Wikipedia

Formula D

(Redirected from Formula DRIFT)
For the board game, see Formula D (board game).

Formula DRIFT (also known as Formula D or 'FD') is an American drifting series, and was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that introduced D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own, operate and launch the first official drifting series in North America. Formula DRIFT is not associated with the FIA series of formula racing championships.[1]

Formula DRIFT
CategoryDrifting
Country United States
Inaugural season2004
Classes
  • PRO
  • PROSPEC
Manufacturers
Tire suppliers
Drivers' championPRO

2023 United States Chelsea DeNofa

PROSPEC

2023 United States Ben Hobson
Official websiteformulad.com
Current season

Formula DRIFT has 84 licensed drivers competing in PRO and PROSPEC (formerly PRO 2[2]) as of June 2024. The series consists of an eight-round championship played out at race tracks across North America. Formula DRIFT is judged on line, angle, and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time.

North America

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Drivers in North America can compete in regionally sanctioned PRO/AM organizations for licensing.[3]

  • USDrift – Mid-Atlantic
  • East10Drift – Southeast
  • Evergreen Drift – Pacific Northwest
  • Colorado Drift – Colorado
  • ND Drift – Minnesota
  • Southwest Drift – Las Vegas
  • Spec-D Drift series – Bincent Shreklund
  • Hot Pit Autofest – California
  • Full Lock Drift – Oklahoma
  • US Drift Circuit – Florida
  • Great Lakes – Pennsylvania

Winners and high finishers of these feeders series are then able to enter the Formula DRIFT PROSPEC series, a secondary national tour where drivers compete to move up to the main series.

Tracks

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Current tracks

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Former tracks

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International presence

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Formula DRIFT has increased its international presence every year since 2008 with the addition of demonstration and sister series in other countries. "Taking the Formula DRIFT brand internationally is a huge milestone. Our priority is to continue to build the Series here while growing the sport of drifting as a whole," said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. "We are very careful in choosing our event partners and take careful consideration of the boundaries of our international affiliates such as Drift Australia, MSC, and Pro Drift."[4]

Sister series

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Formula DRIFT Asia. Formula DRIFT Asia was created in 2008 with the inaugural FD Singapore competition. The first real international competition of its in Asia, held at the Changi Air Show Grounds. This historic event was sold out before the gates opened. Since then, Formula Drift Asia became its own championship series, the first Pan-Asian professional drifting championship. In 2009 and 2010, the Championship made stops in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. For the 2011/2012 Championship tour, Formula DRIFT Asia added an additional stop in Indonesia.[5]

The first Formula DRIFT Asia Champion was Tengku Djan.

Exhibition events

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Regulations

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Formula DRIFT has continued to refine its rulebook and technical regulations year to year in terms of car and competition regulations.

Car eligibility

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Cars and their builds are constantly under review by the Formula DRIFT staff. The rule book is revised every year to promote fair and exciting drifting. Some cars and practices are written out of the rule book in order to keep a realistic and level playing field. During the 2004 season, the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe was permitted to compete; subsequently it was ineligible in Formula DRIFT.

Although Formula DRIFT does not permit front-wheel drive cars, it does allow all-wheel drive cars to be converted to rear wheel drive, such as the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi EVO. In the United States, the Scion tC is sold only in the FWD layout, but because it shares the same chassis as the AWD Toyota Avensis (sold only in the United Kingdom and Europe), it can be converted to a competition-ready RWD layout. This change sparked great debate between drifters in the series who felt that an original FWD vehicle should not be eligible due to the front cross member changes needed.

A trademark of Formula DRIFT competition cars is the very open engine rulebook. Formula DRIFT allows engines from other manufacturers to be swapped into competition cars. "Engine, transmission, ECU and/or final drive modifications are free, but only the rear wheels may propel the vehicle". This results in a huge variety of engine/chassis combinations as well as huge power outputs commonly in excess of 850+ whp. Vehicles wishing to compete for the Manufacturers Championship must use an engine from the same manufacturer as the chassis. Engine swaps remain very common with older models but can be seen with new builds as well. Naturally aspirated or supercharged Chevrolet V8 engines are often used because of their availability and lower operating costs.

