The Beginning Of A New Era

This is the beginning of a new era in professional drifting. Last year’s Formula Drift Pro field had over 60 drivers competing at one point, but for 2015 that number has been weeded down to just 38 – the best of the best. Those that haven’t made the cut have to compete in Pro2 for a chance to run with the big boys.


This week’s opening round of the 2015 championship not only marks the 10th running of FD Long Beach, but also 10 years for me in terms of photographing Formula Drift.


It’s certainly been a wild ride for me, and I have made some lifelong friends. But it’s much different watching drifting now than it was then when I first started. I know the teams, the mechanics and the staff, and I know how the drivers feel when they win or lose.


In probably one of the biggest upsets ever at Long Beach, Forrest Wang qualified in 1st position and then got knocked out of contention the Top 32. Then there was the shock exit of defending champion Chris Forsberg in the Top 16 at the hands of Patrick Mordaunt, and the craziness of two final turn incidents between Ryan Tuerck and Fredric Aasbø in their One More Time run-off for a spot in the final.

There are so many great stories from the 2015 season opener and I will be touching more on the biggest moments in the coming days –  including the down-to-the-wire Final Battle, where Fredric battled Odi Bakchis and won.


In the meantime, now that every single battle is fun to watch, what do you think about the new Formula Drift?

Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto



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2015 will be the year for Aasbo. Who agree with me?


DonHoonigan I. Anyone who also does say "I".


So I'm going to do a garage heist. Which of these cars do I take, and why do I suddenly want to GT3 them?


Drifting is like NASCAR for hipsters.


Smiggins  There's only two types of hipsters: Those that can't drive and those that drive a Prius. Really drifting right now is more akin to early drag racing, anything and everything is open game in order to win.


Every single battle was won because the other driver made a mistake, or a more apparent mistake than the opponents mistake. A lot of shortening up of line by the chase car in order to try reel in proximity, which would cause the chase car to lose or have a disadvantage going in to their lead run. 
Run the qualifying line in both chase and lead runs and you were guaranteed a win.


@Pingu Ah, it's that easy. Got it.


Smiggins Comments like yours show amazing depth of stupidity, why are you even trying? Yet here is FD, year after year, growing and getting more competitive and better. Meanwhile, you still suck, and get ignored, year after year.


I agree, it does nothing for me either but if I was an eight years old I'm sure I'd love it.


watched formula drift for the first time yesterday night, so I cant really compare to the old FD... But I gotta say that it is damn fun to watch these guys drift! It's just so different from grassroots, and I somehow like that


Hydrolastic Smiggins but but... i daily drive an unsafe car and i order pepsi instead of mountain dew with my pizza and as far as i'm aware i'm the only bearded asian in New Zealand.
So if my calculations are correct, my hipster level began at over 9000, to 900,000 then bumped up to 9,000,001 which makes me the ultimate and one and only hipster without irony.


Same circus it was before.
Nothing to see here. Move along please.


Gave up on FD years ago.. As long as it's a judged sport, I'm not interested.


D1RGE EXE That's how it's been for a few years now. Someone that sacrifices line for proximity (even though it's more exciting to watch) will lose to someone that runs a qualifying line or close to one, but isn't as close.


I just have one question, Larry. Is Aasbo obliged to carry an energy drink in the toilet, too? I shall wait for Atlanta to form an opinion about the new FD.  I just hope Mad Mike will put on a proper show to compensate us all for round 1.


I don't know. I really think that Ryan Tuerck may get this years championship. The only reason why he didnt get higher in the podium was because of contact with aasbo which I believe should have been faulted to aasbo.


Much more entertaining to watch. with such a tight group I think drivers show up more prepared and it makes for a better showing. I really dont understand drivers showing up in new chassis with little to NO seat time or development doesnt seem like an honest attempt at a championship. I think the "underdogs" for lack of a better word like pat goodin and patrick mardaunt and field  will be outdoing drivers like essa and other known top drivers. will make for an excting season.


