overcome the disadvantage on the second run. The semi-final loss finished Field's day in fourth place and no farther than second for the season in the FD PRO championship, awarding Aasbo with the season's championship by making the finals.

Rookie of the Year

As for other honors, it was a unique double for Norway, as Norway's Simen Olsen was crowned the FD PRO Rookie of the Year by finishing 15th overall.

Other Season Winners

Aasbo’s victory also played a big role in helping Toyota earn the 2021 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup and Nitto take the 2021 Tire Cup.

Prez's Last Words

After a rousing day to end a rousing season that brought Formula Drift almost all the way back from the throes of the pandemic, Formula D's original champion was left to speak the final words:

“This was a great way to end a great season, and after the trials we had to overcome in 2020 it was incredible to see fans back here at Irwindale, witnessing the phenomenal driving,” said outgoing Formula D President Jim Liaw, before a bittersweet goodbye:

“This will be my last event as President, but I’m so happy to end on a magnificent high with another exciting Final. There was so much energy and talent here, which is what puts the sport in a great place. So, I look forward to seeing what 2022 brings and I know Ryan Sage will continue to strengthen and improve Formula DRIFT.”

Until Next Year

Long live the Kings of Formula Drift, before the Hammer drops on a new era in 2022.

RD 7 STREETS OF LONG BEACH: AFTER BAKCHIS REASSERTS HIMSELF WITH A WIN, THE STREETS OF LONG BEACH ONLY TIGHTENS THE COMPETITION FOR FORMULA DRIFT PRO SERIES 2021 GOING INTO THE SEASON’S FINAL ROUND

The Formula Drift 2021 season is charging to its conclusion, and Round 7 seems to have only ratcheted up the competition after Auto Zone streets of Long Beach.

Masters By the Ocean

In exquisite weather, Formula Drift faithful turned out to watch the skilled Drift masters reacquaint themselves with one of Formula Drift's most hallowed and unforgiving tracks in Long Beach, on the coast of the legendary Pacific Ocean.

Unforgiving Conditions

Running so “close to the walls” as the USA's Justin Pawlak calls the track, the drivers battled the unforgiving track as their main competitor to 2021 Formula Drift glory.

Season Rivalry

Round 7 saw the contenders for the year rise to the task: USA's Chelsea Denofa asserted his contention by grabbing 96 points with his third place finish in his BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D, taking aim at his arch nemesis for the year Matt Field, who pulled 94 points in a sixth place finish in his Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette to stay in the absolute thick of the battle for the season crown.

Rookie Crops

The day saw a renewed burst on the rookie front as well, with USA's Jonathan Hurst finishing as the day's top rookie with a 14th place finish in his Cash Racing Infiniti G37.

Titans Battle

The competition heats were highlighted by head to head battle among the contenders. One that stood out was the clash between RTR Motorsports teammates Vaughn Gittin Jr (USA) and DeNofa.

Sitting second and sixth, respectively, the two collided in their head to head battle in Outside Zone 2 when DeNofa made a slight speed adjustment to negotiate the turn while Gittin (1200hp Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) kept his foot hard on the throttle, as both drivers showed a no-holds-barred, throw-caution-to-the-wind-approach reflecting the staunchest all-or-nothing mentality in the home stretch of the season.

Denofa-Gittin Go OMT

A one more time run saw Denofa spin in the Touch & Go 2 as he aggressively attempted pressure Gittin into an overcompensation under pressure and keep his FD PRO Championship hopes alive.

When the smoke cleared, defending champion Gittin Jr, would hold his ground, on his way to a third place finish for the day, and Denofa was still able to move up to second in the season contention, 19 points behind new leader Fredric Aasbo.

Aasbo's Door Opens

While the contenders all took their best shots at each other, the season took on a new shape for Aasbo.

Jumping from third to first in the points table, Aasbo appears to be gelling at just the right time for the 2021 title. His quiet consistency had him lagging behind the season's strongest performers such as Field and Denofa, and it looked as if he would fall just short for the season again–until everybody started throwing conventional wisdom to the wind and getting cutthroat on each other.

And the door opened for Aasbo when the leader coming in Matt Field lost his suspension during an OMT battle in the Top 8.

Field Dethroned

USA's Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette) was sacked by a suddenly hungry and possessed-looking Vaughn Gittin Jr., who suddenly doesn't seem like he wants to relinquish his 2020 title. An intense Round 16 battle between the two forced Field's car to the brink in an OMT that broke Field's suspension on the the third run, with Field spinning into the tire wall, giving Gittin Jr. the win and officially knocking Field's from the top of the leadership position for 2021, with an eventual 11th place finish on the day.

Bakchis' Resurgence

While Aasbo took second on the day, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15) took his second win of the year, to shape an individual season for the ages with multiple victories in the same year, always an accomplishment for a Drift driver.

Despite some low finishes in other races, Bakchis managed to come out of RD 7 with a mathematical chance to win the season, currently from fifth place—but Aasbo and Field would have to significantly falter to let him in, an unlikely scenario.

Bakchis' Revenge

Bakchis did have the opportunity to extract some blood though from Aasbo in the Final, who was fresh off an epic battle with defending champion and two-time winner teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr.

This time it was 2015 FD Champion Aasbo, fresh from his own Top 4 battle against double FD Champion Gittin, who still his teammate’s blood on his hand when they met. Aasbo had taken the win by a tiny margin and would be a formidable adversary for Bakchis in the Final.

Bakchis' Mastery

Aasbo lead the first run of the Final adroitly, but Bakchis was not to be shed, leaving what seemed like absolutely no breathing room in proximity as he chased Aasbo. In the second run, with the roles reversed, it was more of the same, with Aasbo relentlessly unshakeable behind Bakchis—except Bakchis was driving better in the lead than Aasbo had, to take the race and the day.

Day Champ Speaks

Bakchis had this to say after the podium celebration, going into the Finals:

“I needed this win really badly, and it’s a huge confidence boost. We won the first round and fought hard all season but had some bad luck in the middle...we had to battle through some tough competitors, most of whom were former Champions. But I was able to step it up as needed, and the team did a phenomenal job keeping the car together. I’m stoked with this win and hope to keep the momentum going into the Irwindale Finals.”

Going into the Final Round..

The win put Bakchis in fourth place for the year, 43 points off the lead. Now, Bakchis is gamely preparing for the 2021 Finals with the rest of the contenders: with Aasbo suddenly looking unshakeable at the top.

At the end of the day, Field had fallen to third in the points championship race, 20 behind Aasbo and a single point behind Denofa, setting up a Battle Royale for RD 8 in Irwindale.

Rookie Competition Heats Up

Top Rookie Jonathan Hurst's strong finish in Long Beach also finds him narrowly behind USA's Branden Sorensen and Norway's Simen Olsen in the 2021 Formula Drift Rookie of the Year Race.

Outgoing Prez Speaks

Preparing for a huge send off, outgoing Formula D President Jim Liaw said of his last Long Beach race:

“It’s great to return to Streets of Long Beach after two and a half years. The fans here are still among the strongest on the tour and it’s such a relief to finally return to our home track. We’re delighted they were able to witness such an incredible show by the world’s top drift drivers. We’re also grateful the weather was perfect but we look forward to returning to the April schedule for Streets of Long Beach in 2022.”

Looking Forward

With 2022 looking forward to Ryan Sage at the helm, these last perspectives from Jim are as precious as ever, as is the return to prominence of Formula Drift with vibrant competition after a year of struggles in 2020.