Suspension modification is widely open to development as long as stock pickup locations are utilized. Suspension tuning is a vital part of any successful Formula DRIFT team.

To keep cars in check Formula DRIFT institutes a maximum tire size based on the vehicles total weight.

Formula DRIFT cars are given fixed numbers for their cars and are not necessarily based on rankings.

Scoring and judging

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Formula DRIFT uses its own scoring system that may differ from other drifting organizations. Often scoring systems for qualifying, tandem battles, and penalties are different.

Qualifying – Formula DRIFT competitors are allowed two non-consecutive judged solo runs to post their highest possible score in order to compete. The top 32 drivers with the highest qualifying scores are entered in a competition bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. 1st v. 32nd, 2nd v. 31st, 3rd v. 30th, etc. The drivers are judged on line, speed, angle, and overall impact. The judges can also make additional request at the drivers meeting for actions or techniques that will weigh in their decision making (ex; entry technique, racing line, proximity, etc.). Formula DRIFT drivers are scored on a points-deduction system where every driver will start their judged run with a perfect score of 100 pts. For every mistake, points will be deducted. These points will vary between .25 point to the most severe mistakes 1.75.[6]

Competition – The top 32 qualifying drivers are paired up in an elimination bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. The biggest difference from qualifying is that now drivers face off head to head on the track in a tandem battle. The two cars run together side by side, each driver trying to show greater skill than the other. The highest qualifying driver leads on the first run, then on the second run the lower qualifying driver leads. Drivers are judged on the same basic criteria as qualifying but an emphasis is put on the interaction between the two drivers competing head to head. The lead driver will set the pace and driving line often trying to produce a gap between themselves and the following driver. The following driver will try to stay on top of the lead driver as close as possible without making contact with their vehicle. The goal is to mimic or "shadow" the lead drivers run while staying on their door throughout the run. It is possible for either driver to win either run. Often one driver will have a points advantage going into the second run. Driver mistakes (ex. 2 wheels off course, spinning out, avoidable contact, etc.) can also cause them to be given an automatic zero. The three-judge panel then will look at both runs and determine one of three outcomes; Driver 1 advances, Driver 2 advances, or if a winner can not be determined a "One More Time" will be called. In the event of a "One More Time" the drivers will then complete a new pair of runs. The drivers will face off again until a winner can be determined. The winner advance to the next bracket.

Competition Time Out – Drivers have a one-time option to utilize a "Competition Time Out" in order to attempt to fix their vehicle. In the event that a driver or car can not come to the start line in time for their tandem run the other driver will be allowed to run a solo lap to advance.

Overtaking – Follow cars are permitted to overtake or pass in certain instances. passes may only happen at inside clips, and can only be done so if the lead car is off line enough to allow the follow car to pass between them and the clip. If a successful pass is made the lead car run is deemed a zero.

The current judges are Robbie Nishida (2023–), Brian Eggert (2012–), Chris Uhl (2020–). Kevin Wells is the Competition Director for the series.[6]

Formula DRIFT Champions

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United States

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Season Driver Car
2004   Samuel Hübinette[7] Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
2005   Rhys Millen[8] Pontiac GTO
2006   Samuel Hübinette[9] Dodge Viper SRT-10
2007   Tanner Foust[10] Nissan 350Z
2008   Tanner Foust[10] Nissan 350Z
2009   Chris Forsberg[11] Nissan 350Z
2010   Vaughn Gittin Jr.[12] Ford Mustang
2011   Daijiro Yoshihara[13] Nissan 240SX
2012   Daigo Saito[14] Lexus SC430
2013   Michael Essa[15] BMW M3
2014   Chris Forsberg[16] Nissan 370Z
2015   Fredric Aasbø[17] Scion tC
2016   Chris Forsberg[18] Nissan 370Z
2017   James Deane[19] Nissan Silvia S15
2018   James Deane[20] Nissan Silvia S15
2019   James Deane[21] Nissan Silvia S15
2020   Vaughn Gittin Jr.[22] Ford Mustang RTR
2021   Fredric Aasbø[23] Toyota Supra
2022   Fredric Aasbø[24] Toyota Supra
2023   Chelsea Denofa[25] Ford Mustang RTR
2024   James Deane[26] Ford Mustang RTR

Note: Chris Forsberg was first driver to win 3 championships (2009, 2014 and 2016). The second one to win 3 was James Deane, and the third was Fredric Aasbø (2015, 2021, and 2022). Although he was the second driver to win 3 championships, Deane was the first and so far only Formula DRIFT driver who managed to win 3 championships in a row (2017, 2018 and 2019).

