This is where it all ends, as the 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship's season finale, the TITLE FIGHT, will decide whether James Deane has the right to be crowned this season's champion amid heated competition with Aurimas Bakchis.
Will James Deane maintain his lead and win this season's title or will Bakchis steal his thunder and have the last laugh? Let's find out...
Screengrab from Formula DRIFT
James Deane's victory against Fredric Aasbo by unanimous decision in the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship's season finale made him the first four-time champion in Formula Drift history. Conor Shanahan came in third.
Congratulations, James Deane, for becoming the first-ever Formula Drift 4-time champ!
This concludes the 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship. See you next season!
The 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with its penultimate round of the season called ELEVATED, held at Grantsville, Utah.
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By unanimous decision, Aurimas Bakchis in his Nissan Silvia defeated Fredric Aasbo to keep his title hopes alive as James Deane is still leading the driver standings. Trenton Beechum settles for third place in Utah.
Will James Deane maintain his lead and win this season's title or will Bakchis steal his thunder and have the last laugh? The Title Fight begins on October 18-19, 2024, at Irwindale, California. Don't miss it!
Seattle's Evergreen Speedway is the next stop of the 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with THROWDOWN as the summer of drifting action continues to heat up even with the whole world witnessing the Olympic endgame.
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Ryan Tuerck won the THROWDOWN finals by unanimous decision. He was driving a Toyota GR Corolla drift car and defeated Hiroya Minowa. Adam LZ took third place.
There are only two events left this season as the 2024 season continues with its penultimate leg at Salt Lake City, ELEVATED, this August 29 to 31, 2024.
The streets of St. Louis, Missouri is the next stop for the 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with CROSSROADS. Even with the recent IT outage that plagued the world, that didn't stop them from delivering the most intense summer drifting action.
The drivers pushed their cars to the limit as they drifted around the tight corners of the World Wide Technology Raceway. There are plenty of close calls, smoking tires, and incredible displays of skill.
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As Frederic Aasbo settles for third place, Irishman James Deane in his AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD beats Japanese drifter Hiroya Minowa in his Enjuku Racing / Cusco / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota GT86 by unanimous decision.
The next event is at Seattle's Evergreen Speedway for THROWDOWN this August 9-10, 2024.
The 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship is coming to Englishtown, New Jersey next. This is THE GAUNTLET, the event that officially kicks off the summer drifting season. It’s going to be an exciting time for anyone who loves fast cars and drifting.
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By unanimous decision, James Deane was victorious over Aurimas Bakchis in the finals. Adam LZ came in third after being defeated by Bakchis in the semi-finals.
The next event is at St. Louis, Missouri for CROSSROADS this July 18-20.
The 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues in Orlando, Florida for the third round known as SCORCHED.
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Conor Shanahan made headlines in front of the Florida crowd by nailing his first-ever Formula Drift win after defeating James Deane by unanimous decision. Branden Sorensen finished 3rd.
The next event is THE GAUNTLET in New Jersey this June 20-22.
Atlanta was the next stop for the 2024 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship for Round 2, known as the Road to the Championship event.
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Frederic Aasbo won his first event of the season behind the wheel of his GR Supra drift car when he defeated Simen Olsen in the finals. James Deane was able to clinch third place.
The next event on the circuit is SCORCHED, which will take place from May 31 to June 1 in Orlando, Florida.
The streets of Long Beach, California, served as the opening salvo for the 2024 Formula Drift championship, which saw some drastic changes such as dropping single qualifying runs in favor of a reimagined tandem-only format. Not only that, they picked up new sponsors such as South Korea's Kumho Tire, hand cleaner brand Fast Orange, and Alpinestars, among others. The 2024 season is going to be the turning point in Formula Drift history.
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James Deane in his #130 AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD and Simen Olsen in his #707 Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9 are the drivers who advanced to the finals and amid wet weather, they put in a good opening salvo with their crowd-pleasing drifts.
By unanimous decision in a rain-soaked final round, James Deane drew first blood with a win against Olsen. Aurimas Bakchis in his #723 Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15 finished in 3rd place.