Going into Round 8, Fredric Aasbo leads the field for 2021 with 557 points; followed by Chelsea Denofa (538); Matt Field (537) Odi Bakchis (514). and defending Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr (474).

RD 6: THE HAMMER STRIKES GOLD AT THE CROSSROADS

With season-long dominators Chelsea Denofa and Matt Field falling by the wayside early in the Finals, Norway's Hammer Fredrick Aasbo (Rock Star EnergyDrink Toyota GR Supra) asserted his contention for the 2021 Formula D PRO series championship with a huge win at Crossroads Saint Louis RD 6 to set up an epic home stretch war for the final two races, Formula Drift RD 6 was a sizzling affair in all senses of the word.

2021 Breakthrough

The capacity crowd and valiant drivers braved 95 degree temperatures and stifling humidity at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL to watch Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra) notch his first victory of 2021.

Hammering into Contention

In winning, Aasbo further capitalized on lackluster showings by the other season points leaders to vault himself squarely into contention for the 2021 Formula DRIFT PRO championship.

Breakthrough Win

After a respectable campaign that to this point saw him take second twice in 2021, Norway's Aasbo claimed the top spot for the first time since last season's final in Irwindale to bring himself within shouting distance to the overall points lead, just 33 off the pace.

Shifts at the Top

More strong finishes by contenders have competitively jumbled the top spots moving forward, with USA's Ryan Tuerck's (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla Hatchback) second consecutive second place finish moving into him into fourth overall for the season, 67 points off.

Chelsea's Key Elimination

The catalyst for this shift in the season rankings was the elimination of season leader USA's Chelsea Denofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) in the Round of 16 following a collision with USA's Michael Essa (FCP Euro / Liqui Moly / GT Radial BMW M3), dropping DeNofa off the lead and into second place.

Topping Field

USA's relentless Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette), one point behind DeNofa heading into the weekend's round, also was knocked out relatively early in the Top 8 by last year's champ USA's Vaughn Gittin Jr (Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D). However, Field's eventual sixth place placement on the day allowed him to retake the 2021 top spot over DeNofa by a mere 14 points.

Top Rookie

USA's Branden Sorenson (212 Performance / Sorensen Motorsports BMW) continued to fashion himself a memorable rookie campaign, with the top rookie finish in 11th place, which also kept him in the top spot for rookie drivers on the 2021 season.

Season Outlook

Look for a smoking finish to the season as Formula D returns to California for the next two races, with Long Beach running on September 17-18th followed by the Irwindale finish in October. Matt Fields will surely pull out all the stops to protect his lead in pursuit of his first championship, with an equally hungry Denofa shooting for a record-setting individual win in one of the next two races, and Aasbo hungry to take a season's spot after years of contention since his last trophy. The other contenders will have something to say as well, with Tuerck; Odi Bakchis and Vaughn Gittin Jr. all within a hundred points of the lead, and positioning 2021 PRO series for a season finish as hotly contested and unpredictable as any in recent memory.

RD 5: NEW SEASON POINTS LEADER DENOFA CLOSES IN ON HISTORIC SEASON BY THROWING DOWN A BREAKTHROUGH WIN IN SEATTLE

History in the Making?

Chelsea has positioned himself for the greatest season in Formula Drift history. With three races to go, he has already tied Chris Forsberg and James Deane for most victories in a season (3), but he still only leads Matt Field by a single point for the season!

Taking the Lead

Denofa took his third race of 2021 this weekend in Monroe, Washington at the Throwdown, to finally edge back into the season points lead, only one point ahead of Matt Field.

Superior Support

Denofa's car and crew are also showing resilience, as the last two races have seen Denofa win the Final by default, with his opponents unable to report with a working vehicle against ever-toughening tracks.

Emerging Legend

Denofa has always been a contending force on the circuit, but this year he is emerging as an all-tome great, and it is a pleasure to watch. With three more races and competition neck and neck, more history is sure to come in 2021.

Now for a quick recap:

The Throwdown!

In front of a sold-out crowd, with the season's new Knockout Qualifying Format in effect at the familiar Seattle Drift in Monroe, Washington's Evergreen Speedway, Throwdown lived up to it's name in RD 5 of the 2021 PRO Series competition—with no less than eight OMT battles and seven competition timeouts for repairs necessary to determine the winner.

Field Scrapes Through Qualifying

Season championship Contender Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette) barely got out of qualifying, falling into the bottom eight and just barely rescuing his right to race after his first run was judged incomplete. Facing a second incomplete which would eliminate Field before the Saturday's Final Round, Field ultimately pulled himself through with a 95-point run.

Starring Debut

The star of Qualifying Day emerged in USA's 16 year-old rookie Branden Sorensen (212 Performance / Sorensen Motorsports BMW). The 16-year-old rookie took the fourth qualifying position to assert it's only a matter of time before he starts showing up regularly on the Final Day victory podiums.

Qualifier Tie-Breaker

While many may not think the Qualifying matters, another case in point was proven when Field's low qualifying position cost him a spot on the podium. The second place points leader on the season was relegated to fourth position behind the USA's Dylan Hughes (Permatex / GT Radial BMW E46), who tied Field in the Top 4 but still took third due to a superior qualifying position than Field, with both still collecting the same 80 points.

The Saturday Finals

The Finals action started heating up when DeNofa ( BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) lined up opposite Lithuania's Odi Bakchis in the Top 32, with a slight correction by a chasing Bakchis sending Chelsea into the wall and stalling both drivers that ultimately tagged Backshis with the disqualification and elimination while DeNofa returned to the pits for repairs and a confrontation with USA's Trenton Beechum (Clonex Racing / Nexen Tire Ford Mustang) in the Top 16.

Top 16 Joust

Against Beechum, a series of major in-race corrections by DeNofa sealed Beechum off repeatedly to further prove Chelsea's technical superiority and propel him into the next round.

Endurance Carries the Chelsea-mobile

After getting a timely by against Jeff Jones (Jeff Jones Racing / GT Radial Nissan 370Z) in the Top 8 when Jones and company could not pull his vehicle together after a Five-Minute Competition Time after advancing that far when Dean Kearney could not report his own vehicle after a Competition Time Out in the Top 16, Chelsea advanced to the Top 4 in what proved to be his ultimate race on the day against Dylan Hughes (Permatex / GT Radial BMW E46).

Unshakeable

Hughes' own amazing day hit the wall against the mastery of Denofa, whose chase proximity outdueled Hughes for the judges decision.

Chelsea Reigns

Only to face another failing vehicle in the Finals: DeNofa reported, but an overheating Ryan Tuerck (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil1 Toyota Corolla Hatchback) could not get his vehicle to the starting line after two attempts and a full found of coolant infusion during yet another Competition Time Out on the day.

After never having gotten to complete a victory lap in his life, Chelsea did his second consecutive after winning the previous event in by default as well, which this time left the Champ wanting:

“What an awesome event, but this was definitely not how I wanted to win.”

New Horizons

At the end of the day, to the victor goes the spoils, as Chelsea acknowledged:

“A win is a win and we get the points. We’re definitely chasing the Championship right now. In fact, I think we’re leading, so we’re all pumped!

Team Effort

Denofa expressed his delight at solving the banking transitions in “one of the trickiest sections” of the season here in Seattle, and expressed confidence that “we can keep doing this for the rest of the season and go all the way!”

Taking Control of the Season

Denofa's chances, and that ever-present Denofa confidence was further bolstered by several perennial challengers including Fredric Aasbo, Bakchis and teammate and defending season champion Vaughn Gittin Jr,. falling dangerously close to out of contention in the season standings behind Denofa and the relentless Matt Field.