Asia

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Season Driver Car
2009   Tengku Djan[27] Nissan S15
2010   Tengku Djan[28] Nissan S15
2011   Daigo Saito[29] Toyota Altezza[30]
2012   Daigo Saito[31] Achilles Radial Lexus IS C
2013   Daigo Saito[32] Achilles Radial Lexus IS C
2014   Fredric Aasbø[33] RSR Toyota 86
2018   "Mad" Mike Whiddett[34] RedBull Racing Mazda RX-7
2019   Andrew Gray[35] Moty's Toyota Chaser (JZX100)
2020   Kouichi Yamashita[36] Team WELD Toyota Mark II (JZX100)
2021   Kouichi Yamashita[37] Team WELD Toyota Mark II (JZX100)

PROSPEC Champions

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Season Driver Car
2014   Dan Savage[38] Sikky / Achilles Tire Mazda RX-8
2015   Alex Heilbrunn[39] MonsterBMW BMW M3
2016   Marc Landerville[40] Perry Performance Nissan 240SX
2017   Kevin Lawrence[41] Enjuku Racing / Hankook Tire / BC Racing Nissan S14
2018   Travis Reeder [42] Nissan S13
2019   Trenton Beechum[43] Clonex Racing Nexen Tire Motorsport Ford Mustang
2020   Dmitriy Brutskiy[44] Essa Autosport / Never Settle Drift BMW E46
2021   Dmitriy Brutskiy[45] Essa Autosport / Never Settle Drift BMW E46
2022   Robert Thorne[46] ASM BMW E46
2023   Ben Hobson[47] Feal Suspension / Pedal Commander Nissan Silvia S14.9
2024   Tommy Lemaire[48] XPN Nissan Silvia S14.9

Honors

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Rookie of the Year

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Most Improved Driver

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Driver of the Year

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Hardest Charging Driver

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Spirit of Drifting

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Superstar of the Year

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Best Drifting Style

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Best Personal Style

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Best Looking Car

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Crew Member of the Year

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  • 2011   Mike Kojima[50]
  • 2012   Mike Kojima[55]
  • 2014   Brian Wilkerson
  • 2015   Nathan Tasukon
  • 2018   Stan Williams
  • 2019   Jimmie Cadwell
  • 2020   Jason Dixon
  • 2021   Greg Leone

Team Manager of the Year

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Comeback of the Year

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Fan Favorite

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All-time Formula Drift Pro event winners list

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1.   Fredric Aasbø – 19 wins – 2014 at Wall Speedway and Texas – 2015 at Long Beach, Wall, Seattle, and Irwindale – 2016 at Orlando and Canada – 2017 at Orlando and Canada – 2018 at Long Beach And St. Louis – 2019 at Road Atlanta – 2020 at St. Louis (Rd 1) And Irwindale (Rd 7) – 2021 at St. Louis – 2022 at Road Atlanta and Irwindale – 2024 at Road Atlanta

2.   Vaughn Gittin, Jr. – 13 wins – 2008 at Irwindale – 2010 at Long Beach and Sonoma – 2012 at Wall Speedway and Seattle – 2014 at Road Atlanta and Miami – 2016 at Road Atlanta and Wall Speedway – 2018 at Irwindale – 2020 at Seattle (Rd 3) and Seattle (Rd 4) – 2023 at Road Atlanta

3.   James Deane – 10 wins – 2017 at Long Beach, Road Atlanta, Seattle and Texas – 2018 at Wall Speedway and Monroe – 2019 at St. Louis – 2024 at Long Beach, Englishtown, and St. Louis