DonHoonigan Ass-bo is a break checking, Valet parking douche. He only won by not driving all out but by little girl tactics on the track which caused alot of hard working all out drivers to have mechanical issues....What a great champion Ass-bo can be...Ass-bo = Douche-bo


@jDUB Aasbo is infamous for his off trottle antics. He even got called out
last year for brake checking the whole competition in a consistent manner, but
there seems to be a plethora of ignorant people thinking he is the nice
guy! I think it is a necessity to let Gittin teach him a lesson with his monster truck. hahahaha!


Seems over the top wings are out and more clean line body is in.


The new era that is exactly the same as the old new era, the old new era that was just the older era with different sponsors. Almost had grandchildren during Top 4, and I bet next year there'll be a post about THE NEW ERA of FD.


Drift Muscle any day over this.


DieterManero true dat, ducktails ftw!


crispykrem3 D1RGE EXE If this is true, then how did coffman win against wang?


@TROLLS ROYCE I notice this too. In one of Fredric's runs against Tuerck.


apieceobacon Tuerck  was on point tagging the walls with lock for dayss!


Those judges just kill everything, its a total circus! every year is worse!


BrunoFerreiraBaptista Which calls do you think they messed up at Long Beach this year?


Corbin How is he brake checking without using the brakes? Pouring on more angle is still drifting right?


adamindet Yes, I completely agree. They must be blind for some reason to the fact that it makes their program look like a joke if they show up with an unfinished car just to not qualify. This happens year in and year out, and they waste thousands of dollars every time.


jdmRob It's even better in person.


apieceobacon So do you think Ryan's diff broke due to the contact with Aasbo?


Larry Chen BrunoFerreiraBaptista im not saying about one specifically, i saw a lot of battles since free practice, qualifying to race that in my opinion were so close that a most of the times were deserving of another go than just elimination. in previous years its been that and the distance between the top teams to the (lower ranks). If the rest of the rounds in the championship continue like this one, with more of the (not the usual suspects) on the top of the leaderboard and everyone more at the same level then yes, then will have one of the best if not the best championship ever of formula d. But hey... its just my opinion of course...


Larry Chen apieceobacon How many times did Tuerck make contact with something this weekend? I bet it was probably a culmination of wall taps and contact that ultimately ended up finally causing an issue. It was too bad, he and Aasbo were both putting on a great show. Tuerck's desperate attempt to bang the car back together with the time running out was some damn good TV too, his frustration was palpable and I was frustrated for him after they missed the deadline but only a few seconds.


Larry Chen apieceobacon I wasn't there I just saw the live stream. I guess it was just unfortunate and a coincidence that he was unable to continue after his contact with Aasbo. As FunctionFirst states he made plenty of contact with the wall yesterday. 

The only thing that bugs me, is when Tuerck rear ended Aasbo. I know the the lead car essentially has the right of way, but it was clear that Fredric's car clearly stopped/stalled 3/4 of the way through the last hairpin. With that type of error he should have been given a 0 or both a 0. 

I like Aasbo. I don't mean to target him. I have somewhat more of a gripe with the judging inconsistency I saw yesterday.


Larry Chen Corbin On their last run , 3/4 of the way thru the last tight hairpin, Aasbo's car was straight with no angle and abruptly stopped. Did he brake? I couldn't tell, but he stopped almost as if he stalled/mechanical.


FunctionFirst apieceobacon

I don't know about a few seconds. I was there and I'd say they needed at least 5 more minutes to attach the drive shaft etc....

The fact of the matter is both cars broke around the same area under serious stress, think of how many runs they made the entire weekend just to have Aasbo's 2nd gear fail at that last corner as well as Ryan's diff fail at the last corner. You can't make this stuff up!


Corbin  The last run Ryan's diff broke when Fredric was following. Not sure if you are talking about that run.


Corbin apieceobacon FunctionFirst Aasbo only was rear ended by Ryan in that run due to his 2nd gear not working. The advantage was in favor of Ryan, but on the 2nd run Ryan's diff broke on the last corner which forced a OMT, which of course Ryan could not run because of the broken diff.


BrunoFerreiraBaptista You know what, I think with the elimination of speed in judging I think it's evened out the field immensely. Giving guys like Forrest a chance to qualifying high every time due to his style. I think this has made the sport so much more interesting. It's less of a drag race now.


Larry Chen Corbin  apieceobacon FunctionFirst Got it. I was confused at what broke/wasn't working right on Aasbo's car.