Rookie of the Day

Despite rookie Sorenson's memorable qualifying run, the top rookie of the day turned out to be the USA's Jonathan Hurst (Cash Racing Infiniti G37) who finished ninth.

El Presidente Reconnects with Seattle

Formula Drift President Jim Liaw expressed his delight at being “back in the Pacific Northwest with packed grandstands after we were unable to have fans last year.”

Chelsea’s Season to Win?

After reconnecting with another vital fan base, all that's left is to sit back and watch Chelsea DeNofa's march to greatness...though Matt Field and a few other drivers still are going to have something to say about that.

See you in Texas!

RD IV: DENOVA DISSOLVES BORDERLANDS TO PRESS FIELD FOR 2021 LEAD

For the second consecutive event in a row, Formula Drift proudly unveiled a new dedicated arena, and to much fanfare.

Another Unveiling

Straight on the heels of the debut of a new drift arena in Englishtown, NJ, the 2021 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship relocated to Lake Erie Speedway in Pennsylvania to launch a second new track for Round 4 Borderlands.

The Erie Experience

Already a well-established hot-spot for local drift drivers, Lake Erie's 3/8 model oval track was introduced to the FD PRO circuit with a new course which included three sweeping Outside Zones designed to promote crowd-pleasing proximity for the traditional tandem competition runs.

Qualifying

The top qualifier on Friday was fan-favorite USA's Adam LZ ( LZ S15), for a career highlight representing a peak moment in provided the young career of last year's Rookie of the Year.

LZ was followed in qualifying by Norway's Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra) and the USA's Michael Essa (FCP Euro / Liqui Moly / GT Radial BMW M3).

Unfortunately, LZ ran into a buzzsaw in the Round of 16.

The Elimination Battles

Angling for his second win of the year and ascent back to the top of the standings, USA's Chelsea Denofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) withstood an aggressive bump from a tenacious LZ in the chase to reach the Final Eight.

Heating up the Final Eight

In the Final Eight Denofa ran up against Japan's Kazuya Taguchi (Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86). A tight race was awarded by the judges to the momentum-gathering DeNofa.

Epic Final Four Battles

In the Final Four Denofa faced off against FD PRO Championship points leader Matt Field, on his own mission to remain stay in contention after his car was damaged in pre-event practice.

Exploiting Field's failing steering rack, Denofa chased hard on the first run, achieving much of that incredible proximity the track designers had hoped for. Attempting to outpoint Denofa, the leading Field lost his trajectory and surged forward into Outside Zone 2, resulting in a reactive-looking correction that ran the season points leader off-track.

The Chelsea Challenge

Denofa then watched his teammate USA's Vaughn Gittin Jr. (Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) vie with perennial season championship contender to become Denofa's opponent in the Finals.

Vaughn and Fredric's Battle Royale

After Aasbo set a wild pace on the first run, the second run quickly became the stuff of legend, as Gittin Jr.'s blistering start put Aasbo under the gun to initiate in the curves, culminating in a Drift-bending transition in Outside Zone 2 which grounded the Norwegian Hammer prematurely.

Hammer's Surprise Ending

However, Aasbo's supposed flame-out did not come before an overrotation by Gittin Jr. in Outside Zone 3, whose car lifted and straightened to garner an incomplete from the judges to award the race to Aasbo and send him on to the Finals meeting with Denofa.

Epic Repair Mission

However, Aasbo's blowout the previous round was not without consequences: he sustained a broken rear suspension.

After Aasbo's team valiantly battled through a 7 minute repair reprieve then another five minutes of time they bought with a Competition Time Out, a demobilized Aasbo indicated he was unable to report to the Final, a concession which gave Denofa the top spot on the podium for the second time this season to move within 19 points of Field for the season lead.

Denofa's Familiarity

It turns out the ebullient Denofa was one of the few Drift Drivers who knew the track:

“I’d actually been here about 13 years ago, so it was cool to see the track layout from behind the wheel of an insanely well set-up car.”

Leader Goals

After the rare pleasure of doing a his first victory lap on his solo final run, Denofa talked about the season goals moving forward:

“I really want to continue the momentum that’s given us two wins out of four this year. Going into Seattle, I typically don’t do well there but I’m local so have recently driven it a few times and learned a few things.”

The Racer’s Edge

At season's end, Denofa may well look back at this stretch as the time being a hardcore Drift driver truly paid off with added knowledge of the track that propelled him to the top of the standings.

New Standings

Aasbo's second place finish maintained his hold on third place for the FD PRO Championship season standings, while Odi Bakchis flip-flopped with Denofa to return to fourth position.

Rookie of the Day

Another key performance included the USA's Josh Reynolds (Drift Force / Nexen Tire F22 Eurofighter BMW) as Top Rookie finisher in 19th place.

Prez Speaks

Formula Drift President Jim Liaw couldn't have been happier to see the freshly added Great Lakes venue attract crowds ranging from across the mid-west to the eastern seaboard, and further invited Canadian visitors after borders re-open as he extended his warmest salutations to the new track patrons:

“I really hope they enjoyed the inaugural Formula DRIFT event at Lake Erie Speedway – it certainly looked as if they did – and we have tremendous opportunities to grow from here. So, we’ll evaluate how everything went and see how we can make the 2022 event even stronger!”

Drivers of Growth

Sounds like larger, more diverse Formula Drift audiences; new race tracks; and tenacious competitors for the season crown are going to distinguish this season historically as we move into the second four races.

Season Outlook

The win also puts Denofa in contention for the all-time record for Drift race wins in a season with 4, if he can duplicate his success of the first half with two wins over the second four events of 2021. With a hungry Matt Field pushing the intensity of competition for 2021, and equally hungry Aasbo and Bakchis in the chase, who knows what tomorrow may bring?

RD III: LAST MAN STANDING: FIELD RUNS THE GAUNTLET to USHER in a NEW ERA of PRO DRIFTING

After a one-year delay, former NHRA drag strip Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ made a truly epic debut as a drifting arena, on June 18-19, 2021 for DRIFT PRO Championship RD 3 The Gauntlet.

The New Track!

As the first arena exclusively built for and dedicated to drift driving in the US, Old Bridge Township Raceway represents what may sound like a small step in site development, but in reality is a giant leap forward for Driftkind:

With warp speed runs in PRO RDs 1 and 2, the Gauntlet 2021 slowed things down. A more deliberate, technical and protective pace defined the Drift mastery of the first competitition ever on Old Bridge's brand-new figure-8 course, in what Formula D commentator and co-founder Ryan Sage called “the biggest Drifting event ever.”

New Legends at Old Bridge

On a wet and sometimes treacherous track, epic battle tales of more great Drift warriors in the landmark 2021 Gauntlet were written to be retold to future generations of Drifterratti—starting with the uncommon valour and tenacity displayed by the legendary Chris Forsberg in his faithful NOS Energy / GT Radial Nissan 370Z.

Stormy Waters for Forsberg

The three-time champ barely made it to the weekend launch when bolts backing out of his flywheel damaged the crank, necessitating a full engine swap in advance of Friday qualifying.

From there Chris had to fight through subsequent throttle body and alternator failures to secure one of the very last qualification spots in 31st place.

Into the Breach!

From that ominous beginning, the Fors and his support team launched a battle that lasted through the entirety of the weekend to Saturday’s Finals before his indomitable ride finally gave out, giving the decision to another 2021 powerhouse.