The next event is at Atlanta for the Road to the Championship this May 9-11.
Irwindale is the final stop of the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship, concluding the league's 20th-anniversary celebration with the epic title fight to decide who will be crowned the champion. Will DeNofa become the 2023 season or will either Field or Olsen snatch his glory? Let's find out.
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After Chris Forsberg trumped titled contender Simen Olsen at the Top 16 eliminations, Chelsea DeNofa, a first for his all-new #88 Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD drift machine, earned the right to earn the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Champion title, wrapping up his 12-year career run with a huge smoke. Despite being eliminated in the Top 32 match by Kristaps Bluss, he still earned the right to claim his title for his final time.
Meanwhile, Nick Noback wins the final round by unanimous decision.
This concludes the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship. Here's to another 20 years and see you next season!
The Utah Motorsport Campus is the penultimate stop for the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with ELEVATED. With Chelsea DeNofa leading the title fight, will his road to the championship title remain in place for the finale?
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A winner by unanimous decision, DeNofa beats Matt Field in the finals, making it his third win of the 2023 season, while Simen Olsen settles in third place.
After Utah, DeNofa leads with 463 points, 53 points ahead of Matt Field, while Olsen's in third with 387 points. The three Utah podium finishers also happen to be the 2023 season points leaders. What a finish.
Will DeNofa become the 2023 season or will either Field or Olsen snatch his glory? The 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship concludes in Irwindale for the TITLE FIGHT this October 13-14. Don't miss it!
The 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues in Seattle's Evergreen Speedway for THROWDOWN.
Screengrab from Formula Drift
Chelsea DeNofa, in his all-new Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 drift car, and Dylan Hughes, in a Royal Purple BMW, ended up becoming the main event as both of these drivers emerged their way to the finals and show off their drifting moves. As the first run's too close to call, a second run is done and a unanimous decision is made.
Chelsea DeNofa emerged as the winner of THROWDOWN by unanimous decision, beating Hughes and third-placer James Deanne into it.
The next round will be at Utah Motorsports Campus for ELEVATED this September 14-16.
Aside from the junk cars and the AMG GT Black Series offered in the FH5 Upgrade Heroes update, there are two additional Formula Drift cars as well with one a new version of the familiar drift car driven by Chris Forsberg, and the other driven by one of the Donut Media boys for PROSPEC class.
First up is the #64 Forsberg Racing Nissan Z that I won as the overall prize in the Upgrade Heroes playlist. Used in the 2023 season of Formula Drift Pro Championship, it's based on the RZ34 Nissan Fairlady Z but with the 3.8L V6 Twin Turbo engine from the Nissan GT-R stuffed in it and juiced to produce a thousand horsepower.
Lastly, the #51 Donut Media Nissan 240SX drift car that I've obtained has mingled through the Donut Media Low Car story's Bumper 2 Bumper segment. It's a Nissan Silvia S14A jammed with an LQ9 engine, it's been driven by Donut Media's Adam Knapik for the PROSPEC class.
Normally, I would rather compare these two drift cars to see which one is the best but sadly, that would be pointless to compare drift cars because they're focused mostly on drifting rather than doing laps. Luckily, I had a brainwave...
First off, I decided to give the #64 Forsberg Racing Nissan Z a little exhibition drift in my own version of a certain classic track from a certain classic racing game I can't mention. Okay, it's my version of GT2's Motor Sports Land and if anyone's interested, I'll tell you the share code, it's 147 528 997.
Next up, I took the #51 Donut Media Nissan 240SX drift car on a little timewarp to Ancient Rome with a 10-lap drift track created by Forza player "l Wizzle l". Credit to the owner, as always.
As I said, if anyone's interested in this Ancient Rome drift track created by a certain Forza player, here's the share code: 175 263 128
These drift cars really know how to make a statement...
The 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues in St. Louis, Missouri for CROSSROADS.
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Fredric Aasbo and Aurimas Bakchis made it to the finals and they're going all-out in the name of audience impact in St. Louis. As the first run became too close to call for the competitors, they went for the second run and the winner is decided.