Larry Chen Corbin I was confused. It was when Ryan was following, so the 1st run then?


Larry Chen BrunoFerreiraBaptista thats exactly what i want! more guys like essas, wangs, fields, gushi, denofa, etc etc etc. tired of forsbergs, gittins, tuerck (major fan). well i just hope it really goes that way...


Larry Chen BrunoFerreiraBaptista I agree with you Larry. Coffman taking down Wang was well deserved and awesome. To see a lesser known run like that was sweet.


Corbin  Larry Chen BrunoFerreiraBaptista totally agree with both of you about Larry


They should have build cost caps. Things would be different for sure.


I watched it on demand as I was at work. I didn't watch top 32/16 as they weren't uploaded yet, but the show was dragged on way too long. The downtime needs to be cut down. I'm a hardcore drifting fan, and I almost turned it off because of how slow the show was moving. I understand we have broken cars and things that need to get fixed, but OMT's shouldn't need a commercial break to go from one to another. Hopefully they pick it up at Road Atlanta, because sitting at the track is going to be way different than at the house where I can go do other things. I'm excited about being at Road Atlanta with Mad Mike, having friends show up for the first time seeing pro drifting, and just being at Road Atlanta, I really hope the slow show doesn't follow with them.




As a person in the industry that has helped build local "grassroots" (IHATETHATTERM) cars, I find this year to be the most exciting. More and more D1 drivers are pouring in and the media coverage is getting better and better. This is the best racing entertainment America has to offer and I wish you mother f**ckers would appreciate this great sport and stop with this terrible negativity. I've watched this sport evolve from the time it began and it only can get better from here.


CharlesSiritho ryukyustriker They need tighter rules its too loose. Next thing ya know we are gonna see a guy with a rocket engine drifting out there. You can keep your profanity cause civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.


"Thinning of the field" was inevitable. There are now 10 Pro-AM series feeding drivers into FD. Most of those drivers don't stand a chance of being competitive in Pro 1 during their first, second, and maybe even third year. It's not 2005 anymore. The exceptions will obviously shine in Pro 2 and make their way to the Pro 1 ranks quickly. It also weeds out those who simply can't compete at a Pro 1 level anymore, and opens up opportunity for those who can. I didn't like idea at first, but I do now.

The end of this event did drag on forever. Having that many OMTs combined with two mechanical failures is quite rare. Maybe with the field being this close there needs to be some adjustments once the event enters the Top 16, but I don't think we'll see an event drag on at the end like this again anytime soon. To be honest I would rather see the event drag on for a little bit, than see someone lose a podium due to a rule only designed to speed up the event.


ryukyustriker CharlesSiritho This is about the FANS, people WANT to hear the sound of a 1000HP ripping across a track. I wish they would strap rocket ships to the cars, would be 10/10.


CharlesSiritho ryukyustriker Well its going that direction. surprised there is not a diesel turbo introduced there yet. Soon there might be a electric car..


@chris crispykrem3 D1RGE EXE Because Wang straightened on his follow run.


I've been watching FD now for almost 6 years and I really appreciate the level of professionalism that these past two years have brought. It's brought about better drivers, better battles, faster cars, and has certainly evened out the playing field (making it that much faster.) This isn't grassroots and I love that about it. This season feels very promising and Formula Drift seems to be right on the precipice to make it big time. So even through all the gripes and complaining about this call or that call, I'll certainly keep watching.


santablob Honestly that is what makes it interesting. It's better that you disagree sometimes, because the sport is subjective, and YOU get to judge for yourself. It's one of the most fun aspects of it.


Lensfuel I think because of the changes in the past few years it has brought more Japanese attention to Formula Drift. Hence seeing team orange on site as well as the introduction of Daigo etc...

As for the OMT, in my opinion I think the sport has evolved to the point of not needing them. If your car breaks then it's your fault. If it's someone else's fault then you get an allotted amount of time. This speeds everything up in a nicer TV packaged anyways, and everyones attention span is so short now.


CharlesSiritho Good point Charles. It's tough because there are so few options in terms of motorsports that appeal to the younger generation. I really think that Formula Drift is helping keep car culture alive with kids that are just starting to get their drivers license. Drag racing had it's time, and drifting has replaced it.


ryukyustriker I've already seen an electric drift car. Honestly the crazy power is what is cool about drifting. Outside of drag racing these guys have the most power versus any other racing series.