Long Time Coming

After sniffing victory in each of the last two rounds of 2020, the victor’s spoils went to Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette), for his first win of 2021 to take the podium’s top spot for the first time since the days of yore in 2016 when he took the top spot in Irwindale's Final Round, with this his very first victory in his current ride.

Field's Odyssey

Despite Forsberg's epic journey, the weekend tides were even higher against Field, whose surreal six-run Top 32 Race against USA's Jonathan Hurst (Cash Racing Infiniti G37) ultimately primed Field over any other driver for further competition on the wet track.

Angry Gods?

The rain was a force to be reckoned with from the start of the day's races, coming down in buckets to launch the Top 32.

The Calypso

Then came a race where the wet track enticed both drivers to stay Forever. Against the Gauntlet track's will, both Field and Hurst staunchly held on as barriers flashed by ever closer to them, as each chase driver struggled to maintain a safe distance from the lead driver in the storm.

With each driver showing equal parts tenacity and resolve, it took two OMT battles for the judges to spot the fatal error amongst the torrents—a single bump from an overaggressive Hurst in the chase position that pushed Field off the lead line he was prescribing. Hurst paid for his temptation with a fault that finally released Field with a safe and impeccable chase run to move on to the next round.

The Cyclops

Alas more gargoyles awaited Field, starting with the Round of 16 where the 2nd place contender for 2021 Drift PRO championship coming into the day ran up against a beastbof an opponent: Falken Tire teammate and current season points leader Bakchis.

Field's trial by fire in the previous race started paying off immediately when Bakchis could not hold the line in the chase position, sending the season leader home while Matt soldiered on.

Telepylos

In the Top 8, Ireland's Dean Kearney struggled to tame his powerful Viper in the wet conditions, turning in an incomplete on the first run before bumping Field in the second to knock himself out of the race, the powerful Viper unable to consume Field's line.

Scylla and Charybdus

In the Final Four, Field met the scaling Tuerck, with both hungry drivers hitting their marks perfectly while maintaining uniform proximity, necessitating another OMT.

In the deciding battle, the only advantage the judges could divine were deeper lines for Field on his chase run. Neither warrior broke, just one had to win.

Final Round: Scheria

Then was the fateful Final 2 against Forsberg, in which the bloodied car of valiant warrior Forsberg finally gave out, losing power in the middle of the first run to force a 5 minute competition time out (CTO) before finally succumbing to retirement on the day.

Ithaca

After surpassing all the supernatural-seeming tests, Field finally got to let it all out and remind everyone of how human he really is:

“It’s pretty freakin’ cool to get the win tonight,” hearkening the Gears of War era of his last race win half a decade ago before shouting:

“We finally did it! The team turned it up, I kept my right foot to the floor, and we now lead the FD PRO Championship!”

Home for Now

Taking the season lead with a victory in RD 3 with Poseidon throwing all the cars hither and fro, Field is already a champion: enjoy it Matt!

Prez Speaks

Formula Drift co-Prez Jim Liaw praised the weekend's success:

“We made history this weekend with the biggest ever Formula DRIFT event on the East Coast. (At Raceway Park) we surpassed the recent capacity crowd at Road Atlanta and may have even surpassed our big Long Beach and Irwindale events.”

Outlook after RD 3

With the co-Prez alluding to expansion plans for future events at the dedicated drift stadium, the history that was written today was as memorable as could be, and appears to have ushered in a whole new era for Formula Drift, potentially opening the door for more Drift-dedicated venues in the seasons to come.

The leaders on the day RD 3 The Gauntlet were Matt Fields (100 points; Chris Forsberg (90 points), and Fredric Aasbo (80 points) and Ryan Tuerck (80 points).

Heading into Round 4, the Formula Drift 2021 Season Leaders are topped by Matt Field (258 points); Aurimas Bakchis (232 points); Fredric Aasbo (223 points); and Chelsea Donofa (219 points).

RD 2: CHELSEA CHECKS IN!

Saturday, May 22, 2021--With Odi Bakchis atop the leaderboard after his win in 2021 PRO RD 1, the world's top drifters were back for more at Orlando Speed World in Orlando FL for RD 2 of the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship: SCORCHED.

“Oil Schmoil!”--Chelsea Shrugs off a Slick Track Attack in Orlando to take RD 2

Chelsea Denofa asserted his contention for 2021 with a ruthless chase-down of Fredric Aasbo to win at Orlando SCORCHED Formula DRIFT RD 2—after Aasbo and Justin JTP Pawlak got way too slick in the semi-finals to throw the Final Four into a moment no one could get out of.

Burning Competition

After a unique day of back-to-back Top 32 competitions, SCORCHED just did not want the day to end--until midnight struck in Orlando.

Biggest Spill Ever

With the night threatening to last into the next day, Aasbo and Pawlak put down a semi-final for the ages, which announcers Jarod and Ryan called the “biggest spill” in Formula Drift League history.

Not Going Quietly

Instead of a quick decision, Aasbo and JTP got into a dogfight of a Final 4 Drift, necessitating a ONE MORE TIME battle on consensus from the judges: with Justin's lead car already stretched thin from a grueling day, the two drivers exploded off the starting line with sparks shooting out from under JTP's car from jump, and crazy smoke on the windless night started emitting from seemingly everywhere on JTP's car.

Smoking Out the Track

While the original problem was in the smoking hood with a failing engine, oil was leaking from the bottom of JTP's vehicle, spewing extra blinding white smoke to engulf the trailing Aasbo and ultimately force The Hammer off the track short of the Finish Line.

JTP's Last Hurrah

Meanwhile, JTP kept drifting around the circular track in his self-generated cloud of smoke to earn a complete round—with everyone in the building knowing he would not be moving to the finals with such a visibly damaged car, the only question left regarding JTP being what the damage actually was.

Hurry Up and Stay

Instead of a quick finish, SCORCHED pushed back: JTP revealed his engine was shot.

Then the race review indicated that oil had been leaking from JTP's car from the moment he entered the track, establishing a huge oil slick at the beginning of the track and dragging more oil around the rest of the course during that OMT run between JTP and Aasbo.

Drift Zamboni

At that point, a procedure had to be established for completing the competition, starting with a manual soakdown of the entire course, continuing with Site Laps for each driver, and concluding with the moving up of the starting line 15 feet to avoid the huge slick at the entry gate completely.

Final 2

A not unreasonable 40+ minutes later, Formula Drift RD 2 had stretched into Sunday, with one more battle to be fought: Aasbo versus Denofa for the Final 2.

Ravenous Victory

In front of hungry announcers and fans, an even hungrier Chelsea drove a mean lead run to establish the lead in the Final 2, then ran a relentless chase, sticking to Aasbo like glue with the Norwegian Hammer trying mightily to outdrift him to no avail.

On the Day..

And there it was: the second champion of 2021, first place qualifier Chelsea Denofa, asserted his contention for the 2021 PRO Season championship with his first victory since Rd 1 2020, with Lithuania's Aurimas "Odi" Bakchis still the overall points leader after taking fourth place for the day.

RD 2 Top 3

The Top 3 Finishers on the day for PRO Rd 2 were the USA's Chelsea DeNofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) in first place (100 points); Norway's Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra) coming in second; and USA's Justin JTP Pawlak (Falken Tire Ford Mustang) coming in third.

Top Rookie

The Top Rookie of the day was Norway's Simen Olson (Toyota GR Supra), who finished in 15th place.

Lovin' the LED

The super cool LED lights of TYPE S starred again when on full display in the twilight as well.