Bakchis is named the winner of CROSSROADS after beating Aasbo by a unanimous decision. Simen Olsen finished in third place.
The next event is at the Evergreen Speedway in Seattle, Washington, for THROWDOWN this August 11-12.
New Jersey is the next battlefield for the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship for THE GAUNTLET, one of the most intense drifting matches of the summer season.
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Adam LZ made headlines in New Jersey as he scored his first Formula Drift career win after an intense match against Simen Olsen. Matt Field ended his New Jersey stint in third place.
The next event will be at St. Louis, Missouri for CROSSROADS this July 13-15.
Orlando, Florida is the next stop of the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with the SCORCHED event.
Screengrab from Formula DRIFT
Chelsea DeNofa in his brand-new Ford Mustang drift car and Fredric Aasbo in his Toyota GR Supra drift car were the ones who made it to the finals. As the two performed their drifts rather well, it was too close to call so the audience called in an encore and the second run commenced, finding out who has the moves.
After an encore, Chelsea DeNofa was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Kazuya Taniguchi, meanwhile, is this event's third placer.
The next event is at Englishtown, New Jersey, for THE GAUNTLET this June 22-24.
Road Atlanta, Georgia, is the next stop for the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with the ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP event.
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The battle between the two drifting titans, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chris Forsberg, became the talk of the town in the ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP event. As the two legends showcased their drifting performance in front of the audience, there can only be one. It was Gittin Jr who was named the winner of Formula Drift's ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP event in Road Atlanta, Aurimas Bakchis became the third placer of this event.
The next event will be at Orlando Speed World for SCORCHED this May 26-27.
The streets of Long Beach come alive with the sounds and smoke from drift cars as the 2023 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship kicked off the series' 20th-anniversary celebration.
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Matt Field in his Borla Performance GT Radial Corvette drew first blood in the season opener after outperforming Rome Charpentier in his Garagistic Vitour Tire BMW E36 in the second run of the final round. Supra driver Fredric Aasbo completes the podium in third.
The next event will be at Road Atlanta for the ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP event this May 11-13.
Irwindale, California, is the final stop of the 2022 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship as the Title Fight will decide once and for all who will be this season's champion. With seven different winners in seven different rounds this season, will this season's streak be maintained or will someone break the streak to become this season's champion?
Screengrab from Formula Drift
Fredric Aasbo ended the streak by winning his second event of the season, earning him the right to be crowned the 2022 Formula DRIFT Pro Champion. Aasbo became this season's champion after his dramatic drifting performance against Ryan Tuerck which made the audience go in favor of the Supra driver. Jeff Jones finished 3rd in the final event of the season.
Aasbo won his second championship title while Matt Field ends the season in 2nd place in the standing while Ryan Tuerck finished 3rd.
Congratulations to Fredric Aasbo for his second Formula Drift Pro Championship title!
This is the end of the 2022 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship. See you next season!
The 2022 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues in their new venue, Grantsville, Utah, for the TYPE S Elevated presented by AutoZone, the penultimate leg of this season.
Screengrab from Formula DRIFT
Drifting legend, Ken Gushi, in his new GR86 drift car, bagged his first win of the season after pulling some impressive drifts to defeat Fredric Aasbo, driver of the GR Supra drift car. Chelsea DeNofa, meanwhile, settles in third place.
That's seven different winners in seven different rounds this season. Will this season's streak be maintained or will someone break the streak to become this season's champion? Find out as the 2022 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship concludes in Irwindale, California, this October 14-15. Don't miss it!
The Pacific Northwest is the next stop of this season's Formula DRIFT Pro Championship with Throwdown at the Evergreen Speedway. In the midst of the heat advisory, nothing's hotter than intense drifting action that burns the Washington State down than a sizzling heat wave.
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Matt Field and Chelsea Denofa made themselves to the finals and their final round duel became too close to call for the audiences to decide who wins the Throwdown. After an intense drift showdown, the judges have decided. It's Chelsea Denofa who wins the Throwdown while Matt Field is in 2nd place. Chris Forsberg is in 3rd place.
The next round will be at Grantsville, Utah, this September 15-17.