4.   Chelsea Denofa – 10 wins – 2016 at Long Beach – 2019 at Texas – 2020 at St. Louis (Rd 2) – 2021 at Orlando, Lake Erie, and Seattle – 2022 at Seattle – 2023 at Orlando, Seattle and Utah

5.   Aurimas Bakchis – 10 wins – 2015 at Road Atlanta – 2016 at Seattle – 2017 at Wall Speedway – 2019 at Long Beach and Orlando – 2020 at Irwindale (Rd 8) – 2021 at Road Atlanta, Long Beach, and Irwindale – 2023 at St. Louis

6.   Chris Forsberg – 10 wins – 2005 at Irwindale – 2007 at Road Atlanta and Infineon – 2008 at Long Beach – 2009 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2013 at Seattle – 2014 at Long Beach – 2018 at Orlando – 2020 in Texas (Rd 6)

7.   Samuel Hübinette – 9 wins – 2004 at Road Atlanta, Houston, and Infineon – 2005 at Road Atlanta and Chicago – 2006 at Long Beach, Chicago, and Wall Speedway – 2007 at Summit Point

8.   Daijiro Yoshihara – 8 wins – 2006 at Irwindale – 2007 at Seattle and Wall Speedway – 2010 at Road Atlanta and Wall Speedway – 2011 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2013 at Long Beach

9.   Ryan Tuerck – 7 wins – 2009 at Long Beach and Irwindale – 2015 at Orlando – 2019 at Wall Speedway – 2020 at Texas (Rd 5) – 2022 at Long Beach - 2024 at Seattle

10.   Tanner Foust – 7 wins – 2006 at Road Atlanta – 2007 at Irwindale – 2008 at Englishtown and Sonoma – 2009 at Las Vegas – 2010 at Seattle and Irwindale

11.   Rhys Millen – 7 wins – 2004 at Irwindale – 2005 at Wall Speedway – 2006 at Infineon – 2008 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2011 at Las Vegas – 2012 at Las Vegas

12.   Daigo Saito – 6 wins – 2012 at Palm Beach and Irwindale – 2013 at Road Atlanta, Wall Speedway, and Irwindale – 2014 at Irwindale

13.   Justin Pawlak – 4 wins – 2011 at Long Beach and Palm Beach – 2012 at Long Beach and Road Atlanta

14.   Matt Field – 4 wins – 2016 at Texas and Irwindale – 2021 at Englishtown – 2023 at Long Beach

15.   Piotr Więcek – 3 wins – 2017 at Irwindale – 2018 at Texas – 2019 at Seattle

16.   Ken Gushi 3 wins – 2005 at Houston – 2019 at Irwindale – 2022 at Grantsville

17.   Tyler McQuarrie – 2 wins – 2010 at Las Vegas – 2011 at Irwindale

18.   Michael Essa – 2 wins – 2013 at Palm Beach and Texas

20.   Darren McNamara – 2 wins – 2009 at Wall Speedway – 2014 at Seattle

One win each for:

  1.   Alex Pfeiffer (2004 invitational at Irwindale featuring the top 16 Formula D drivers from 2004)[57][58]
  2.   Calvin Wan (2005 at Infineon)
  3.   Yukinobu Okubo (2006 at Seattle)
  4.   Mitsuru Haraguchi (2007 at Long Beach)
  5.   Toshiki Yoshioka (2008 at Las Vegas)
  6.   Stephan Verdier (2009 at Infineon
  7.   Conrad Grunewald (2011 at Wall Speedway)
  8.   Masashi Yokoi (2015 at Texas)
  9.   Kristaps Bluss (2018 at Road Atlanta)
  10.   Dylan Hughes (2022 at Orlando)
  11.   Travis Reeder (2022 at Englishtown)
  12.   Kazuya Taguchi (2022 at St. Louis)
  13.   Adam LZ (2023 at Englishtown)
  14.   Nick Noback (2023 at Irwindale)
  15.   Conor Shanahan (2024 at Orlando)