Next Up

The Formula Drift season continues in Englishtown, New Jersey on June 18-19.

Catch the Replay

For a replay of the unbelievable SCORCHED finish, check the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen.

RD 1

Drifter on a Mission? After Finishing Strong in 2020, Bakchis Serves Notice with A Sequential Win to Open 2021

The Year of the Odi?

After finishing strong last year, Lithuania’s Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis maintained his momentum into 2021 by winning his second consecutive race at Atlanta RD 1 in edging his teammate Matt Field in a classic OMT Duel in the Finals.

Meanwhile, defending 2020 Champ Vaughn Gittin Jr. established his contention for a second consecutive title by finishing third to complete the podium.

WRAP-UP: FINAL ROUND STARS ON A PERFECT NIGHT IN HOTLANTA

May 10, 2021—World class conditions greeted the World Class Drift Drivers in Atlanta for Round 1 of the 2021 PRO Season series, but the Final Round was the star of the show.

Set it Off!

Under beautiful sunshine and balmy nights, the Formula Drift launched 2021 PRO series at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Site of the inaugural FD event in 2004, the Formula Drift changed it up from Long Beach this year and rescheduled its opening of its annual spring-summer tour on the flowing high-speed six-story elevation flux capacitor that the Raceway in Braselton, Georgia represents.

Updated Race Format

The 33 drivers included 5 rookies reporting for drift duty with a new competition format to tackle: gone was the Thursday practice; instead, practice runs shifted to Friday prior to a same day Knock-out Qualifying Format (KQF) to determine places in Saturday's competition heats which also gave the bottom 8 finishers a second chance at qualifying.

(This was still a reversion to a more “traditional” format after 2020's unforgettably crazy force majeure two-round doubleheaders every competition weekend!)

Top Qualifiers from Friday

After USA's Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette); Norway's Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra) and Lithuania's Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Falken Tires / Feal Suspension Nissan S15) took the Top 3 qualifying spots Friday, the knockout competition heats began on Saturday.

Final Four

In the competition heats, its was 2020 RD 8 Champion Bakchis rising to the top again, taking down Jeff Jones (Jeff Jones Racing / GT Radial Nissan 370Z) in the Final Four with a characteristically relentless chase that gave Odi the judge's decision and a ticket to the Finals.

Final: Four Races

In the Finals, Odi met another hot driver: Falken Tire teammate and top qualifier Matt Field (Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette), in what turned into a mythically epic duel.

Incomplete Chasers

The FIRST heat resulted in contact at Inside Clip 1 which stopped both cars and sent them for repairs--calling for the judges to take over and ultimately faulting Bakchis to give Field second run advantage. With Field just needing to hold serve with a clean chase run to win the day, he lost his drift in Turn 2 and had to re-initiate. With his visibly straightened wheels giving him away, the judges tagged Field with an incomplete for the second run.

The disqualification necessitated an OMT One More Time after neither driver could complete their lead run.

Toe-to-Toe OMT

The second time around, audience and stream viewers got a more traditional offering of two seemingly perfect runs by the PRO series' hottest drifters of the day.

In the twilight, the drivers adroitly glided in close proximity to each together with aplomb around the magical Raceway track twice, riding their ghostly new LED lights into the future of Formula Drift.

With only a small correction by Field visible in the final run, the two drivers awaited the announcement of the winner in the horseshoe.

Odi be Champion Again

An elated Bakchis heard his name called for his second consecutive individual day win, with the teammates embracing to finish it off.

The Shout-outs

Bakchis thanked his Falken Tires and Feal suspension team for their hard work “to get me back out after each tussle,” and he lauded his teammate Field who had pushed him to such lofty heights on the day:

“Getting to battle Matt in the Final has been a long-time coming. We train together, share a lot of data and info, practice together; so it was surreal that both of us made it to the Final...I was then able to lay down a couple of killer runs after my team had to put the car back together yet again!”

Champ Rounds out the Po’

Gittin Jr. completed the podium by virtue of a better qualifying position than fellow Final 4 combatant Jones.

Rookie of the Year?

The Top Rookie of the day is going to be keeping the attention of Drifters all year: USA's Branden Sorensen (212 Performance / Sorensen Motorsports BMW), far too young for a driver's license, but good enough to be the youngest driver to ever compete in Formula DRIFT. The 16-year-old asserted his arrival on the scene with a defeat of fellow newcomer Travis Beechum (Clonex Racing / Nexen Tire Ford Mustang) in the Top 32 before being eliminated by Ireland's Dean Kearney (Oracle Lighting / Arclight Racing Dodge Viper) in the Top 16.

FD Prez Speaks

Formula DRIFT President, Jim Liaw expressed his happiness on the day to FD News at seeing “fans in the grandstands again” while asserting his delight that “some states are opening up faster than expected. It was especially great to see, hear and feel the energy from the fans this weekend.”

2021 Standings After PRO RD 1

Going into Orlando in two weeks, the top 4 Drift PRO series drivers for the 2021 season standings are now Bakchis 100 Matt Field 91; Gittin Jr 90 and Jeff Jones 80 points.

Welcome 2021!

Hey Gang: 2021 is here, and the 2021 season begins this weekend on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen!

Keep reading to get a recap on the events from last season, and get a bead on who the hot rookies were, who the hot racers are, and who might be able to challenge reigning 2020 Champion Pro Series champ Vaugh Gittin Jr. for this year’s season crown.

Rest assured, Formula Drift will be FULL OF SURPRISES, and non-stop turn-to-turn world class drifting action.

2020 RESULTS

AWARDS BANQUET 2020 Friday Night, December 2: 16.00 PST

The 2020 Formula Drift Series season was truly one for the ages: compressing a full schedule into four double-header events made Formula Drift one of the ONLY professional sports leagues in the world to complete a full season in 2020—which deserves an award in and of itself!

NOW, for THE FORMULA AWARD WINNERS for the astonishing 2020 Drift season:

The first Formula Drift Awards winners shout goes to Top 3 finishers Vaughn Gittin Jr., second place finisher Chelsea DeNova; and third place finisher Ryan Tuerck.

The AUTO MANUFACTURER’S CUP shout went to Ford as leading builder for the first time in league history.

The TIRE MANUFACTURER’s CUP shout goes to another first time winner: Nitto Tire.

The FAN FAVORITE DRIVER shout goes to newcomer Adam LZ, who gets additional respective shouts for winning FAN FAVORITE CAR honors in his Enjuku Racing Nissan S15; ROOKIE OF THE YEAR honors for finishing 12th place overall (288 points); and an additional shout as unofficial champion hat-wearer.

And a major shout to all fun-havers who supported and inspired these amazing performances: Shout!

IRWINDALE TITLE FIGHT PRO RD 7-8 (November 20-22, 2020)

PRO RD 7: Irwindale Speedway Friday

SEASON CONTENDERS FALL ALL OVER THE WAYSIDE IN RD 7

Another wild day of racing in the final weekend of the abbreviated 2020 Drift season saw many of 11 total hopefuls get eliminated, to leave four drivers with a mathematical chance of chasing down season points leader Vaughn Gittin Jr. For the Formula Drift PRO Season championship at Irwindale, CA.

Goodbye JTP and Odi

The USA's Justin Pawlak JTP (Roush Performance / Falken Tire Ford Mustang) and Lithuania's Aurimas “'Odi” Bakchis (Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15) were among the big names eliminated from contention early in RD 7 as they both were upset by lower-ranked drivers in the Round of 32 to end their season hopes.