Saw Orido and Hibino on site on Friday. Could it be the return of Max? Would be great to see him or Taniguchi come back, even if its for a little bit.


Tweaks to the judging rules and classes defiantly keeping it interesting and some amazing builds this season. I wasn't planning a FD trip this year but spent a lot on Sunday looking at the calender and flights, inc Japan!
You mention in a reply about OMT runs not being needed but surly when you talk about mechanical failure that would be a 5min rule? And while I agree both can be a pain, esp watching on the live feed, I don't think anyone would want the day decide based on a popped boost pipe or the judges being force to decide just to move things along?


I think we really saw a major shift this year, and I can only congratulate FD on good planning. The shift was FD going global and truly being the top series in the world. It sounded cheesy at the beginning, but now that it is a reality, you can see how it got the attention of both the European and the Japanese drifting communities. There hasn't been this many D1 drivers in attendance since FD's first year. I do see this year's FD World Championship having its growing pains, as none of the teams really know what they will need to budget, how the logistics will play out, etc. But I can see in a couple years a series with events in the US, AUS, NZ, Japan, Gatebil, UK and either Poland or Russia, if for nothing else to add in the "hometown heroes" effect since those are the biggest drift hotspots around the world. 

Either way, I think I'm cool with it. I also think I'll be the first one on here to say, CONGRATS AASBO!!!


Corbin  Larry Chen Real problem was nobody told Odi that Aasbo had broken gear. Aasbo was real slow in hairpin. Seeing contact in finals suck IMO Odi deserved to win if it wasn't for that contact.


FD seems to be going in the right direction but it's missing one
thing, drift demos! I saw Kumakubo at FD this past weekend. Charles Ng,
Kumakubo, and the rest of Team Orange PLUS Drift Alliance must do a demo
at FD Irwindale. Why Irwindale? Because Irwindale. That's why.

Watch this video of Team Orange going crazy at Odaiba a couple years ago. I linked to my favorite part in the video.


FD is definitely going in the right directions. Calls where for most part translucent with just calls being made.
Personally felt the omt in top32 between #21 Ken Gushi and #569 Geoff Stoneback could have gone to Ken.
First run on Stoneback lead run in the top 32 the "touch and go zone #1" (tg#1) clipping zone 1 (cz #1) where spot on point with 0-1 feet gap from the wall, Stoneback did go shallow on (cz) #2 with a 6 feet gap and medium line transition to tg#2 with a 3-4ft gap and finished tidy with under 1 feet from the last inside clipping point.
Ken ran a great lead run with 3feet from tg#1, 2ft from cz1 and cz2 followed by medium transition to tg#2 with a 1 feet gap finishing up with a 1 feet distance from the inside clip.
I felt kens follow was slightly better as well and didn't expect the omt.
On the omt run, Stoneback lead run left a lot to be desired with a 5 feet gap at both the first touch and go as well as the 1st clipping zone. 2 feet from the clipping zone 2 and ran a mid line up to the touch and go zone 2 but shallow it up after the transition to tg#2 and missing it by 4 feet.
Ken did a good job in the following position with a great "mimicking" (new word the judges been using in the drivers meetings) line.
Ken's lead run was significantly better.
Numbers where 2 feet from touch and go point #1 vs GS'S 5 feet, 1 feet vs Stoneback's 5 feet gap in the clipping zone 1 while pushing out to the clipping zone 2 with a much wider line with a 1 vs 2 feet gap. The only mistake Ken makes is coming in full tilt which he hit the last touch and go perfect but overshot the inside clipping zone by 4 feet which allowed Stoneback to tuck on in to make the pass attempt.
However, the follow run by Stoneback is very shallow through out the entirety of the couse at times missing the clipping zone #2 by 8+ feet. line was compromised to catch up to ken. If GS ran the same lead line mimicking ken's run, Geoff would have never caught up to fill in the overshoot.
I'm reading off my notes so don't get nitty picky if anyone reviews the runs and I'm and little off.
I'm thrilled with Matt Coffman's progression through out the event and I feel most of you have seen a drastic improvement in his driving demeanor and line.
As with all rookies and their teams there are always growing pains. The Coffman team has been working hard during the off season with plenty of test and tune days to dial in a polished product.
Big thanks to two advisors that came in as well as KW suspension's support to help us with suspension tuning.
The Coffman crew, Bill, Nick the two fantastic professionals behind the car, Jeff the programs manager and my self as spotter have put together a car and a game plan that is tallored to Matt's driving style and passion... it shows on course and I am certain performance will only get better as Matt and the team settles into new team dynamics.
I feel with the new blood coming in through pro 2 some of which are AMAZING drivers as well as pro one having kings and dynasties shaken, 2015 and 2016 will be fantastic years.
Transparency and strict adherence to the equal application of preset rules / judging guidelines will go a tremendous way to promote the sport, drivers, sponsors and FD brand.