Drivers list

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2023

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PRO

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Driver Name Team Name Car Number Rank Points Country Car Rookie
Adam LZ RTR Motorsports 5 27 148 United States Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 FD
Alec Robbins Alec Robbins Racing 35 26 160 United States Nissan 350Z
Aurimas Bakchis Bakchis Motorsports 723 2 445 Lithuania Nissan Silvia S15
Branden Sorensen Sorensen Motorsports 513 17 192 United States BMW E46
Chelsea DeNofa RTR Motorsports 88 1 480 United States Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 FD
Chris Forsberg Forsberg Racing 64 8 360 United States Nissan 400Z
Daniel Stuke Mspek Performance 527 21 176 United States Nissan Silvia S14
Darren Kelly The Heart of Racing 26 35 80 New Zealand Aston Martin Vantage
Dean Kearney Team Karnage 43 15 209 Ireland Dodge Viper
Diego Higa Diego Higa Racing Team 169 28 144 Brazil Toyota GT86 Yes
Dylan Hughes Team DHR 129 9 329 United States BMW E46
Forrest Wang Get Nuts Lab 808 16 194 United States BMW E46
Fredric Aasbo Papadakis Racing 151 6 399 Norway Toyota GR Supra
James Deane RTR Motorsports 130 5 413 Ireland Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 FD
Jeff Jones Jeff Jones Racing 818 29 128 United States Nissan 370Z
Jhonnattan Castro Papadakis Racing 17 13 240 Dominican Republic Toyota GR86
Joao Barion Five Bar Motorsports 357 30 112 Brazil Chevrolet Corvette C7
Jonathan Hurst Cash Racing 16 14 224 United States BMW E46
Kazuya Taguchi Jerry Yang Racing 123 10 304 Japan Toyota GT86
Ken Gushi Three's Racing 21 19 177 Japan Toyota GR86
Kyle Mohan Kyle Mohan Racing 99 33 96 United States Mazda RX8
Matt Field Drift Cave 777 3 427 United States Chevrolet Corvette C6
Mike Power Power Racing 919 32 112 United States Nissan Silvia S15
Nick Noback Noback Racing with Jerry Yang Racing 54 12 249 United States BMW E46
Ola Jaeger Team Japan Auto 153 34 96 Norway Toyota Supra
Oleksii Holovnia – 738 36 48 Ukraine Toyota GT86 Yes
Rome Charpentier Garagistic Racing 171 11 264 United States BMW E36
Robert Thorne ASM 8 20 176 United States BMW E46
Ryan Litteral Ryan Litteral Racing 909 31 112 United States Nissan Silvia S15
Ryan Tuerck Papadakis Racing 411 7 392 United States Toyota GR Corolla
Simen Olsen Feal Suspension Race Team 707 4 419 Norway Nissan Silvia S14
Taylor Hull Outlaw Garage 82 20 160 United States Chevrolet Corvette C6
Travis Reeder Travis Reeder Motorsports 77 18 192 United States BMW E46
Trenton Beechum Beechum Racing 999 22 176 United States BMW E46
Vaughn Gittin Jr RTR Motorsports 25 23 167 United States Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 FD