Tuerck's Troubles Begin

Second-placed points leader USA's Ryan Tuerck (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla) started a troubling weekend with engine problems reported after his own Top 32 heat, with the Papadakis racing team miraculously switching out Tuerck's engine in time for the next race—only to see Tuerck hit the wall in Outside Zone 1 barely out of the gate in his subsequent Top 16 run, dropping him from a neck-breathing 8 points back of Gittin Jr. to a full 40 back heading into the final race of the 2020 season.

No Cakewalk for Forsberg

The third-place season points driver Chris Forsberg (USA) (NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z on Nexen Tires) found himself driving his first race in the Top 16 courtesy of a bye round, but he would go no further. Forsberg also experienced engine problems, resulting in a withdrawal to lick his wounds and fix up his car before the Final Round two days later on Sunday. The withdrawal cost Forsberg two spots in the season series, and only the slimmest of mathematical chances as he faded to 96 points back of top.

Points Leader Gittin Jr.

Meanwhile, championship leader Vaughn Gittin Jr. (USA) stormed through the brackets in RD7 in his Monster Energy / Nitto Tire / Ford Performance Mustang RTR Spec 5-D, only to get stonewalled in the Final Four against arch-nemesis Fredric Aasbo of Norway.

Hammering Home RD 7 Victory

The Norwegian Hammer (Rockstar Energy Drink / Nitto Tire GR Supra) prevailed after an epic battle when Gittin Jr. finally spun out in the One More Time tie-breaker race to let Aasbo through to the Final and Frederic’s second win of the season. Aasbo's Final takedown of Michael Essa (FCP Euro / LiquiMoly / Achilles Tires BMW M3) leaprogged him from fifth place to third but left a daunting 60-point deficit to make up before Sunday's RD 8 Final race.

WEEKEND UPDATE, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21:

Going into tomorrow's final, the contenders for the 2020 Formula Drift PRO Championship are:

Chesea Donofa (80 points back); Frederic Aasbo (60 back); and Ryan Tuerk (40 points back), all chasing Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Denofea and Aasbo’s Way

Chelsea needs to win and have Vaughn lose in the first round; Aasbo needs come in first or second and have Vaughn lose in the first round, with both eliminated in the likelihood Vaughn makes the Round of 16.

Tuerck’s Chance

Tuerck needs to win and have Gittin lose in the Round of 16 to make up the ground, putting Vaughn in firm position to win his second Formula Drift Title and his first since the last decade change of 2010.

Vaughn Clinches If…

If Vaughn reaches the Final Four, he clinches the Top Spot for the year.

PRO Round 8: Sunday, November 22, 2020

FINAL CONTENDERS FAIL TO GO THE DISTANCE WITH 2020 FORMULA DRIFT PRO CHAMPION VAUGHN GITTIN JR.

With the title Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s to lose, all eyes started the day on the season points leader to see if he could drift his way into the Top 4 and clinch the season outright.

Climbing the Mountain

The 40-point cliff at the top of the leaderboard appeared insurmountably steep to start the day, but as usual things don't go as they seem in the Formula Drift, and the 2020 Pro RD 8 Final Battle was no different.

Still in the Running

The only drivers with any realistic chance to catch Gittin Jr. at all were Ryan Tuerck at 40 points back and the Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo at 60 back, but that meant both drivers had to have perfect days and get some help from Vaughn himself.

Aasbo's Final Quest

After injuring his car (Rockstar Energy Drink / Nitto Tire GR Supra) during a celebratory burnout after his RD 7 first place finish, the Hammer had to wait for his Papadakis team to go through not one but two engines to find a suitable replacement from available parts for Sunday's run.

Fall of the Hammer

But alas, Aasbo's final assault on the top spot hit a snag early on in the Top 32 heats when he was unable to finish the first heat after hitting the wall at his initiation to Outside Zone 1. After taking a Competition Timeout the Papakis crew just barely beat the buzzer to sow up the car’s rear suspension the seconds showing on the clock. Though Aasbo's subsequent run was unblemished, it was not enough to make up for the initial incomplete run, ending the 2015 Champion's day and his season.

Tuerck Battered and Bruised

Aasbo's teammate Tuerck (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla) would ultimately not get much farther either: his Corolla engine that was replaced in Friday's RD 7 only “held up” through a bye round in the Top 32 before desperately clipping Rookie Jonathan Nerren (USA) in the Top 16 for a DQ that ended Tuerck's day and pursuit of a season championship as well.

Gittin Jr. Stopped, but Not Denied

It turned out Gittin would need the help because he was denied a clinching spot in the Top 4 when he surprisingly hit the wall chasing Rd 8 eventual champion Aurimas Backchis (Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15), who came back from RD 7's disappointing transmission problems to advance all the way to the finals to face Chelsea Denofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR).

The loss paved the way for Backchis to advance to win RD 8 when DeNofa hit Inside Clip 1 in a cloud of blinding smoke to give Bakchis his first win since FD Orlando in early 2019 and become him the sixth individual winner of the incredible 2020 Formula Drift Pro season.

Final Leaders

Donofa's second place finish vaulted him to second in the standings with 500 points and 40 points back of Gittin Jr., with Tuerk falling to third 56 points off the pace at 484; and Adam LZ taking home Formula Drift Rookie of the Year Honors after finishing 13th overall.

In Conclusion

This abbreviated season proved that no matter how good a driver you are, you need your car to hold up, and you need to understand your track--with a season's worth of vehicle bumps and wall contacts continuously shifting the fortunes of the greatest Drift drivers on the face of the earth.

For Full Race Results, click here.

TEXAS SHOWDOWN WEEKEND PRO RDS 5 and 6 (November 1-November 2, 2020)

Formula Drift Showdown in Texas (Fort Worth, TX) PRO RD 5 Saturday, November 1, 2020

HUNGRY TUERCK ASSERTS CONTROL OVER TRACK, COMPETITION IN RD 5 SHOWDOWN

With the top 5 drivers in the 2020 Pro Season separated by a scant 44 points, there was no margin for error at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth, Texas.

The Most with Less

Indeed, least did turn out to be most at Round 5, Day 1 of the 2020 Formula Drift Showdown in Texas.

Mastering the Course

First-place Finisher Ryan Tuerck (Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla) confirmed this expertise straight from the podium:

“It was a battle of mistakes, tonight. I knew the driver with the least would win!”

Standing Tall

As last man standing after the upset derailment of Vaughn Gittin Jr's (Monster Energy / Nitto Tire / Ford Performance Mustang RTR Spec 5-D) bid to become the first driver to achieve a three race winning streak since the mythical Samuel Hubinette, Tuerck's expertise was nothing short of Jedi-esque.

Final Four

It was a technically impervious Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z on Nexen Tires) who put down Gittin Jr. in the Top 4 and lost the final to Tuerck for second place, with Jeff Jones (USA) (Doc / GT Radial Nissan 370Z) gutting out a Top 4 showing for the first time since joining the FD PRO category in 2009—by battling through shifter problems that reduced him to third gear to start the third place battle against Gittin.

Rookie of the Day

Rookie Adam LZ (Enjuku Racing Nissan S15) continued to impress in his inaugural campaign as he improved with a career best sixth position on RD 5.

Turnover at the Top

Besides Gittin, the tight 5 spots atop the season standings included Chelsea DeNofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR), and Justin Pawlak. However, with Denofa finishing ninth on the day and Pawlak dropping out, things were bound to turn over.

From Master to Warrior

With a second place finish and two thirds in the rounds leading up to RD 5, Tuerk's win served notice that he is turning consistency into championship mode as his bid for his first championship shifts into high gear for the last weekend of 2020.