I would agree with @larrychen . Gotta back up statements with facts


I can't imagine how the sponsors feel about it. I think if joon had the s13 out he could have done very well in a car he knows and put some points on the board until the z4 chassis is ready. Robbie nishida made a good call using the soarer. Thanks for the great images of the event as always Larry !


I think that the "new" FD looks a lot like the "old" FD with 5-6 new cars/ entries. Nothing's changed to me. I watch an FD event with low expectations and the occasional shock caused by a drivers mistake. It's all about flashy cars and horsepower. That's all it is to me. The way FD works is to make the judges calls easier and more acceptable to the audience. Trying to avoid the drama in a motor sport that is judged purely on 3 peoples opinion. 

You know what the main difference is between FD and D1? It's not the car builds or the judging, it's not even the difference between power sliding and actual drifting. It's the interaction between drivers, audience AND judges. If you create a sport were a group of people get to decide who advances and who gets eliminated, I want them to justify their call. I want to see them handed a mic and talk us through their judging. I don't want to wait for a box to go either left or right or having Ryan and Jarod "sweet talk" a call. You are a judge. You are there to make the tough calls and take the criticism. If you can't handle it then maybe someone else can. 

Sure this "new era" is fancy, lots of great drivers, awesome cars, great tandems, but at it's core? It's flawed in many ways. Cool for someone watching drift for the first time, not for them that actually understand it.


@John Can we be friends? You're a genius.


You know the judge thing is something that I was actively thinking about as I saw the live stream. Why are they so mysterious? Let's hear them as the drivers drifts.


I enjoyed the season opener. I think the sport (technically) has come a long way, and FD have done a great job in embracing that. I also think that the coverage has come a LONG way, and FD are starting to appreciate that most of their audience isn't actually in the grand stands, but back at home. The additional "trackside" reporting and coverage this year was great and you can really tell they've worked on it. The only thing I would say, is that if FD really wants to make the viewer entertained they need to put together a really well polished highlights package. Watching all the battles from top 32 onwards (as I like to do) takes ages, when you take in to account the necessary stops. I'd love to see a neat highlights package, showing the best few runs from t32, then the entire 16,8,4,final battles. Maybe with some technical sections where they talk about each car, what it's running, who built it, and maybe some facts or history on the sport - basically like a Speedhunters Spotlight but in video format. Something like the F1 pre-race coverage.


santablob they tried something like that in 2013 i think, with the live "charts" on tandems. Basically 2013 was FDs attempt at making strict rules so that there was no room to doubt a judges call. Daigos 2012 championship win really got some people upset I'm guessing. It was also the beginning of the horsepower wars. See if you have huge tracks and you keep power sliding the course it's logical that the car with the most horsepower and grip will inevitably be harder to keep up with/ easier to catch up on other cars (sideways drag racing). But that's entirely another conversation between power sliding/ drifting, huge tracks/ small tracks, pleasing audience/ pleasing true drifting fans.

So in 2013 we got rules like, a straightening/ correction is automatically a zero or the 2 strike rule, you hit a cone and tires off it's again an automatic zero. All restricting drivers and making the judges job easier.

By 2014 they scraped half the rules and went back to basic anonymous judging. Thus coming to the same conclusion for this year. Nothings changed.