PROSPEC

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Driver Name Team Name Car Number Rank Points Country Rookie
Adam Grube DDR Racing 71 N/A 35 United States
Adam Knapik Knapik Racing 51 30 87 United states
Alex Jagger Forsberg Racing 227 4 119 United States
Alex Lichliter JAC Motorsports 86 29 70 United States
Amanda Sorensen Sorensen Motorsports 12 21 87 United States
Andy Hateley Hateley Motorsports 98 6 87 United States
Austin Matta DONTMATTA Racing 710 17 158 United States
Ben Hobson Ben Hobson 213 Racing 213 9 87 United States
Blake Olsen Blake Olsen 66 14 91 United States
Brian Wadman Never Settle 555 13 35 United States
Carlos Arrieta InsaneWayz Motosports 210 32 35 United States
Chance Crooks driftmentality 22 32 35 United States
Cory Talaska Talaska Racing 116 12 102 United States
Derek Madison Team Infamous 27 17 87 United States
Dmitriy Brutskiy Never Settle Drift Team 85 1 180 Belarus
Doug Lanciano
Dustin Miles Miles of Style Racing 678 58 N/A United States
Erick Medici Brazil
Evan Bogovich 313 Motorsports / Bakchis Motorsports 313 16 87 United States
Hooman Rahimi I'm Only Hooman Drifting 321 24 70 United States
Jack Davis
Javier Martinez Jr Martinez Racing 41 22 87 United States
Kasey Kohl
Kelsey Rowlings Drift Chick 42 10 104 United States
Lukas Torno Deprived Drifter 619 34 35 Brazil
Matthew Bystrak Gas Factory 500 46 N/A United States
Nate Chen NCR 4 26 70 United States
Rich Whiteman Freedom Motorsportz 90 9 115 United States
Richard Advani
Ricky Hofmann Ricky Hofmann Racing 44 28 52 United States
Robert Thorne ASM 8 1 318 United States
Rudy Hansen Team Hansen 119 19 87 United States
Rye O'Connor The Breadman Group 31 25 70 United States
Steve Misko Misko Motorsports 721 23 70 United States
Tommy Lemaire TLO Drift Team 233 4 134 Canada
Trenton Kropf
Zack Farrar

Tires – FD USA

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A total of 16 tire manufacturers have sponsored drivers over the history of Formula DRIFT (USA) competition.

Tire Brand Years active
Achilles (?) – 2020
BF Goodrich (?)
Bridgestone (?)
Cooper (?)
Dunlop (?)
Falken (?) – 2022
Federal 2020–2022
GT Radial 2020 – Present (2024)
Hankook (?)
Kenda (?)-(?), 2023 – Present (2024)
Kumho 2024 – (?)
Maxxis (?)
Nexen (?) – Present (2024)
Nitto (?) – Present (2024)
Toyo (?)
Vitour 2023–Present (2024)

2024 Season

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All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

2023 PRO Tire Sponsors

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Drivers
GT Radial Kenda Nexen Nitto Vitour Kumho

2023 Season

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All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

The 2023 Season of Formula DRIFT saw the exit of Falken Tire and Federal Tire, as well as the introduction of Vitour Tire, and the re-introduction of Kenda Tire. Many drivers who were previously sponsored by Falken switched to GT Radial, while Kenda and Vitour picked up newer drivers, and some who were previously sponsored by Federal.

2023 PRO Tire Sponsors

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Drivers
GT Radial Kenda Nexen Nitto Vitour
A. Bakchis A. Robbins D. Kearney A. LZ D. Stuke
C. Forsberg F. Wang F. Sceriffo B. Sorensen J. Hurst
D. Kelly O. Jeager J. Reynolds C. Denofa K. Mohan
D. Higa T. Hull T. Beechum F. Aasbo R. Charpentier
D. Hughes K. Gushi J. Deane
J. Jones R. Tuerck
J. Castro V. Gittin Jr.
J. Barion
K. Taguchi
K. Bluss
M. Field
M. Power
N. Noback
A. Holovnia
R. Thorne
R. Litteral
S. Olsen
T. Reeder

2022 Season

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All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

2022 PRO Tire Sponsors

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Drivers
Falken Federal GT Radial Nexen Nitto
A. Bakchis A. Robbins C. Forsberg D. Kearney A. LZ
D. Hughes K. Mohan D. Kelly F. Sceriffo B. Sorensen
J. Pawlak R. Charpentier D. Burkett J. Reynolds C. Denofa
M. Field W. Masuyama (?) D. Stuke K. Gushi F. Aasbo
J. Jones O. Jeager J. Deane
J. Castro T. Beechum R. Tuerck
J. Barion T. Hull
J. Hurst W. Masuyama (?)
J. Love Y. Meyer
K. Taguchi
M. Essa
M. Power
N. Noback
R. Thorne
R. Litteral
S. Olsen
T. Reeder
W. Masuyama (?)

2021 Season

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All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

2021 saw the exit of Achilles Tire, and the introduction of Federal Tire in PRO competition.