Like a true Jedi master, Tuerk had to channel that hunger into a controlled and focused disciplined to beat the toughest competitor out there--the high speed unforgiving track.

Tuerck’s Track Salute

Of the struggles Tuerk confirmed: “It was a tough event and the track made it really hard to keep proximity in the chase position. I was happy to get a win today and we get to do the same tomorrow, so let’s see if we can make it two-in-a-row!”

Thus concluded a calculated RD 5 of positioning to set the table for an unforgettable RD 6.

Formula Drift Showdown in Texas (Fort Worth, TX) PRO RD 6 Sunday, November 2, 2020

THE FORS PREVAILS AFTER DRIFTERS PAY THE PRICE FOR CONTACT IN PRO ROUND 6

After a furious night of adjustments, the bumps took center stage for RD 6 of the 2020 Formula Drift Pro Series Showdown in Texas on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth.

Bumping to Victory

The bumpy rhythm was set with champion of the day Peter Forsberg's “straightener” against Kyle Mohan in the Top 32; continued with Forsberg's over-rotation after contact with Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Lithuania) in the Top 16; and culminated in Forsberg's Final 4 matchup with rookie Adam LZ.

LZ impacted Forsberg’s Nissan and ran off the track as Forsberg completed the run with his rear fenderwell in flames for the win and a final matchup against Gittin Jr. (Monster Energy / Nitto Tire / Ford Performance Mustang RTR Spec 5-D).

Vaughn was only there after teammate USA's Chelsea DeNofa (BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR) spun out against him in the Top 4—while Denofa took down 2015 Champion Norwegian Hammer Fredric Aasbo (Rockstar Energy Drink / Nitto Tire GR Supra) in the Round of 8 after a bump was faulted to Aasbo.

Final Four

DeNofa still defeated rising rookie Adam LZ (USA) in the third-place run-off when LZ’s Enjuku Racing Nissan S15 collided with DeNofa on the final run, costing LZ a judges incomplete. The fourth place finish was still a career high—on top of another highlight moment in the Top 8 where LZ dethroned the season championship points leader when Ryan Tuerck was unable to complete repairs by the end of a Competition Timeout.

Return of The Fors

Three-time champ Forsberg took his first podium since 2018 when in the OMT race of the final Gittin Jr ran off-line through Inside Clip 1 then spun out of Outer Zone 3 as Forsberg’s battered 370Z held strong over the finish line.

Vaughn Jr. Emerges Atop Standings

Gittin Jr. ultimately crept to the top of the standings by an ultra-slim 8 point margin over Ryan Tuerck, with Forsberg's podium surging him into third, 64 points back, to leave Denofa (-92) and Aasbo (-96) within striking range of the top.

Tight Stretch as it Should Be

With 64 points separating the Top 5 Drivers, and less than 200 points separating the Top 11, there are mathematically still 11 Drift Drivers in contention to podium for the season, making the upcoming TITLE FIGHT's 200 points worth of doubleheader action a Battle Royale weekend the likes of which the Pro Drift League's two decades of racing have never seen!

DON'T MISS THE FINAL!

For the fabulous finish to an unforgettable Drift season, tune in The Sporting Art Exclusive Screen for the final TITLE FIGHT doubleheader of the 2020 Formula DRIFT PRO and Link ECU PRO2 Championships November 20-22 at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale.

RD 1 RD 2 RD 3 RD 4 RD 5 RD 6 Total Points

1 25 Vaughn Gittin Jr 32 32 100 100 76 88 428

2 411 Ryan Tuerck 88 76 32 76 100 48 420 -8.00

3 64 Chris Forsberg 64 32 32 48 88 100 364 -64.00

4 88 Chelsea Denofa 32 100 32 64 32 76 336 -92.00

5 151 Fredric Aasbo 100 32 88 16 48 48 332 -96.00

6 723 Aurimas Bakchis 76 88 32 32 32 32 292 -136.00

7 13 Justin Pawlak 48 48 48 88 16 32 280 -148.00

8 123 Kazuya Taguchi 48 32 48 32 32 48 240 -188.00

9 9 Daijiro Yoshihara 32 32 64 32 32 48 240 -188.00

10 777 Matt Field 32 64 48 32 32 32 240 -188.00

11 101 Michael Essa 32 48 76 16 32 32 236 -192.00

THROWDOWN WEEKEND PRO RDS 3 and 4

Formula Drift Throwdown (Monroe, WA) PRO RD 3: Saturday September 26, 2020

VAUGHN GITTIN JR. THROWS DOWN THE NORWEGIAN HAMMER IN MONROE, WASHINGTON PRO RD 3

In an epic second weekend of doubleheader drift racing for Formula Drift Pro Series 2020, with the spotlight passing back and forth from the judges to the rulebook to the mechanics and even the announcers to keep pace with the competition in Throwdown Rounds 3 and 4, it took incredible driving performances to maintain subject focus this past weekend Saturday, September 27th and Sunday, September 28th at Evergreen International Speedway in Monroe, Washington.

The Race

In an empty stadium compliant with local health guidelines, 2010 PRO series Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr., launched a historic weekend in his Monster Energy/Nitto Tire/ Spc-5 Ford Performance Mustang RTR by putting down 2015 PRO Champion Fredric “The Norwegian Hammer” Aasbo (Nitto Tire / GR Supra / Rockstar Energy Drink) in the Finals.

The Final Four

In his FCP Euro / LiquiMoly / Achilles Tires BMW M3, 2013 PRO Champion Michael Essa defeated 2011 PRO Champion Daijiro Yoshihara for third place.

Vaughn’s Return

This was Vaughn’s first Round win since Irwindale in 2018, when he also took Aasbo in the Final.

Track Punishes

Meanwhile, on a surface that was alternately slick and parched, the track pushed the world’s top Drifters and their cars to the brink.

Odi Hits the Wall

Day 1 saw co-season points leader Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Lithuania) collide with the wall during Saturday warmups, costing him his suspension, front body work, and the entire supercharger of his Falken Tire / Feal suspension / Nissan 14--which Odi still managed to Drift into the Top 16 before being knocked out by eventual winner Gittin Jr.

The Rookies

Youngblood Adam LZ of the US drifted further into prominence with a 14th place finish in his Enjuku Racing Nissan S15, while Toyota maintained its lead atop the Auto Cup.

Steadying the Ship

Bakchis was not the only driver atop the season leaderboard to wrestle with the fickle track by any means: all three leaders coming into the weekend failed to make RD 3’s Round of 16--with only 12 hours to get it together before the next race.

Formula Drift Throwdown (Monroe, WA) PRO RD 4: Sunday, September 27, 2020

GITTIN JR. REPEATS WITH LEGENDARY RD 4 FOLLOW-UP PERFORMANCE

All drivers came swarming back after rain delays and track attacks from the previous day for an even more unpredictable Throwdown Day 2 at Evergreen Speedway track in Monroe, Washington, at Formula Drift PRO Series RD 4 on Sunday, September 27.

Vaughn Repeats

USA’s Vaughn Gittin Jr sequentially repeated as Round 4 winner in his Monster Energy / Nitto Tire / Ford Performance Mustang RTR Spec 5-D after a two season drought, edging Justin “JTP” Pawlak (Roush Performance / Falken Tire Ford Mustang) in a wild final.