I'm just sitting watching the Live Stream and in the back of my head I'm thinking "So Ford came back as a FD sponsor, is Gittin Jr going to be favored this year?", "Will they ever let Aasbo win a championship now that Rockstar is his main sponsor?". And I'm having all these shady thoughts for the simple reason that the entire FD is in fact ... shady and anonymous. You want a New Era? Actually do something different for a change


Definitely agree that it would be great if a judge were to explain an unclear decision. They were doing that last year at Mondello Park for the IDC round that Diago competed in, and it enhanced the viewing experience so much. I actually learned something watching that comp!
On another note though...people are still referring to FD as "power sliding ", and not drifting? Sorry, but did you actually watch? I don't see how the drifting at FDLBC was any more or less "power-slidy" than anything which is going on in D1 right now. Maybe if you're thinking of D1 from 10 years ago....but how are the D1 rounds from last year at Fuji and Suzuka "drifting", while FDLBC is "powersliding"
Just out of curiously, can anyone actually explain where power sliding ends and drifting begins?


Clearly, I do not watch FD events with the same critical eye
or attention to detail that the hardcore fan does even though I have been lucky
enough to watch this festival ripen over the years in person.Professional drifting has always been more a
sensory blowout and visual spectacle for me versus a natural fit for competition
but, I guess we all want to know – who’s the winner? – Especially, for the
teams and drivers who put in all of the work.Product-wise, the loudest cheers will always be reserved for the tightest
tandem battles and the weeding that you speak of is going to pay off in that respect…which
will in turn make judging a lot more difficult and 2015 season wide open to controversy,
lol!Ironically, it’s when you can’t decide
who won to discover who the winners are - and that takes two.8)


Robo_No1 totally agreed, with one caveat: do NOT make it like the TV production. That's more painful to watch than pulling teeth.


Twitch_6 Drifting actually begins when power sliding ends. It's kinda difficult to explain but the way I see it is if you complete a drift track using your vehicles power to get you through the course, always having your foot on the pedal, always creating that smoke, that's power sliding.
Drifting on the other hand is how you control your vehicle when you don't have your foot on the pedal. There's the built up speed, yes, but at some point during the curve/ transition/ initiation, the driver needs to place the car without using the pedal, based on momentum, to the outer/ inner clipping point. Don't know if that makes sense but its something entirely different. 

You don't need huge tracks, 15 different clipping points, 5 transitions to do drifting. I think that's the difference.


Twitch_6 I love you. D1 (if you can find coverage) is absolutely laughable yet these "true drift fans" slobber all over some image of 2003 that ain't EVER coming back, not even in Japan.
I like FD. I don't think it's perfect. But it's the best professional drifting series out there as well as the most available. The stream was the best move they could have ever done. If D1 had done this instead of hide their coverage and not translate their videos, they might possibly have stayed relevant.


Yeah, I was made that Gushi lost from a "pass" he performed significantly better then Stoneback


@John, I understand what you are getting at about the difference between the two....however, I can't agree with what your are saying. If you chose to seperate the two aspects, that's your choice. To me however, what you described as "powersliding" and "drifting", are simply two aspects of car control which both fall under the umbrella of "drifting". One is accelerating while drifting, the other is slowing down while drifting. Drifting a street section where you go back-and-forth, the style may change depending on the direction you're running. Basically depends on whether a section closes in, or opens up.
What you described as drifting (lifting off, and using angle and momentum to place the car), is exactly what happens during the FDLBC section. Two sweepers followed by a hairpin. Other than tilting things to make it downhill as well, it doesn't really get more "drifty" than that.
ATL and Seattle also feature clips which require the driver to place the car while slowing down. I do agree that others like Texas and even NJ are a little more "stand on it!" type tracks.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think FD is perfect....but IMO, it's the best pro drift series going right now, and it continues to get better. I definitely think FD needs a wider variety of sections. With Irwindale being done after this year, I think Wall and Evergreen are enough as far as ovals go (plus the one in Canada). It would be great if they could replace Irwindale with something that's different from the other tracks. Turns 1 and 2 at Leguna Seca???
I think a wider variety and range of sections would tighten up the championship even more, making things even more exciting.


@John This is what I really enjoyed about IDC / Prodrift in Ireland. They had the judge explain everything and it felt more like watching x-factor or America's got talent. It was really entertaining. I do wish FD had that aspect to it.


smokinimages Sorry, I meant the 5min rule. I don't think they should exist anymore.