2021 PRO Tire Sponsors

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2020 Season

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2020 was the first year of PROSPEC, which replaced PRO2 as the feeder competition series for PRO. 2020 also saw the debut of GT Radial as a tire sponsor for both the PRO and PROSPEC series. All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire – one of several new regulations for the new PROSPEC series.

2020 PRO Tire Sponsors

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2019 Season

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2019 Tire Sponsors

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2018 Season

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2018 Tire Sponsors

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Formula Drift television coverage

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Former Fox Soccer United States host Brandon Johnson hosted the Formula D show for G4 in 2006. Rossi Morreale was the show's host in 2005. Johnson was joined by Attack of the Show co-host Olivia Munn who covered the pits and drivers during the events and drifting expert Adam Matthews who provided commentary and insight on the tandem battles. G4 aired each round on a tape-delayed basis. Jarod DeAnda is the public address announcer at each event, earning him the moniker, "The Voice of Formula D." In 2005, G4 used DeAnda's event commentary track, but for 2006, used Johnson and Matthews calling each battle like a typical play-by-play/color commentator combination. Johnson and Matthews were on-site for each event, but it sounded as if they had taped their commentary after the event had already taken place. This practice is not uncommon in the motorsports business in post-production.

In the 2005 season, there were two people working the pits — driver interviewer Mayleen Ramey, who was a roving reporter for the half-hour episodes, and a second anchor, who patrolled around the car show at each event. In 2005, G4 used three reporters for this job. From the round in Wall to the round in Houston, actor Emeka Nnadi held the job. At the Infineon round, Attack of the Show! co-host Kevin Pereira took the duties, while Street Fury host Big C finished things out in Chicago and Irwindale. Also, G4 showed half-hour episodes in-between rounds, most of which focused on the network having its own drift car built from scratch, with other segments focusing on the aspects of drifting. One of the first half-hour episodes in 2005 had one Formula D competitor, Chris Forsberg go to Japan, and meet up with another competitor, Daijiro Yoshihara, to explore the country and get more perspective on the birth of drifting. Episodes that featured event coverage lasted an hour and a half, and featured the top 16 tandem rounds, including those that needed to be run again, because the judges deemed them too close to call. These episodes aired the night after the next round in the series had already taken place.

In 2006, however, coverage was dramatically different. The half-hour episodes were gone, event coverage was reduced to an hour, and their scheduling was quite random. The Long Beach and Atlanta rounds premiered on June 18, with the Chicago round airing on July 2, and the Sonoma round airing a week after it took place. During the Sonoma round, G4 noted that the Seattle round would premiere on September 10, but that date was changed to October 8, with the last two rounds (Wall and Irwindale) airing every other week afterward. These episodes featured more interviews and driver profiles, many of which would've been placed in a half-hour show last year, and many of the tandem battles have been cut out, and any battle that needed to be run again did not have its second run shown. This led to some criticism from those in the drifting community, including fans and some Formula D drivers.

At the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Formula D co-founders Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage announced that the series would have a new television partner in 2007. That partner was ESPN2. Each round began airing in a one-hour block on November 15 with the Long Beach round. All subsequent airings were supposed to be every Thursday afterward, but beginning with the Evergreen Speedway round on December 5, the air dates for new rounds switched to Wednesday.

The ESPN deal lasted just one season. SPEED Channel aired all rounds of the 2008 Formula D season, as well as the World Championship, scheduled for after the Irwindale round. Events aired on Sundays, beginning with the Long Beach round on October 26; all airings began at 4 PM Eastern.[59]

For 2010, Formula Drift announced a comprehensive race programming schedule with the sports network then known as Versus (ironically co-owned with G4 by Comcast). The seven-stop Formula DRIFT Championship Series programs aired over fourteen Sundays during the 2 PM (EST) / 11 AM (PST) time slot beginning Sunday, August 30. Each episode showcased all the on- and off-track action as the world's top drift drivers battle for the coveted title of Formula DRIFT Champion. The first episode, aired on August 30, will feature a comprehensive overview of the sport and drivers. Each episode re-aired the week following the initial airing.[60] Coverage was slated to remain the same for the 2011 season.