Final Four

Ryan Tuerck (USA) stayed on top of the 2020 PRO season standings in his Gumout / Nitto Tire / Mobil 1 Toyota Corolla after a tough Drift battling suspension and brake repairs to ward off Chelsea Denofa’s BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR in the 3rd Place race.

Final Re-Ignites Rivalry

A One More Time Heat was necessary to decide the final after the two participants rekindled a supposedly dormant rivalry by fighting each other for position during each of the two base Final Heats.

JTP Says No

In an unorthodox attempt at victory, trail driver Gittin Jr. attempted to pass Pawlak’s lead car coming around a turn, to which JTP responded “I don’t think so” as he later specified by blocking Vaughn’s car—with more incidental contact in the next race leaving no clear winner on the track in either heat.

Other Contenders Stifled

Meanwhile, car troubles slowed contenders Lithuania’s “Odi” Bakchis (rebuilt front body and supercharger) and Norway’s Fredric Aasbo (cracked manifold).

Rookie of the Year?

Adam LZ (USA) repeated as the top rookie, climbing to 9th place overall for the day in his Enjuku Racing Nissan S15 for a 5-place improvement and a third round as the outright top rookie; while Ford knocked Toyota off the Auto Cup leaderboard.

Looking Ahead

Heading into the next Formula Drift doubleheader October 30-November 1 at Texas Motor Speedway near Dallas, TX, Ryan Tuerck sits atop the 2020 PRO season leaderboard (272 points) with a slim 8 point lead over RD 3 and 4 victor Gittin Jr.; with Aasbo sitting in third 36 points back, just ahead of Pawlak (-40), Denofa (-44), and Backchis (-44).

For full race results and current Formula D Pro standings, click here.

Saturday Night, September 26th post RD 3

Day 3 Results Bracket here, full coverage tomorrow.

CURRENT Formula Drift Pro Series Season Leaders 2020:

1. Fredric Aasbo (220 Points)

2. Ryan Tuerck (-24)

3. Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (-24)

Vaughn Gittin Jr. (-56), Michael Essa (-56), and Chelsea Denofa (-64) are close behind, and hungry to move up today.

Let’s see if anyone can shake the Top 3, or if a surprise winner comes drifting into contention for the season title.

One thing for sure, it’s tight and crazy at the top: two days of races makes for less margin of error.

A slip-up can cost any racer their entire season.

Tune in to WATCH all today’s Drifting action starting at 11.15 PST right here on THE SPORTING ART EXCLUSIVE SCREEN.

——

CROSSROADS WEEKEND PRO RDS 1 AND 2

Formula Drift Pro Series Day 1: Crossroads (St. Louis). September 5, 2020

HAMMER OF THE DRIFT: AASBO LAUNCHES FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2020 SEASON WITH DAY ONE WIN AT THE CROSSROADS

The 2020 Drift season came out of the gate at World Wide Technology Raceway near St Louis, MO with brand new possibilities for a field of 29 drivers representing eight different countries and eight rookies--and without 3-time defending champ James Deane.

Hungry Drifters

Deane will be back some day, but in the meantime the other high-powered Drift masters all started on their own quests in an adapted 2020 Pro season format doubling the speed of the action.

Proper Bubble

Instead of eight races on eight dates, the 2020 Pro season Formula Drift format offers four dates and two rounds per venue—leaving crazy weekend points out there for the drivers most fit for the back-to-backs.

The Hammer Drops First

2015 Champion Fredric Aasbo the Norwegian Hammer looked thrilled to be back behind the wheel in a new Papadakis Racing Toyota while taking Day 1’s 100 first place racing points with aplomb.

Tuerck Takes Care of Business

Though without a chance in the final race, 2009 second place finisher Ryan Tuerck (USA) showed extraordinary grit just to face Aasbo at all and claim the 88 second place points.

Epic Drive

Tuerck may be hungrier for a championship than any driver, and that focus likely played no small role as he willed himself in his own Papadakis racing Toyota into the finals after losing his power steering in a Top 16 drift with USA’s Dylan Hughes.

Third and Fourth Place

The Final Four of Day 1 was rounded out by USA’s Chris Forsberg (64 points), who could not make the necessary repairs on his Nissan 370Z to compete for third, giving Lithuania’s Odi Bakchis the 76 third place points.

The Rookies

As far as the new blood, the strongest rookie performances in their debut competition were the Top 16 finishes for USA’s Alec Robbins, who outdrifted Kenshiro “Ken” Gushi in his Fasetto Nissan 350Zf; and an ebullient Taylor Hull, who was thrilled to drift his YellowSpeed Racing Cadillac ATS-V to his first Top 32 Heat victory, over Irishman Dean Kearney.

No Time to Sleep

After a wild Day 1 of racing that saw Aasbo, Tuerck and Bakchis take the podium positions, there was barely any time to sleep before next day’s Round 2.

Formula Drift Pro Series Day 2: Crossroads (St. Louis). September 6, 2020

DENOFA PREVAILS ON DAY 2 IN A NEW KIND OF FORMULA DRIFT PRO SERIES TEST

The hot hands were on display for Pro Day 2 Crossroads on Sunday, September 6 at World Technology Raceway near Saint Louis in a first-of-a-kind Drift competition: a second consecutive full round of racing and Drift action, with another 100 points on the table.

Final Four Results

Day 2 was marked by a big win for USA’s Chelsea Denofa in his Mustang RTR (100 points); and repeat appearances in the Final Four by Lithuania’s “Odi” Bakchis (2nd place for 88 points) in his Nissan S15 and Ryan Tuerck in his Toyota Corolla (76 points), with Matt Field finishing fourth for 64 points in his C6 Chevrolet Corvette after losing to Tuerck in the third-place run-off.

Aasbo’s DQ

The only driver from Day 1 podium places who didn’t make it back was Norway’s Fredric Aasbo. The Hammer and his more familiar GR Supra were eliminated from the Top 16 by disqualification for failing to provide sufficient space for lead driver Field following a collision barely off the starting line on the second run.

Field’s Run

Field broke through to the Final Four with a subsequent win over an ailing Ken Gushi (Japan), who was prevented from driving his GR Supra at full capacity by a slipped disc in his back (ouch!).

Gushi’s Brave Drift

Like a true track warrior, Ken Gushi refused any medication to keep his focus, battling through two wins to the Great 8 and the loss to Field before succumbing, and letting his team lift him out of his car and off the track.

Denofa Rises Up

Day 2 clearly belonged to Chelsea Denofa, whose first-place finish (100 points) propelled him to third place in the overall Pro 2020 standings after his first win since last September at Formula D Texas.

Rookie of the Day

The leading rookie of Day 2 proved to be USA’s Adam LZ, who finished 25th in his Nissan S15.

Standings After Crossroads

The furious action left Bakchis and Tuerck tied at the top of the 2020 Formula D PRO Championship, with Aasbo and Denofa 32 points back heading into Seattle’s Evergreen raceway doubleheader for Rounds Three and Four on September 25-27.

Look for more unique interactive coverage on the Sporting Art Exclusive Screen.

RETRACTION: An earlier preview of Jame’s Deane’s chances has been omitted after the discovery of his absence.

What happened to Deane?

According to Formula Drift co-founder and commentator Ryan Sage, it turns out Deane’s original team was disbanded, and making the effort to pull together and fly a new 25-man team from overseas with all the equipment in these times just wasn’t in the cards.

We at the Sporting Art pay tribute to James Deane’s eventual return, and the continuation of his unbelievable three year run as PRO season points champion, with the following fond memory, of the crowning of the rookie champion in this newly unearthed previously unreleased outtake from the first Exclusive Screen.