D1RGE EXE Twitch_6 Staying relevant.... Very good point. This is why the D1 drivers are coming over to FD.


Twitch_6 It's just a matter of opinion and yes I agree that FD is really popular right now, no doubt. But getting back to my original post, is it the beginning of a new era? Not really. Do I get equally excited as watching D1? Not really. There are a lot of things FD could address to make the drift series better IMO and it's not there yet.


Twitch_6 The Corkscrew at Laguna Seca would be awesome.


Fantastic racing and great competition! Some furious battles went on and the balance they've made into the cars is great! Everything looks even! 
Only thing was they didn't give more than 5 minutes for Ryan changing his differential. They had it in the car, maybe 60 seconds until it was good to go and they didn't just let him bolt it up. Shit people do that in an evening let along 6 MINUTES. Really the only part that was a serious pet peeve.

Other than that fantastic! Definitely excited for the rest of the season!


D1RGE EXE Robo_No1 Haha fair point, it can sometimes seem a little clinical and forced. But FD have an exiting, fresh, rapidly developing motorsport, and some kick ass consumer relate-able cars so I'm sure they could put together a really good package.


Larry Chen smokinimages Which for the viewers means watching the (horribly produced) ads on the livestream. Seriously, some of them are good(the tire ads mostly) but there are others that are just complete bollocks and look like they were produced by a 10 year old with an old macbook :p

OT; I agree that they could well scrap the competition timeout. Not in the case of a crash ofc but I'd rather have them run 'till it breaks than have them spend 20min trying to fix the problem and THEN have it break during the next run.


Pro drifting has been on my radar and I've been a casual fan for a few years now, but I actually decided to sit down and watch the live stream of the Long Beach event and am properly hooked! There were some great battles, a lot of awesome machinery and a fair amount of drama.
I guess it's interesting because at this point there are people who have been around the scene a while, who have seen it change and got into it when it was much different to how it is now but also there are new fans being drawn in (like myself). I must admit I was impressed by the quality of the live stream, and that sort of thing definitely helps build a strong fan base globally. However, I kind of agree that it'd be good to hear from the judges and have a more open and transparent process. I found it a bit vague and felt that if I could hear their comments it would give me a greater insight into how they actually arrive at the decision of who wins and help me understand the sport a bit better. Plus, I can definitely see that it can come across as shady and anonymous at the moment.

All in though I thought it was great and it definitely gives the impression of a sport taking its future seriously.


No mention of the return of the cursed genesis coupe. After last season I thought ark was going to pull them for this year. So glad they didn't, I just wish they perfected the 3.8 stroker tt build.


MA70 I will touch on it in my next post. I posted this in between top 32 and top 16.


Corbin  Twitch_6 short run up to the corkscrew, then on the gas out the bottom flowing into the long left.....what a drift sector!


I am a great aasbo fan but i still think his win in top 32 wasn't quite right but then again i've only seen it once


I was disappointed when I didn't see Darren McNamara, Danny George, and a few others not drifting this year. They are some of the ones I follow who put on a good show. FD is an amazing series. I want to compete in it myself. I would also like to see the RB motor return to the grid in a well built car, the v8s are ok but man oh man would it be sweet to hear an RB and JZ motor ripping through the course at the same time talk about heart pumping.


@John santablob

It would be interesting to see what was the criteria judges used to give Yokoi the win over Aasbo in D1.

Different rules defo.


@John santablob

Was Forsberg favored last year?


@Rod Rod santablob that wasn't D1 ... that was FD ... in Japan. And yes I would have liked to had seen the judges explain their call.


@Rod Rod santablob That's a subjective question. You'll find people that will say he was and people that will say he wasn't. All I know is that if the judges would justify their calls every now and then, I'd have a clearer picture of what was going on. 
Besides not everyone that gets to be a champion can be considered favored all the time. As I remember, for the last 2 years Daigo "decides" who gets the championship in FD


We need FD: Street Legal


D1RGE EXE Thanks man. Also, I'm excited to see where the drift scene stands in a couple years! I feel like the sport has picked up some momentum.


the car was very good 