In 2012, as a result of NBCUniversal's acquisition by Comcast, Comcast's sports channels were combined under the NBC Sports division, in an arrangement known as the NBC Sports Group; this resulted in Versus being re-launched as the NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.

Formula D coverage moved to CBS Sports Network for the 2015 season.

Internet Coverage

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In 2010 Formula D joined forces with Justin.tv to bring a live stream of all 7 events. All rounds were broadcast via Justin.tv complete with practices and all rounds of competition were included. During the 2010 season over 1,000,000 viewers tuned in to watch the live action unfold over the 7 Pro Championship events.

2013 Formula D partnered with Livestream for the domestic series.

2014 Formula D partnered with Daily Motion for its live stream.

Formula D now broadcasts online at Formula Drift Live and on Motor Trend On Demand.

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At the 2010 SEMA show, FD co-founder Jim Liaw announced the Formula Drift would begin the quarterly publication of a Formula Drift's magazine in 2011. The publication will be handled by Haymarket Media Group.

References

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  1. ^ "Sport". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Formula Drift Link Ecu Prospec Championship Announced for 2021 Season". January 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "Formula DRIFT – Pro AM".
  4. ^ "Formula DRIFT – 404". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  5. ^ Formula DRIFT 2011 ASIA Pro Championship Schedule FD Asia web site
  6. ^ a b "Judging Information". Archived from the original on January 26, 2007.
  7. ^ "Two-Time Formula DRIFT Champ Hübinette to Field Two-Car Dodge Team in 2011". March 25, 2011.
  8. ^ "Inside Line Video of Rhys Millen at Pikes Peak". July 28, 2009.
  9. ^ "The Evolution of Samuel Hübinette". December 14, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Congrats to TANNER FOUST". October 12, 2008.
  11. ^ "Formula DRIFT 2009 Champion Crowned". October 20, 2009.
  12. ^ "Formula DRIFT Round 7: Title Fight Results". October 11, 2010.
  13. ^ "Formula DRIFT Round 7: Title Fight Results". October 9, 2011.
  14. ^ "Daigo Saito is Victorious at Round 7: Title Fight and is Crowned the 2012 Formula DRIFT Champion". October 14, 2012.
  15. ^ Round 7: Final Fight at Irwindale Speedway Results; Daigo Saito Takes the Event Victory and Michael Essa is Crowned Champion Formula Drift 2013
  16. ^ "Formula DRIFT Round 7: Final Fight Results". October 12, 2014.
  17. ^ "Aasbo, Scion take Formula Drift Championship in Irwindale". October 16, 2015.
  18. ^ "The O'Reilly Auto Parts "Title Fight" sponsored by Gumout at the Formula DRIFT Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras Round 8 Results". October 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "Formula DRIFT Round 8: O'Reilly Auto Parts "Title Fight" Results". October 15, 2017.
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  28. ^ "2010 : Formula Drift Asia | Singapore | Malaysia | Thailand". www.formuladriftasia.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  29. ^ "2011 : Formula Drift Asia | Singapore | Malaysia | Thailand". www.formuladriftasia.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  30. ^ "DRIVERS : Formula Drift Asia | Singapore | Malaysia | Thailand". www.formuladriftasia.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  31. ^ "Formula DRIFT Asia | Australia – Standings – 2012". formuladriftasia.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  32. ^ "Formula DRIFT Asia | Australia – Standings – 2013". www.formuladriftasia.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  33. ^ "Fredric Aasbo".
  34. ^ "Mad Mike Whiddett: Formula Drift Japan 2018 champion". Red Bull.
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  36. ^ Archive 2020Formula Drift Japan Archived November 18, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
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  53. ^ "2012 Best Drifting Style – Fredric Aasbo". Breaking Drift News.
  54. ^ "2012 Best Style – Ryan Tuerck". Breaking Drift News.
  55. ^ "2012 Formula Drift Crew Member of the Year – Mike Kojima". Breaking Drift News.
  56. ^ "2012 Team Manager of the Year – Stephan Papadakis". Breaking Drift News.
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  60. ^ 2010 Versus package, additional text.
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